Titleist Brand Ambassador Peter Malnati was unflappable down the stretch Sunday, coming home in 31 to win his second PGA TOUR title by two shots while leading a 1-2-3-4 finish for Titleist golf ball players.
Of the 13 events played this season on the PGA TOUR, 12 have been won with either a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball model.
Malnati, trusting his Pro V1x Yellow golf ball and full bag of Titleist equipment, including his TSR3 driver, blended set of T-Series irons, NEW Vokey SM10 wedges and Scotty Cameron putter, shot a final round 4-under 67 to reach his winning 12-under total.
Malnati, 36, was in total control of his golf ball on the back nine on Sunday, hitting eight of nine greens and converting four birdies from stellar approach shots to pull away from the pack:
Over the 72 holes in Tampa, Malnati made a field-best 20 birdies. He gained 3.45 strokes on the field off the tee (4th) and over eight shots (8.31, 3rd) on the field on the greens. He led the field in putts per GIR (1.60) and ranked T5 in GIR (65.28%, 47/72).
Vokey Design SM10 48.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M (@57), 60.04T (@62) wedges | True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
MALNATI MAKES IT 12-OF-13 FOR TITLEIST GOLF BALL PLAYERS IN 2024, LEADS 1-2-3-4 FINISH FOR PRO V1 & PRO V1x AT VALSPAR
Peter Malnati’s victory at the Valspar marked the 12th victory for Titleist golf ball players through the first 13 events to start the 2024 PGA TOUR season:
• “I remember I was out on the course with J.J. [Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist Director of Player Promotions] in San Antonio, maybe in 2016 or ’17. I was playing [Pro V1] and I loved the way the V flew off the driver, but J.J. was just watching some iron shots. He's like, ‘Man, I think we could get you some more control. We can get you the flight you want by doing other stuff with the driver, shaft, loft, whatever. But your iron play, you’re just going to have more control of the ball. It’s going to stop faster on the greens for you in the X. And I’ve played it ever since and it has been right. My iron stats have improved. All the elements of the game are important out here, but being able to hit it on the green, get it close to the hole – that’s what it’s all about.”
• “It's the perfect ball for me, gives me just the right amount of spin off the irons and wedges to feel like I’m totally in control. And it still obviously has a great flight with the longer clubs too.
• “I started using it (Pro V1x Yellow) in Minnesota at the 3M Championship last summer. And the reason I switched to it is because my, at the time, 3-year-old, who is now four, liked them. And so, he's kind of over it now, but it still makes me think of him, and that’s worth a smile or two, which is worth a lot out there for me.”
Peter Malnati took his blended set of T-Series irons (T200 4 iron, T150 5 iron, T100 6-9 irons; True Temper AMT Tour White S400 shafts) to the winner’s circle, putting on a ballstriking clinic on Sunday. Malnati gained 2.79 shots on the field with his approach play in the final round and hit eight of nine greens on the demanding back nine. One of Malnati’s best shots came on the 198-yard par-3 17th. Tied for the lead, he pulled his T150 5 iron and took dead aim, sticking his Pro V1x to 6 feet, 2 inches from the cup. He converted the birdie to go up one shot with one to play.
Malnati’s T150 5 iron was a new addition to his bag this season, and he first put it in play at the Sony Open seeking more height and forgiveness.
“I’ve played a T200 4-iron for several generations, and that’s a great transition for me because it’s a little bit more forgiving, but just easy height,” he said. “I was like, if the 150 is kind of in the middle, would that be a nice transition to go to that in the 5 iron? So J.J. sent me one, just purely experimental, but instantly, my carry distance was the same, but launch was a little higher and height was a little higher. And I can easily make it go lower if I need to, but I can't necessarily easily make it go higher if I need to. So that club, having the same look and feel as my [T100] 5 iron, but just launching it a little higher without losing any speed or carry distance seems like a no brainer.”
Said Malnati of his Sunday 5-iron at 17: “I remember telling my caddie I needed to make a 2 – I needed to hit it 208. And 208’s a pretty big 5 iron for me, but in the situation I was in, it was just a very normal 5-iron. ... But that was really fun in that moment to just step up, not overthink it, just it's a full 5 iron at the TV tower, go. And to watch that ball fly was a really cool feeling, to have it like tracking the hole there, that was really nice.”
Gaming his TSR3 9.0 driver (Project X Denali Blue 60 TX), Peter Malnati gained over three shots on the field off the tee (+3.45), setting himself up for field-best 20 birdies.
Titleist has been the most played driver on the PGA TOUR for five seasons and counting, with a total of 60 players (39%) gaming a Titleist driver this week in Tampa, 27 more than the nearest competitor.
That list also included Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Young, who finished two shots back in solo second. Young, gaming a TSR3 9.0 driver (Accra Tour Z5 65 M5) as well as a TSR 2W 13.0 prototype 2-wood, led the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, gaining 4.95 shots.
Peter Malnati made the move to four NEW Vokey Design SM10 wedges – 48.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M (@57) and 60.04T (@62) – in his first opportunity earlier this season at the American Express Championship. His victory Sunday makes it four straight wins – and five of the last six – for players gaming Vokey Design wedges on the PGA TOUR:
• Valspar Championship – Peter Malnati (NEW Vokey Design SM10 48.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M (@57), 60.04T (@62) wedges)
• THE PLAYERS Championship & Arnold Palmer Invitational Champion (Vokey Design SM8 50.12F, 56.14F, SM9 WedgeWorks 60T wedges)
Malnati on his lob wedge setup: “At the advice of [Vokey Wedge Rep] Aaron Dill a couple of years ago, I was struggling with some of my pitch shots around the greens, feeling like I was just having to work too hard to hit those ones where the chipping area sits down low and the green sits up high. And he said, ‘you want to try a 62-degree?’ And so I did... And I've had a 62 in the bag ever since. And it helps me a lot.”
Peter Malnati gained over eight strokes on the field (+8.31, 3rd) with his Scotty Cameron TourType Special Select Masterful 1.5 tour prototype putter this week at Innisbrook, leading the field in putts per GIR (1.60) with the Newport-style blade.
Malnati first put his current gamer in play at last season’s Farmers Insurance Open after a testing session with Scotty Cameron Tour Rep Brad Cloke. In the two events leading up to the Farmers, Malnati had tried a Phantom X 11.5 mallet.
“I wanted him to get back to his feels, get back to feeling the blade and not fighting the mallet,” Cloke said. “He experimented with higher MOI, but he’s a feel guy, he doesn’t get real technical. He’s more of, I see it, I want to feel it. This was something that allowed him to get back to putting naturally, like he does. He’s stuck with it ever since Farmers and his putting stats have been outstanding.”
Jesper Svensson (Pro V1) prevailed in a sudden-death playoff to earn his first DP World Tour title, having shot a course record-matching final round 63 to force extra holes. Svensson, 28, began Sunday five shots off the lead before starting birdie-birdie-eagle. He went out in 30 and continued to take it deep on the back nine, eventually signing for a 9-under round that featured eight birdies and two eagles. Clutch birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 saw him reach 17 under, sending him back to the 18th tee for a playoff. Svensson matched his opponent with a birdie and a par on the first two go-arounds before making a tournament-winning par on the third extra hole.
For the week in Singapore, Svensson was in total control of his Pro V1, gaining 2.72 strokes on the field off the tee, 1.56 strokes with his approach play and 3.48 strokes around the green.
Playing a Pro V1 golf ball, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington secured his seventh PGA TOUR Champions victory at Newport Beach CC. Harrington made six birdies in his final round — including three in his last four holes — to reach 14-under-par for the tournament and win by one shot. This followed Harrington’s impressive closing stretch on Saturday, which included an eagle and two birdies in his final four holes. He is projected to jump to No. 5 in the Schwab Cup standings.
The winner of the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship gamed a Vokey Design SM9 WedgeWorks 58T lob wedge and a Scotty Cameron Squareback 2 tour prototype putter en route to her 10th LPGA victory.
The winner of the first event of the PGA Tour Americas season trusted his Pro V1 golf ball to emerge victorious from a four-hole, sudden-death playoff. The champion birdied the par-3 17th and made par on the last to card a 1-under 71 on Sunday and post 4 under for the week. After matching his opponent on three trips down the 18th hole, the winner broke the deadlock on the par-4 10th to win his first TOUR-sanctioned event.
Having moved to the 2023 Pro V1 golf ball from a competitive brand just two weeks ago, the winner of the Stella Artois Players Championship birdied his final three holes to card a final round 8-under 64 and end an 11-year win drought. The champion’s final round was his fourth consecutive round of 67 or better (64-65-67-64), and his 28-under total saw him win by one shot.
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- Eric Soderstrom
- Director, Tour Communications
- eric_soderstrom@acushnetgolf.com
- 508-979-3028