FAIRHAVEN, Mass. (June 25, 2012) – Performing at the highest levels of competitive golf requires total trust in your equipment. This week provided more evidence across the worldwide professional tours, highlighted by the performance of Titleist Brand Ambassador Marc Leishman, who relied upon a Pro V1x golf ball and a full bag of Titleist clubs to break through at The Travelers Championship for his first career PGA TOUR victory. On the LPGA Tour, Brittany Lang also trusted a Pro V1x golf ball to claim her first LPGA title at the Manulife Financial LPGA event. Additional wins by Titleist golf ball loyalists Mark Calcavecchia on the Champions Tour, Lee In Woo on the Asian Tour and Brad Kennedy on the Japan Tour, brings Titleist’s worldwide year-to-date victory total to 84, seven times the nearest competitor with 12. Continued proof, when it comes to world-class performance, Titleist is the winning choice.
PGA TOUR: Leishman shot a dream final round at The Travelers, firing an 8-under par 62 to capture his first PGA TOUR title. The 28-year-old Australian began the day six strokes behind the leaders, but he made an early charge with eight birdies and no bogeys to vault into the clubhouse lead. In the end, Leishman, the 2009 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, finished at 14-under 266, one shot clear of fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Charley Hoffman (Pro V1, Titleist 910D3 driver, MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Tour prototype mid-putter), who closed with a 66, and Masters champion Bubba Watson (Pro V1x), who shot a 65. Leishman's 62 was the lowest score in a final round by a champion on the PGA TOUR this season.
WHAT'S IN MARC LEISHMAN’S BAG?: Pro V1x golf ball, Titleist 910D3 (7.5) driver, 910F (13.5) fairway metal, AP2 (3,4) and MB (5-9) irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching (48), TVD sand (54) and lob (58) wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Mid-Slant T10 putter.
Titleist Brand Ambassadors Brian Davis (Pro V1x, Titleist 910D3 driver, CB irons, Vokey Design SM4 gap and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 putter) and Tim Clark (Pro V1, Titleist 910D3 driver, 910F fairway metal, CB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching, and SM4 sand and lob wedges) finished in a four-way tie for fourth that also included Titleist golf ball loyalist Roland Thatcher (Pro V1). Pro V1x loyalist Hunter Mahan shot a career-low 61 on Sunday and tied for 11th.
WINNING BRAND: Leishman becomes the ninth Titleist Brand Ambassador to win on the 2012 PGA TOUR for a total of 10 full product line victories this year. The tee-through-green success of Titleist players translates into the most wins across every major product category year-to-date, including: Golf Balls (18, Nearest Competitor 3), Drivers (10, NC 5), Fairway Metals (11, NC 8), Hybrids (7, NC 4), Irons (11, NC 5), Wedges (14, NC 5), and Putters (10, NC 6).
Leishman joins fellow full product line Titleist Brand Ambassadors Steve Stricker (Hyundai Tournament of Champions), Kyle Stanley (Waste Management Phoenix Open), Bill Haas (Northern Trust Open), Rory McIlroy (Honda Classic), Ben Curtis (Valero Texas Open), Jason Dufner (Zurich Classic, Byron Nelson Championship), Zach Johnson (Crowne Plaza Invitational), and most recently Webb Simpson (U.S. Open) in the 2012 Titleist Winners' Circle.EQUIPMENT LEADERS: Titleist was the top choice of more players in the Travelers Championship field of 156 in the golf ball (107/69%, Nearest Competitor 15), iron (40, Nearest Competitor 32), wedge (132, Nearest Competitor 65) and putter (62, Nearest Competitor 35) categories. Seven of the top 10 finishers at The Travelers Championship relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.
LPGA: Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Brittany Lang won the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic for her first LPGA Tour title, birdieing the par-5 18th three straight times to win a four-player sudden death playoff. The four players, including Hee Kyung Seo (Pro V1x), all finished regulation at 16-under 286. Stacy Lewis (Pro V1x) and So Yeon Ryu (Pro V1) closed with matching 64s to tie for 5th, one shot back.
Titleist golf ball loyalists accounted for 99 (69%) of the 143-player field, more than eight times the nearest competitor with 12.
CHAMPIONS: Pro V1x loyalist Mark Calcavecchia captured the Montreal Championship for his second career Champions Tour title, matching the course record with a final round 8-under par 64 that included six birdies and an eagle. He finished at 16-under 200, good for a four-stroke margin of victory. Titleist golf ball loyalists accounted for 58 (72%) of the 81-player field, more than six times the nearest competitor with 9. Titleist was also the choice of more players in the iron (21) and wedge (87) categories.
ASIAN/KOREA: Titleist Brand Ambassador Lee In Woo (Pro V1, 910D3 driver, 910F fairway metal, 909H hybrid, AP2 irons, Vokey Design SM4 gap and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport Circle T putter) of Korea won the inaugural Volvik Hildesheim Open J Golf Series in Seoul, Korea (co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korean Golf Tour) for his first victory on the Asian Tour. The 40-year-old Lee's only other professional win was on the Korean Golf Tour in 2005. Lee closed with a final round four-under-par 68 to finish with a 12-under par 276 total. One of six third round co-leaders, Thaworn Wiratchant (Pro V1x), closed with a 3-under par 69 to finish one shot back.
Titleist golf ball loyalists accounted for 98 (63%) of the 156-player field, more than five times the nearest competitor with 18. Titleist was also the choice of more players in the hybrid, irons and wedge categories.
JAPAN: It was a 1-2-3 finish for Titleist golf ball loyalists at the Mizuno Open, where Brad Kennedy (Pro V1x) closed with a 6-under par 66 to win his first tournament in Japan. He finished at 17-under 271, three strokes clear of Japanese golfers Toshinori Muto (Pro V1) and Toru Taniguchi (Pro V1x). Kennedy's previous best finish on the Japanese tour was a tie for second at last year's Canon Open. With the victory, Kennedy earns a place at next month's British Open.
Titleist golf ball loyalists accounted for 60 players in the field. Titleist was also the choice of more players in the wedge category with 115 in play.
U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP: Titleist was the golf ball of choice at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, where 126 players (81%) trusted the #1 ball in golf, 120 more than the nearest competitor with 6.