PGA TOUR | Open Championship
Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Smith lifted the Claret Jug Sunday in St. Andrews, claiming his first major championship with an historic final round at the Home of Golf.
- Smith – playing a Pro V1x golf ball, NEW TSR3 driver, T100 irons, NEW Vokey Design SM9 wedges and Scotty Cameron putter among his Titleist equipment – made five consecutive birdies from holes 10 through 14 on his way to a final-nine 30, the lowest nine-hole score all-time by an Open Champion.
- He finished with a bogey-free 8-under 64, the lowest final round by an Open Champion at the Old Course.
- Smith’s eighth and final birdie of the day, a 2-footer on the 18th hole, earned him the one-shot victory over Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Young, whose closing 65 was punctuated by an eagle after driving the 18th green with his NEW TSR3 driver and rolling in his Pro V1 Left Dot golf ball from 17 feet with his Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11 Knuckle Neck tour prototype.
- Young’s runner-up was the best finish by a player at St. Andrews making their Open debut since 1964.
What’s in Cameron Smith’s Titleist Golf Bag?
Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: TSR3 10.0° | Fujikura Ventus Blue 60 X
Fairway Metals: TSi2 15.0° | Fujikura Ventus Blue 80 X
Irons: NEW T100 5-9 | KBS Tour 130 Custom Matte Black X
Wedges: NEW Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 52.08F, 56.08M, 60T | KBS Tour 130 Custom Matte Black X
Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M tour prototype
What’s in Cameron Young’s Titleist Golf Bag?
Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
Driver: TSR3 10.0° | Tensei 1K Pro White 70 TX | SureFit Hosel – D1 (-0.75° loft, 1.5° open face) | SureFit CG – H1
Fairway Metal: TSR3 16.5° | Tensei 1K Pro White 80 TX
Utility Iron: NEW T200 2 & 4 | Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 130 X
Irons: 620 CB (5) and 620 MB (6-9)| Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 130 X
Wedges: NEW Vokey Design SM9 56.08M, 52.12F, WedgeWorks 62.08M | Nippon NS Pro Modus3 Tour 130 X
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5 Knuckle Neck tour prototype
MAJOR SWEEP FOR PRO V1 & PRO V1x
- Cameron Smith's victory completed a sweep of all four men’s major championships for Titleist golf ball players in 2022:
- The #1 ball at The Open Championship since records have been kept, Titleist was the overwhelming most played golf ball at St. Andrews with 109 players (70%), more than five times the nearest competitor (21).
SMITH ON THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS PRO V1x
- Smith's major breakthrough marked his third victory of 2022 and win No. 26 for Titleist golf ball players overall this season on the PGA TOUR.
- Smith put his current golf ball – 2021 Pro V1x – in play the first week it was available at the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
- A month later, he teed the ball up at Augusta National, where he became the first player in Masters history to post four rounds in the 60’s.
- He opened 2022 with a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and followed that up with a victory at The PLAYERS.
- “The biggest thing for me with the [2021 Pro V1x] is the cover and the stickiness it gives me around the greens. I feel as though I can hit a lot of different scoring shots into and around the green... For me, when I tested it, it was a bit hotter off the driver, which was great. The windows were great. The spin was still the same. The irons were basically the same which I love. But for me, the biggest thing that stuck out was the control coming out of the rough and around the greens. So like inside 40-50 yards, just the stickiness of it. I feel as though I can control my shots, especially those difficult, soft shots, just so much better with that new cover they got on there. … I love to be creative around the green, so hitting those high, spinny shots and just being able to hit different shots is really important for me.”
- Sunday at the Old Course, Smith hit 17 greens in regulation, the most in a final round by an Open champion over the last 20 years. He finished the week 15th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 19th in SG: Around the Green.
- His eight birdies in the final round were the second-most by a major champion over the last 25 years.
- “This ball is fantastic in the wind,” he said. “It’s just consistent. I feel like I can really dial in my numbers, especially with the shorter irons, and give myself plenty of birdie looks.”
NEW TSR DRIVER VICTORIOUS IN MAJOR DEBUT
- The NEW Titleist TSR Drivers made their major debut at the Open Championship, with Smith bringing his new TSR3 10.0° driver to the winner’s circle in St. Andrews.
- In the five weeks since making their tour debut at the Travelers Championship, players using TSR drivers have now earned two PGA TOUR victories, including one major. (J.T. Poston earned the first win for TSR at the John Deere Classic.)
- “Cam loves everything that TSR has brought to the table in terms of ball speed and consistency,” said J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s Director of Player Promotions. “He’s done a bunch of testing with both the TSR2 and TSR3 models, but when it comes to windy conditions, he really likes the feeling of being able to work the ball more. Going with TSR3 this week in St. Andrews not only helped him flatten his trajectory, it gave him that added workability versus the higher-MOI TSR2, providing him the versatility to shape shots and take advantage of the different winds on different holes.”
- Cameron Young, who drove the 18th green to set up his closing eagle, made it a 1-2 finish for TSR driver players.
- Young finished the week fourth in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green with his TSR3 10.0° model.
- “I’ve loved it. I put it right in play last week,” he said. “It feels very much like the old one, but just a little faster. And I feel like especially the toe miss for me, I haven’t gotten as much curve out of it, which is obviously a good thing. It seems to be a little bit more consistent on my misses. I’ve put it right in play and it’s been great.”
- Three of the year’s four major champions gamed a Titleist driver:
MAJOR SWEEP FOR VOKEY WEDGES
- All four men’s major champions had Vokey Design wedges in the bag in 2022, with Smith using four NEW SM9 models to navigate the Old Course’s firm, undulating turf.
- The last three major champion each carried three or four new SM9’s.
- The Masters champion: Vokey Design SM8 50.12F, 56.14F, WedgeWorks 60.06K
- Justin Thomas (PGA Championship): NEW Vokey Design SM9 46.10F (@ 47.5), 52.12F (@ 52.5), 56.14F (@ 57.0), WedgeWorks 60.06K
- U.S. Open champion: NEW Vokey Design SM9 52.12F, 56.08M, 60.08M
- Cameron Smith (Open Championship): NEW Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 52.08F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60T
- Said Smith in the lead up to The Open: “You know, I think you have to be comfortable with almost being uncomfortable, in these conditions. I’m hitting some pitching wedges, and gap wedges from 50, 60 yards, which is not something that we typically do. So yeah, lots of practice, lots of flight and spin control, and I think that’s how you get the most out of it. I try not to change up my technique too much, to be honest. I like to just switch the wedges around it. I don’t put the ball further back, and try and hit more down on it, or anything. I’m trying to keep everything the same, just using different lofts.”
- “I think these new Vokey wedges, as well, in the wind are a lot better, especially into the wind. The 46, and the 52, for me, have been a big, big help in the wind. The ball just flights the way I want it to, and the golf balls are best in the world, so it just does what it does.”
- Vokey Tour Rep Aaron Dill on Smith’s wedge setup: “Cam is so talented. He just has a great touch and understands how to find the bottom. He’s also really good at understanding which ones fit him the best. That’s why, for so long, he’s played the same five wedges – the 46.10, the 52.08, the 56M grind, and he’ll go back and forth between the 60.10S and the 60T.
- “He just understands that if the conditions need it, he’ll make the switch. If it gets softer, he’ll go to the S. If it stays firm, he’ll stick with the T. But the first three are really plug-and-play, he can use them from everywhere. And because he’s so good with his hands, he can get away with a little bit less bounce and actually add some versatility to a short game, which is why that M grind, the sand wedge is a good friend as well.”
- The Vokey T grind was such a popular choice this week at the Old Course that Vokey Tour Rep Aaron Dill ran out of heads on the Titleist Tour Van.
- Young also played a 60T (bent to 62) among his four Vokey SM9’s.
- “There’s this trend at this event with these conditions where a T grind really outperforms most of the other grinds we make, just due to how it’s made and what it does. The rear section of the sole of the T grind is the lowest rear section we make, meaning when he opens up the face of the wedge, it sits as close to the ground as anything that we build in the Vokey line. So for guys to say, ‘This one fits me the best here,’ it makes a lot of sense. So I’m not surprised that a T grind was in the winner’s bag.”
SMITH CONTINUES TO MAKE HISTORY WITH SCOTTY CAMERON 009M
- Smith and his Newport-style Scotty Cameron 009M tour prototype putter continue to make history.
- Smith led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, while making a record 255 feet of putts during his second round at the Old Course – the highest total ever registered in one round on the PGA TOUR.
- On Sunday, Smith used his 009M to get up-and-down for par from behind the Road Hole bunker, and then up-and-down for birdie on the 18th hole, just right of the Valley of Sin.
- Earlier this season at The PLAYERS, Smith gained the most strokes putting versus the field in tournament history (+2.88 per round).
- He also finished with the most one-putts ever by a PLAYERS champ (42).
- “I’ve always been a little bit of a fiddler with the putter, but yeah, I just really like this one,” said Smith, who changed to the Newport-style 009M model at the 2021 Sony Open. “It just feels great in the hands. I feel like I’m able to hit really good lag putts with it, which is a big thing out here. We leave ourselves some pretty nasty putts sometimes. I feel like I’m able to get the ball rolling real good. And the biggest thing for me is the strike. So I just feel like I hit lots of good putts with it out of the middle and it feels so good.”
- “I've always loved the (alignment) dot on top. I’ve never been a line guy. I feel like I can just feel the putt a little bit better. When I don’t get so obsessed with the line, I feel like I'm able to just hit a good putt and a good putt out of the middle means more chances of going in.”
- Three of the year’s four major champions used a Scotty Cameron putter
- The Masters champion: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS tour prototype
- Justin Thomas (PGA Championship): Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5 Knuckle Neck tour prototype
- Cameron Smith (Open Championship): Scotty Cameron 009M tour prototype
SMITH ON HIS T100 IRONS
- Smith hit 17 greens in regulation at the Old Course Sunday, the most in a final round by an Open champion over the last 20 years.
- He plays T100 irons (with a prototype black finish) that he put into play immediately at last season’s Travelers Championship.
- “I put these in as soon as we got them. They’ve been really good,” Smith said. “I love the consistency. I think they did a lot of really good work, especially on the shorter irons with grinding this heel a little bit. So when you get a bit of an uneven lie, you don’t feel like the heel's digging in and you’re missing shots left.”
LPGA | Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational
Jennifer Kupcho (Pro V1) and Lizette Salas (Pro V1x) posted a final-round 61 (-9) for a 26-under victory total at Midland Country Club.
- The pair closed with a final-nine 30 to finish five shots clear of Pro V1x loyalists Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan in the tournament’s four-ball format.
- Castren made eight birdies on her own ball during Sunday’s final round.
- With 122 players, over 84 percent of the field teed up a Titleist golf ball this week, more than 11 times the nearest competitor (11).
PGA TOUR | Barracuda Championship
Chez Reavie (Pro V1) tallied 43 points in the Modified Stableford Scoring System, good for a one-point win at the Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee, Calif.
- Final round birdies at Nos. 8, 9, 12 and 16, and a par at 18 secured the crown.
WINNER PLAYS VOKEY SM9’s
- In addition to his Pro V1 golf ball, the winner leaned on his Vokey Design SM9 gap (50.12F), sand (54.10S) and lob (58.10S) wedges to lead the field in Scrambling (84.2%) and tie for 8th in Greens in Regulation.
KORN FERRY TOUR | Memorial Health Championship
Paul Haley II (Pro V1x) secured his PGA TOUR card for next season with a bogey-free final round 64 and three-shot victory.
- Haley led a 1-2-3 finish for Titleist golf ball players.
- Austin Eckroat (Pro V1) closed in 68 to finish second, while Michael Kim (Pro V1x) posted a final-round 67 to finish another shot back in third.
- Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls were played by 12 of the top 13 finishers, as well as 22 of the top 25 for the week.
ELITE AMATEUR SERIES | Southern Amateur
The winner of the Southern Amateur Championship trusted his Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash and 14 Titleist clubs to victory in Sea Island, Georgia.
- Birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 propelled the victor to a three-shot win with a final score of 20-under par 264 at Sea Island’s Plantation.
- The win marks back-to-back victories for a Pro V1x ball and a Scotty Cameron putter in the Elite Amateur Series, which has two events remaining this summer.
What’s in the Bag of the Southern Am Champion?
Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash
Driver: TSi3 10.0°
Fairway Metal: TSi2 13.5°
Utility Iron: T200 (Utility Build) 3
Irons: 620 CB 4-6 irons; 620 MB 7-PW
Wedges: Vokey Design 50.12F, 54.10S, 58.08M
Putter: Scotty Cameron Timeless tour prototype putter.
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