Fairhaven, MA (May 28, 2012) – Two of the hottest players on the PGA TOUR continued their stellar play at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial this week, with Zach Johnson topping fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Jason Dufner by one shot for his first win of the year. Dufner was seeking his third win in four starts.
Titleist golf ball loyalists were also winning around the world as Luke Donald, relying upon the Pro V1x regained the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, Roger Chapman trusted the Pro V1 to earn his first Champions Tour major, and Hiroyuki Fujita earned his 13th career win on the Japan Golf Tour. Four more wins across the worldwide professional tours with Titleist golf balls brings its year-to-date victory total to 65, more than eight times the nearest competitor with 8.
PGA TOUR: The hottest players on the PGA TOUR were playing the hottest equipment brand in golf, as Zach Johnson won the Crowne Plaza Invitational for the second time in three years. Johnson, who trailed Dufner by one shot heading into the final round, closed with a 2-over 72 for a 12-under 268 victory total, one shot clear of Dufner, who shot a 4-over 74. The win marks the eighth career PGA TOUR victory for Johnson, who advanced to No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings. WHAT'S IN ZACH JOHNSON'S BAG?: Pro V1x golf ball, 910D2 (9.5) driver, 910F (15.0) and 909F2 (18.5) fairway metals, 909H (21.0) hybrid, AP1 (4) and AP2 (5-9) irons, Vokey Design pitching (48), sand (54) and lob (60) wedges.
WHAT’S IN JASON DUFNER’S BAG?: Pro V1 golf ball, 910D2 driver, 910F and 906F2 fairway metals, 910H hybrid, AP2 irons, Vokey Design SM4 sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron prototype putter.
Five Titleist golf ball loyalists tied for 5th place at 5-under 275, including Titleist Brand Ambassador Chris Kirk (Pro V1x, 909D3 driver, 906F4 fairway metal, CB 2-iron, MB irons, Vokey SM4 wedges, Scotty Cameron GoLo Midsize putter), Rickie Fowler (Pro V1x), Ryan Palmer (Pro V1x) and Harris English (Pro V1). Of the 12 players who finished among the Top 10 and ties at Colonial, 10 trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success.
STATS: In addition to finishing atop the leaderboard, Johnson and Dufner were also among the statistical leaders in several categories. Johnson finished 3rd in birdies with 19, while Dufner relied on his Titleist AP2 irons and his Vokey Design wedges to finish 3rd in Greens In Regulation (73.6%) and led the field with 22 birdies.
EQUIPMENT LEADERS: Of the 120 players in the field, 86 (70%) relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 12. Titleist also led the field in iron sets (37), sand, lob and approach wedges (126) and putters (51).
WINNING BRAND - FROM TEE-THROUGH-GREEN: With another full product line Brand Ambassador entering the winners' circle on the 2012 PGA TOUR, Titleist leads every other brand in wins across every major equipment category from tee-to-green. Zach Johnson's win marks the 16th victory for Titleist golf balls through the first 23 events of the season, eight times more than the nearest competitor with 2. Titleist is also the choice of more PGA TOUR champions in the driver (8), fairway metal (9), hybrid (6), iron (9), wedge (12) and putter (8) categories.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Titleist Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Luke Donald returned to the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking after successfully defending his BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth Club. Donald closed with a 4-under par 68 en route to a 15-under, 273 victory total. He finished four shots clear of two players, including fellow Pro V1x loyalist Paul Lawrie. Lawrie tied for a Sunday-best 6-under par 66 to secure the co-runner-up position.
The win marks Donald's sixth victory in the last 15 months and makes him only the third player to win The European Tour's flagship event two years in a row. With the win, it is the fourth time Donald has ascended to World No. 1, first dethroning fellow Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Lee Westwood a year ago this week, and most recently overtaking Titleist Brand Ambassador Rory McIlroy for the third time in their back-and-forth battle for the top spot.
Titleist golf ball loyalists have now combined for 12 victories through the first 17 events on the 2012 European Tour, four times more than the nearest competitor with 3. There were 81 Titleist players among the select 150-player field, three times more than the nearest competitor with 27.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Roger Chapman (Pro V1, 910D3 driver, 909F3 fairway metal, MB irons, Vokey SM4 approach and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Laguna 1.5 putter) won the Senior PGA Championship, holding on for a two-stroke victory after leading by five shots through 54 holes. The win was the first Champions Tour title and first major championship for the 53-year-old Englishman.
Chapman finished at 13-under, two strokes clear of John Cook (Pro V1, Vokey SM4 sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron California Monterey 1.5 putter).
Five players tied for 4th at 9-under 275, including David Frost (Pro V1), Bernhard Langer (Pro V1), Joe Daley (Pro V1) and Peter Senior (Pro V1). Senior shot a final round 63, one shy of the tournament-record score of 62, which Kenny Perry (Pro V1x) posted to finish alone in 9th.
Seven of the top 10 finishers relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success. Of the 155 players in the event, 109 (70%) relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success, more than six times the nearest competitor with 16.
JAPAN TOUR: Hiroyuki Fujita (Pro V1) closed with a 73 to capture the Diamond Cup Golf 2012. Fujita finished at 14-under 274 and won by three shots over Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Pro V1x).
Last week's winner at the Totoumi Hamamatsu Open, Jay Choi (Pro V1x) tied for 3rd place at 10-under 278 along with Yasuharu Imano (Pro V1x, Vokey Design approach and lob wedges) and Hidezumi Shirakata (Pro V1x) . The win marks the 13th JGTO victory for Fujita and his second of the year. He also captured the Tsuruya Open in April.
NCAA DIVISION 1 WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP: Titleist was the golf ball of choice at the NCAA Division 1 Women's Championship, where 115 players trusted the #1 Ball in Golf, more than 14 times the nearest competitor with 8, and more than all other competing golf balls combined.
