Camilo Villegas (Pro V1x) posted a flawless 6-under 65 Sunday in Bermuda to return to the winner’s circle and capture his fifth career PGA TOUR title. The 41-year-old, who turned in four rounds of 67 or better including matching 65‘s over the weekend, was in complete control of his Pro V1x all week, leading the field with 82% (59/72) greens in regulation. That included 17 of 18 GIR on Sunday to set up six birdies without dropping a shot.
Villegas’ final birdie dropped on the par-5 17th, where he got up-and-down from a difficult spot in the right greenside bunker. “I didn't have the best lie in that bunker,” he said, “but I looked at my caddie and I said, OK, brother, let's hit a good shot here.” Villegas caught his Pro V1x perfectly and watched as it landed at the top of a slope on the edge of the green, checked and rolled slowly down to within 3 feet. “Came out a little better than I expected, nice tap-in birdie, gave me a little cushion, a little freedom going to the next hole,” he said.
Villegas’ victory comes one week after his T2 finish at the WorldWide Technology Championship, where he shot rounds of 64-64-69-66. He’s played his last 144 holes in 49 under par.
- The winner of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship gamed a Titleist TSi3 11.0 driver, which he used to split the fairway on the 71st hole and help set up his final birdie of the week. It marked the 17th win for Titleist drivers this season on the PGA TOUR, more than any other brand. Titleist was also the most played driver this week in Bermuda (35/27%), as it has been on the PGA TOUR for the last five seasons. He also carries a TSi2 24.0 hybrid.
- The winner of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship played two Vokey Design SM9 wedges (WedgeWorks 54.08M, 60.08M). It’s the 27th time this season that a PGA TOUR winner has gamed at least one Vokey, more than double the nearest competitor. Vokey Design is the most played wedge on the PGA TOUR since 2004, with a total of 202 (53%) Vokey sand, gap and lob wedges in play this week in Bermuda, more than all competitors combined.
Adding to her already breakout and historic season, Lilia Vu (Pro V1x) birdied two of her final four holes Sunday to win by three shots and claim her fourth LPGA title of the year.
The reigning Chevron Championship and AIG Women’s Open champion, Vu followed a Saturday 8-under 62 with a closing 66 to finish the week at 19 under. The 26-year-old was in complete control from tee to green, hitting 49 of 56 fairways (88%) and 61 of 72 greens in regulation (85%).
Vu, who dropped only one shot over the weekend, led a 1-through-6 finish for Pro V1 or Pro V1x players:
Lilia Vu made the move to 2023 Pro V1x to begin the season, having tested the ball at home during the offseason. In her first LPGA start with the new model, at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February, she captured her first career LPGA victory.
Both 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x are engineered with high gradient core designs that deliver lower long game spin for increased distance and a more consistent flight, while maintaining the Drop-and-Stop greenside control that Pro V1 and Pro V1x players rely on to play their best.
“It helped bring down the spin and it was just perfect for my game,” she said. “Yeah, everything about it. The biggest thing for me is I really wanted the same feel coming out of the old golf ball. It just happened to be that way, so it worked out really well.”
Vu went on to win her first major title at the Chevron Championship, before earning major No. 2 at the AIG Women’s Open. Her victory Sunday marks the fourth of the season and her career.
The winner of the ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge trusted the same Vokey Design SM9 56.10S and 60.08M wedges and Scotty Cameron GOLO 5 tour prototype putter that she used to win her three prior titles this season.
Max Homa earned the first international victory of his career with a commanding tee-to-green performance in Sun City. Homa, gaming a Pro V1 golf ball and full bag of Titleist equipment, including TSR3 driver, NEW T150 3 iron, Vokey SM9 wedges and Scotty Cameron putter, was the only player to post four rounds in the 60’s for the week, reaching 19 under to win by four shots.
Heading into the final round with a one-stroke lead, Homa came out strong, making four birdies over his first six holes. On the par-5 9th, Homa faced a 240-yard second shot from the right rough to an island green guarded by water on all sides. He pulled his new T150 3 iron and sent his Pro V1 towering towards the pin, landing and stopping just 19 feet from the cup. He drained the eagle putt to extend his advantage, adding two more birdies on the back nine to put the finishing touches on a Sunday 66.
- Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 50.12F, 56.14F, WedgeWorks 60A wedges | KBS $-Taper 130 X-Flex (46), KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 Wedge Heavy Tip 135 X-Flex (50, 56), KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 Wedge Heavy Tip 120 Proto (60)
Homa’s week-to-week setup typically includes his TSR2 21.0 fairway, which fits the gap between his 3 wood and T100•S 4 iron. Ahead of the Ryder Cup this year, Homa began looking for an alternative to his 7 wood, seeking a reliable option off the tee in an iron profile. The gamer that found its way into Homa’s bag at Marco Simone was a T150 3 iron (KBS Tour 105g Prototype Graphite Hybrid X-Flex).
“I knew at Marco Simone we were going to need to hit the ball straight,” said Homa on the No Laying Up podcast. “So had J.J. [Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist Director of Player Promotions] make me a bunch of different [3 irons] with different shafts and found this one I loved. And it was really useful out there, especially in the afternoons when the ball got running, you could really use it off the tee. So they're just easier to hit. I feel like they're very versatile and I hadn't really hit many 3 irons off the ground. It's usually just been off the tee, but one of my favorite shots of the week was a 3 iron off the fairway on a par 5 that flew just like 4 or 5 iron do. And it was really fun to have that versatility. So that whole T100, T150 series has been a big advantage I feel like I've had in my bag.”
This week was Homa’s first start since the Ryder Cup, and his T150 3 iron stayed in the bag. During Sunday’s final round, Homa used it on the par-5 9th from 240 yards in the rough and saw his Pro V1 finish 19 feet from the hole. He converted the eagle putt and went out in 31.
Max Homa gamed four Vokey wedges, including a WedgeWorks 60A lob wedge, on his way to earning his ninth professional victory. The WedgeWorks 60A is a low-bounce lob wedge designed for golfers playing in firmer course conditions who have a shallow delivery. It features four degrees of bounce and a smoothed-out sole that provides a faster feel through the turf and helps players slide under the ball in tight conditions.
Currently available for a limited time on Vokey.com, the 60A was born out of feedback from former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who had been playing Vokey’s popular L Grind.
“I spoke with Geoff (Ogilvy), and we got on the topic of Australian golf courses and how they compared to courses in America and around the world,” said Vokey Tour Representative Aaron Dill. “I asked him some specific questions which resulted in an idea to design another lob wedge grind option that complemented the firm links-style conditions that players face – not just in Australia and Europe – but globally. Geoff has always been a low bounce player in his 60-degree, so I took his 60.04L wedge and removed the ribbon, resulting in a grind that moves through the turf quickly with very little resistance.”
Homa, who typically plays a 60.04L, had previously put the A Grind in play at Royal Liverpool at the Open Championship this summer to adjust for the firmer conditions before returning to his L Grind for the remainder of the season.
Wyndham Clark also gamed the A Grind to win the U.S. Open at LACC this year, while Tom Kim has had his 60A in his winning setup for each of his three PGA TOUR titles.
Steven Alker (Pro V1) posted 18 under over four rounds at Phoenix Country Club to win the season-finale Charles Schwab Cup Championship by one shot. The win, Alker’s third of the season, saw him jump two spots up the standings to finish 2nd in his campaign to defend the season-long Charles Schwab Cup. Alker was steady all week long, finishing T3 in Greens in Regulation (55/72, 76%), 3rd in Scrambling (14/17, 82%) and 1st in Sand Saves (6/6).
Over the 2023 PGA Tour Champions season, 25 of 28 total tournaments were won using a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball.
Steve Stricker (Pro V1x) captured the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup, having won six times in 16 starts on the year, including three major championships (Regions Tradition, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, Kaulig Companies Championship). In addition to his six victories, Stricker finished runner-up on five occasions, and finished outside the top 8 just once in his 16 starts (T15 finish). Over the course of the year, the 56-year-old finished with the lowest scoring average (69.54) and ranked 1st in Scrambling (74.5%) as well as 2nd in Greens in Regulation (76.4%).
In the KPGA’s 2023 season finale, Sanghun Shin (Pro V1x) made birdie on the third hole of an all-Titleist golf ball playoff to earn his second career KPGA title. Shin shot a final round 69 to post 8 under and force extra holes with Titleist Brand Ambassadors Seonghyeon Jeon (Pro V1) and Jaekyeong Lee (Pro V1x) before breaking the deadlock with his winning birdie.
The winner of the LG Signature Players Championship played a TSR3 9.0 driver, TSi2 15.0 fairway and a Scotty Cameron Newport Masterful tour prototype putter that he used to roll in the winning 7-foot birdie putt.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Ben Campbell birdied his final two holes to win his first career Asian Tour title by one. Campbell, gaming a Pro V1 golf ball, TSR2 driver, T100 irons and Vokey SM9 wedges, shot rounds of 66-64-65-66 for the week on his way to posting 19 under, one clear of Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Smith.
WITB | Ben Campbell: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR2 10.0 driver; TSR2 13.5 fairway; TSR3 19.0 hybrid; T100 4-P irons; Vokey Design SM9 50F, 56.08M, 60.10S wedges
WITB | Cameron Smith: Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSR3 10.0 driver; TS2 21.0 fairway; NEW T150 5 iron, NEW T100 6-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 52.08F, 56.08M and WedgeWorks 60T wedges; Scotty Cameron 009M tour prototype putter
Shugo Imahira (Pro V1x) posted 12 under for the week to win by one. The victory marks Imahira’s second of the season and ninth of his career, and he moves to No. 3 in the season-long money list with three events remaining.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Kerry Mountcastle won for the first time on the PGA Tour of Australasia, defeating all five of his opponents in the event’s 6-hole matches on Sunday. Mountcastle, who now moves to No. 1 in the season’s Order of Merit and gains entry to the upcoming Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open, earned a berth in Sunday’s one-on-one, sudden-death matches by surviving a 10-person playoff after the tournament’s first 54 holes of open stroke play.
WITB | Kerry Mountcastle: Titleist Pro V1 golf ball; TSR2 driver; TSR2 fairway; TSi hybrid; T100 irons; Vokey Design SM9 wedges; Scotty Cameron Newport putter
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- Eric Soderstrom
- Director, Tour Communications
- eric_soderstrom@acushnetgolf.com
- 508-979-3028