The second major championship of the year is right around the corner, and many of the best players in the world have come to Memphis, Tennessee to make their final U.S. Open preparations under tournament pressure at the PGA Tour's FedEx St. Jude Classic.
TPC Southwind plays host this week and one player who has felt right at home on the par-70, 7,244-yard layout is Titleist golf ball loyalist Daniel Berger (Pro V1x). Berger set a mark of 9-under to establish a three-shot lead heading into Saturday's action. He mastered the course's narrow driving lanes and challenging water hazards on Friday, following up an opening round of 67 with a blistering 6-under-par 64.
"Feels nice especially the greens and rough being bermuda," said Berger after his second round. "That's what I grew up playing my entire career so it's pretty easy for me to adjust. I'm hitting the ball well and that's obviously a big key to being in the fairway. If you're in the fairway you can attack some flags. It's not an overly long course. Pretty firm and fast. I hit it in the fairway all day and hit some nice shots in there."
Joining Berger in the final group on Saturday will be Titleist Brand Ambassador Tom Hoge (Pro V1x). Hoge, who opened with a 5-under-par 65, escaped trouble throughout his round on Friday to post a 1-under 69.
"I knew it was a hard golf course," said Hoge. "I saw the scores weren't really moving that much. I tried to hang in there. At some point for the 72-hole tournament (I knew) I would have a stretch like that, having problems getting it in the fairway. Luckily I made a few par saving putts, luckily found a few birdies at the end."
Chasing a victory on this difficult golf course may be exactly what is needed for players to seize momentum and jump-start a run at the national championship next week.
Berger explained his approach to capturing a win this week by saying, "If it happens, it happens. If not, it's a great learning experience and it will help me next week. Just trying to prepare as well as I can for next week and I think it's a good test with firm, fast greens."
Good luck to all of #TeamTitleist this week in Memphis!
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TITLEIST BY THE NUMBERS
A total of 111 players in the field are trusting a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball for their success at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, nearly seven times the nearest competitor with 16 and more than all competitors combined.
Titleist was also the top choice among players in the hybrids category (33) as well as the irons category with 46 sets in play.
Vokey Design Wedges also topped the approach, sand and lob wedge (215) category and Scotty Cameron putters were the top choice among players with 62 putters in play.
#TeamTitleist