PGA TOUR | RSM Classic

Playing a Pro V1 golf ball, Talor Gooch posted a flawless 6-under 64 on Sunday at Sea Island to claim his first PGA TOUR victory.

• The 30-year-old former Oklahoma State standout birdied four of his first six holes on the back nine on his way to a three-shot victory.
• For the week, Gooch ranked second in both Strokes Gained: Approach (+6.28) and SG: Around the Green (+2.88), while hitting 60 of 72 (83.3%) greens in regulation.
• He was also fifth in Scrambling at 83%. Gooch’s victory was his third finish of T-5 or better, and fifth finish of T-11 or better, of the fall season.
• He enters the offseason at No. 1 in the FedEx Cup Season Standings and No. 33 in the World Ranking.

TOP 15 FINISHERS TRUST PRO V1

• Every single player in the top 15 at Sea Island played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, led by a trio of Pro V1 players: Gooch, runner-up Mackenzie Hughes and Sebastian Munoz (Pro V1 Left Dot), who finished solo third.

GOOCH ON HIS PRO V1

• “I love the Pro V1 simply because of reliability, consistency. At the highest level that we play, you have to have consistency. You have to have reliability. For me, it’s very important to be able to control the flight of my golf ball, and the Pro V1 is great at that. When I need to hit it low, it stays low on me. When I need to get one up in the air, it can get up in the air easy. So those are super crucial to what I do, and the Pro V is the best. 
• “For us around the greens, it’s super crucial to have control, to have spin control, to have height control. If I need to flop one up and get some air on it, the Pro V can do that. If I need to hit a low nipper, the Pro V can do that. I know what the ball’s going to do around the greens. And when we’re trying to be as precise as we are on the PGA TOUR, you’ve got to be able to rely on the ball to do what it’s supposed to do. So that’s why it’s so important that I play the Pro V1 because there’s no ball better for controlling trajectory, for consistency, and that’s why I love it.”

HOW GOOCH MARKS HIS PRO V1

• “I’m from Oklahoma, and I like to, when I mark my golf ball, make sure everyone knows I’m from Oklahoma. So, over the number, whatever the number is, I like to write “405” because that’s the area code of where I’m from and where I still live. So instead of Titleist [1, 2, 3 or 4], it becomes a Titleist 405.”

FORMER U.S. OPEN CHAMPION SWITCHES TO TSi DRIVER

• The 2013 U.S. Open champion put a new Titleist TSi4 driver in play this week at Sea Island on his way to a T-12 finish that included a final-round 65 in which he hit 13 of 14 fairways (93%) and averaged 310.7 yards off the tee.
• Working on the range Tuesday with Titleist Tour Rep Larry Silveira, he tested a TSi4 9.0° with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 70 in two setups – one at 44.5 inches with the SureFit hosel set at B•2, the other at 45 inches in the C•2 setting – versus the competitive model he had been playing.
• With TSi4, according to Silveira, he was seeing up to 3 mph faster ball speed with the drawing ball flight he prefers. The 44.5” provided better control and more consistent flight, with the same speed gain as the 45” setup.
• He also plays a Pro V1 Left Dot golf ball and three Vokey Design wedges.
• For the ninth consecutive week to start the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Season, the most played driver at Sea Island was Titleist TSi.
• A total of 53 players teed up Titleist drivers, nine more than the nearest competitor, with 51 of them being TSi2 (10), TSi3 (35) or TSi4 (6) models.

LPGA | CME Group Tour Championship

Pro V1 loyalist Jin Young Ko ended the 2021 LPGA season by hitting 63 consecutive greens in regulation, propelling her to a new tournament scoring record (23 under) and one-shot victory at the LPGA’s season finale.

• Ko, who did not practice this week at Tiburon GC due to a nagging wrist injury, hit every fairway and every green in her final-round 9-under 63, securing Ko her fifth LPGA victory of the season (and 12th of her career), along with the $1.5 million prize and Rolex Player of the Year honors for the second time in three seasons.
• For the week, she hit 91% (51 of 56) of fairways and 93% (67 of 72) greens in regulation.
• She totaled 26 birdies, including a stretch of seven consecutive birdies from Nos. 2-8 during Round 3.
• In her last nine events to end the season, Ko had more wins (five) than rounds in the 70s (four), along with 11 bogey-free rounds, a 67.4 scoring average and hit 87.8% greens in regulation.

LYDIA KO WINS VARE TROPHY

• Lydia Ko (Pro V1x) claimed the LPGA’s Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average (minimum 70 rounds).
• She finished with a 69.34 mark over her 73 rounds, capped by a closing 8-under 64 Sunday.
• It was the sixth final round of 65 or better in 2021 for Ko, who won once and had 10 top-10 finishes.
• Said Ko: “It’s really special because obviously it sums up the whole season. All the other things do, too, but at the end of the day golf is about how consistently well you can play and what kind of low score you can shoot.”

WIN NO. 12 FOR TITLEIST DRIVERS ON LPGA

• Playing a Titleist TSi3 driver, the winner of the CME Group Tour Championship claimed win No. 12 for Titleist drivers (11 for TSi models) on the 2021 LPGA Tour.
• She first put her Titleist TSi3 11.0° model into play at the KIA Classic in late March, making a mid-tournament switch from a competitive model.
• Following the first round, she made the short drive from Aviara GC in Carlsbad, Calif., to the Titleist Performance Institute in nearby Oceanside to test the new TSi models.
• It took no more than 30 minutes for her to get dialed in to a TSi3 11.0° driver with a Graphite Design IZ 5R shaft (45”), while working with Titleist fitters Aaron Luttrell and Nick Geyer.
• The new setup, which she gamed for Round 2, delivered added ball speed with a more optimal spin number for increased carry distance.
• Over the final three rounds that week, she averaged 264 yards off the tee, 12 yards longer than her Round 1 average.
• She’s had it in the bag ever since. This week, she hit 51 of 56 fairways (91.8%), including all 14 on Sunday, and averaged 260 yards off the tee.

CHAMPION PLAYS TSi METALS, VOKEY WEDGES, SCOTTY CAMERON PUTTER

• In addition to her Pro V1 golf ball, the winner of the CME Group Tour Championship had a total of eight Titleist clubs in the bag, the majority of which she put into play for the first time in September at the Cambria Portland Classic, her second of five wins on the season.
• Having worked with Titleist fitters in Korea following the Olympics, she added two TSi2 fairways (15.0°, 18.0°), two TSi2 hybrids (21.0°, 24.0°), three Vokey Design SM8 wedges (50.08F, 52.08F, 58.06K) and a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 putter to the bag.
• She had been playing a TSi3 11.0° driver since the Kia Classic in late March. (Note: She put both TSi2 hybrids in play at Portland, using only the 21.0 this week). 

CHAMPION WINS AGAIN WITH PHANTOM X 5.5

• The winner of the CME Group Tour Championship claimed her fourth LPGA title and seventh top-6 finish in seven starts since putting a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 putter in play.
• She switched to the Phantom X 5.5 from a competitive mallet model following a fitting session with Scotty Cameron fitter Eric Kong in Korea, where she took an extended break after a T-9 finish at the Olympics.
• She debuted her new Phantom X 5.5 – inspired by the putter Justin Thomas has used for 13 of his 14 PGA TOUR wins – several weeks later at the Cambria Portland Classic, where she needed only 78 putts over 54 holes (1.44 average) on her way to a four-shot win.
• “I changed this putter five or six weeks ago in Korea, and I use this putter four weeks in a row from the Portland and here,” she said after her victory at Cognizant Founders Cup. “I got two wins with this putter and two top-10s, so, yeah, I think I will love this putter (smiling).” 

EUROPEAN TOUR | DP World Tour Championship

Titleist was the most played golf ball, driver, iron, and wedge among the field of 53 players who earned their way to the European Tour’s season finale: 

• 34 players teed up a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball in Dubai, compared to nine for the nearest competitor.
• For the second consecutive season, Titleist was the most player driver at the DP World Tour Championship. Eighteen players had a Titleist driver in the bag, with all 18 playing TSi models. TSi3 was the field favorite (16 players), as it was all season long on the European Tour.
• More players (15) had Titleist irons in play in Dubai than any other brand (Nearest competitor: 11).
• There were more than twice as many Vokey Design wedges (87) in play than the nearest competitor (35). 

JAPAN TOUR | Dunlop Phoenix

Pro V1x loyalist Chan Kim birdied his final two holes Sunday, closing in 8-under 63 to win by one shot.

• It was the second victory of the season (and seventh of his career) for Chan, who moved to No. 1 on the Japan Tour money list and 63rd in the World Ranking.
• Last month, Kim finished T-15 at the PGA TOUR’s Zozo Championship.
• He’s also played in the last three major championships, making the cut at the PGA Championship (T-23) and Open Championship (T-53).

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