Kokrak Rallies to Win the HPE Houston Open, Nelly Korda Claims Her Fourth Victory of the Season

By Zack R., Team Titleist Staff On 15 November 2021 Balls Tour Clubs

PGA TOUR | Houston Open

Four consecutive back-nine birdies from Nos. 13-16 propelled Jason Kokrak (Pro V1) to his third-career PGA TOUR victory, with all three wins coming over the past 13 months.

  • Kokrak – who played the weekend in 9 under (66-65) – was the only player to reach double-digits under par, finishing 10 under to win by two shots.
  • Kokrak led a 1-through-4 finish for Titleist golf ball players.
  • Scottie Scheffler (Pro V1) and Kevin Tway (Pro V1 Left Dot) tied for second, while Kramer Hickok (Pro V1 Left Dot) finished fourth.
  • For the week, Kokrak led the field in birdies (24) while finishing second in Strokes Gained: Approach (+6.438).

KOKRAK ON HIS PRO V1 GOLF BALL

  • “Pro V1 has been awesome for me. It spins the right amount with the irons and the driver – I think that’s a big key for longer players. You get the spin too high, it doesn't travel far enough. You get the spin too low, it dives out the sky and is hard to control. And I just like the feel overall better because it’s softer on the greens.
  • “The consistency shows up when you’re trying to work the ball in a specific window. If you’re in the fairway at Augusta, or in the fairway at Hilton Head, you could be blocked out and you need to keep it low and work the ball one way or the other... I think that’s a big key, being able to hit it in the correct window that you’re comfortable with, and that’s what I found with the Titleist. I’ve played different golf balls in the past where I’ve struggled with that – where I’m trying to hit a certain shot and it just comes out quite a bit different than what I’m envisioning.”

HOW KOKRAK MARKS HIS PRO V1

  • “I put either a red or a blue line across the Pro V1 sidestamp, just a stock line to line up my straighter putts. And then right underneath the Titleist and above the number I put my sons’ initials, D and L (for Declan and Landon).”

TSi DRIVERS ARE TOP CHOICE ON PGA TOUR

  • For the eighth consecutive week to start the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Season, the most played driver in Houston was Titleist TSi.
  • A total of 40 players teed up Titleist drivers, six more than the nearest competitor, and all of them were either TSi2 (10), TSi3 (24) or TSi4 (6) models.
  • Last season, Titleist was the most played driver on the 2020-21 PGA TOUR with 1,980 players (compared to 1,336 for the nearest competitor). Additionally, Titleist drivers claimed the most wins (15) of any brand. The #1 model was TSi3 with 1,254 players, more than double the nearest competitive model. Titleist TSi drivers were also the top choice of players who qualified for the 2020-21 PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs, with 36 players teeing up a TSi2, TSi3 or TSi4 model.

LPGA | Pelican Women’s Championship

Titleist Brand Ambassador Nelly Korda earned her fourth LPGA title of the season with back-to-back birdies Sunday on Pelican Golf Club’s 18th hole.

  • The first: A 21-footer to shoot 1-under 69 and join a four-way playoff, along with fellow Titleist golf ball players Lydia Ko (Pro V1x) and Sei Young Kim (Pro V1).
  • The second: A 23-footer on the first playoff hole to win her 7th-career LPGA title.
  • For the week, Korda hit 89% (50 of 56) of her fairways and 86% (62 of 72) greens in regulation. 

WHAT’S IN NELLY KORDA’S BAG?

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TSi1 10.0° | Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6 S
Fairway Metals: TSi2 16.5° | Fujikura Ventus Red 70 S and TSi2 21.0° | Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 75 S
Irons: T100 5-PW | Aerotech SteelFiber i80cw F4
Wedges: Vokey Design SM8 50.08F, 54.10S, 58.08M | Aerotech SteelFiber i95cw S
Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Squareback 2 tour prototype

KORDA’S PRO V1

  • Of the 29 events played this year on the LPGA, 25 have been won by a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball player.
  • Korda switched to her 2021 Pro V1 golf ball at the Gainbridge LPGA in February, where she was the only player to shoot all four rounds in the 60’s en route to a three-shot victory at Lake Nona.
  • “Nelly immediately felt like new Pro V1 was coming off the face a little faster and giving her the slightly higher flight and lower spin that she’d been wanting to see in the long game,” said Jeff Beyers of Titleist Golf Ball R&D. “She was also testing a new driver and loved the performance and numbers she was seeing from that combination.”

KORDA’S TSi1 DRIVER

  • Korda’s victory at the Pelican Women’s Championship marked the 11th win for Titleist drivers this season on the LPGA, and the 10th for TSi models.
  • At the Gainbridge LPGA, Korda became the first player on a major professional tour to play and win with a TSi1 driver model.
  • Korda, who plays a TSi1 10.0° (Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6), now has five wins (4 LPGA, Olympics) with the ultra-lightweight, high-launching model.
  • This week in Florida, Korda averaged over 291 yards off the tee while hitting 89% of fairways.
  • Korda put TSi1 in play following a trip to the Titleist Performance Institute in early 2021.
  • “She loved the shape of the TSi1 and was swinging it with a lot of confidence,” said J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s Director of Player Promotions. “Initially, we were very close with TSi2 and she was gaining up to 5mph additional ball speed. But she has a slight tendency to miss on the heel and Stephanie Luttrell (Titleist’s Director of Metalwood Product Development) suggested the TSi1 head – with its CG properties being closer to face center – could help improve strike location and provide the extra forgiveness she needed on those swings. TSi1 was never going to be the obvious choice with her 150mph ball speed, but in going through the fitting process we were able test all of the options and determine the optimal setup that is getting her 10-15 additional yards with better accuracy.” 

KORDA’S SCOTTY CAMERON SQUAREBACK 2

  • Korda holed her tournament-winning birdie putts with a Scotty Cameron Special Select Squareback 2 that she put in play for the first time at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June.
  • Korda – whose sister and fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador, Jessica, also plays a Squareback 2 – had won all of her previous LPGA titles with the same Scotty Cameron Select Concept 2 tour prototype, a Newport 2-style head with a GSS insert.
  • She has always preferred the look of Scotty Cameron blades and has used a blade-style putter most of her career but, according to the Scotty Cameron Tour Department, was looking for a change that could offer a different feel and help provide better distance control.
  • For players that gravitate to a blade but want to look down at a more confidence-inspiring shape, the Squareback 2 offers the best of both those worlds.
  • It sets up like Korda’s blade models of the past but is larger front-to-back so it provides a slightly more forgiving look.
  • Korda also likes how easy she’s able to line up the Squareback 2 with its extended alignment line. 

EUROPEAN TOUR | AVIV Dubai Championship

Titleist Brand Ambassador Joachim B Hansen claimed his second European Tour title with a near-flawless week in Dubai, dropping only one shot over thew 72 holes.

  • Hansen – playing a Pro V1x golf ball and full bag of Titleist equipment – closed in 4-under 68 to secure the one-shot victory and secure his spot in this week’s DP World Tour Championship.
  • For the week, Hansen finished sixth in Strokes Gained: Approach (+1.72) and seventh in SG: Tee to Green (+1.91).
  • He was also second in scrambling (92.3%), getting up and down 12 of 13 times.
  • Hansen has now made just one bogey in his last 83 holes of competition. 

WHAT’S IN JOACHIM B HANSEN’S BAG?

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: TSi3 10.0°
Fairway Metals: TSi2 15.0° & 18.0°
Irons: T100 (4) and 620 CB (5-9)
Wedges: Vokey Design SM8 46.10F, 50.12F, 54.10S, 58.08M
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 6 STR tour prototype

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS | Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Pro V1x loyalist Bernhard Langer claimed his record sixth Charles Schwab Cup title, clinching the season-long points race with a 17th-place finish in Phoenix.

  • The 64-year-old, who considered withdrawing from the event after two holes due to severe back pain, shot under his age for the first time in the third round with a bogey-free 63 featuring eagles on Nos. 1 and 18.
  • Langer competed in all 39 events of the tour’s combined 2020-2021 season.

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