At or near the top of the leaderboard since Friday, Titleist Brand Ambassador Nick Watney teed off in his final round at The Barclays two shots behind the overnight leader. Late Sunday, Watney drained a 10-foot birdie at the last to punctuate a 2-under 69 and come-from-behind 3-shot victory at The Barclays to vault him to the top spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
“Winning a tournament is hard, but winning out here and against this field was very, very difficult. I'm kind of still on a high right now. I'm still kind of ready to play the next hole,” said Watney.
Watney, who averaged 299.3 yards off the tee with his Pro V1x golf ball and new prototype Titleist 913 driver, also finished among the top 15 in three tee-to-green statistical categories. He tied for 2nd in Greens in Regulation (75), 11th in Putts Per Greens in Regulation (1.722) and T15 in Driving Accuracy (69.6%).
Watney described his emotions following the dramatic victory, “Still pretty amped up, and I'm so excited for everything that comes with this. But mostly I'm just proud that I was able to pull it off.”Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x players have now won 118 times across the worldwide professional tours in 2012, nine times the nearest competitor with 13 and more than all competitors combined.
Watney becomes the second player to win on the PGA Tour with a new prototype 913 driver, following fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Rory McIlroy’s record breaking win at the PGA Championship.
What's In Nick Watney's Bag?:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1xDriver: 913 prototype driver 10.5º (Diamana White 83) B•2 SureFit Tour settingFairway Metal: Titleist 910F 15º (Diamana Blue 93) A•1 SureFit Tour settingFairway Metal: Titleist 910F 19º Motore Speeder VC 8.2 A•1 SureFit Tour settingIrons: Titleist AP2 3-PW (Dynamic Gold)Wedge: Vokey Design SM4 54º, 60º (Dynamic Gold)Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport GSS prototype
Only the top 100 players advance to the Deutsche Bank Championship for the second of four Playoffs events. The biggest move belonged to Titleist Brand Ambassador Graham DeLaet (Pro V1x, 910D3 driver, 913F prototype fairway metal, CB/MB irons, Vokey Design SM4 approach, sand and lob wedges), who started the week at No. 106 and was right on the bubble going into the final round. DeLaet closed with two birdies for a Sunday-best 65, moving up 62 spots to No. 44. He finished in a four way tie for 5th place that included Titleist Pro V1x loyalists Lee Westwood and Louis Oosthuizen.
The Barclays marked the debut of the new Titleist 913 fairway and hybrid prototypes on tour. The new metals follow the tour introduction of the prototype 913 drivers that have been in play across the worldwide professional tours since June. Titleist had a total of 56 combined fairways (36) and hybrids (20) in play at The Barclays, including 11 new prototype 913 fairways and four prototype 913 hybrids.
The list of players putting the new prototype 913 fairways and hybrids in play at The Barclays included: Greg Chalmers; Ben Crane; Ben Curtis ; Brian Davis; Brendan deJonge; Graham DeLaett; Martin Flores; Chris Kirk; Rory McIlroy; and Jimmy Walker.
Titleist was the top choice of more players in The Barclays field of 123 in the golf ball category with 83, more than six times the nearest competitor with 13. Titleist was also the field favorite in the iron (36), wedge (144) and putter (45) categories. A total of 34 players relied upon Titleist drivers at the event, including 21 new prototype 913 drivers.
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EUROPEAN: There was a little added pressure this week at the Johnnie Walker Championship as it was also the final event for European players to earn a coveted spot on the European Ryder Cup team. Not leaving anything to chance, Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Paul Lawrie secured his spot on the team with a solid performance and a four-stroke vicotry over fellow Pro V1x loyalist Brett Rumford.
The win marked Lawrie's second win of the 2012 European Tour season and his 8th career win on the European Tour.
Titleist was the top choice of more players in the field of 156 in the golf ball category with 100, more than five times the nearest competitor with 18.
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CHAMPIONS: Pro V1x loyalist Jay Don Blake won the Boeing Classic for his third career Champions Tour title, topping fellow Pro V1x golf ball loyalist Mark O'Meara with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. Blake and O'Meara both birdied the same hole in regulation for matching final round 4-under 68s that left them tied at 10-under 206. Willie Wood (Pro V1x), coming off his first Tour victory last week, posted a final round 70 to finish a stroke out of the playoff.
Titleist was the top choice of more players in the field of 81 in the golf ball category with 58, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 8. The top six finishers trusted Titleist golf balls for their success. Titleist was also the field favorite in the wedge category with 65 in play.• • •WEB.com: Titleist Brand Ambassador Darron Stiles fired a final round 4-under 67 en route to an 18-under par 266 to capture the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot. He finished one shot clear of Pro V1x loyalists Scott Gardiner, D.J. Brigman and Nicholas Thompson. Fun fact: Darron Stiles won this same event 10 years ago.What's In Darron Stiles' Bag?Ball: Titleist Pro V1Driver: 910D3 7.5º (Aldila VooDoo VS7)Fairway Metals: Titleist 910F 13.5ºHybrid: 910H 17ºIrons: Titleist CBWedge: Vokey Design SM4 56º, 61º (True Temper Dynamic Gold with Sensicore)Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport Fastback
Titleist was the top choice of more players in the News Sentinel Open field of 156 in the golf ball category with 105, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 14. Titleist was also the field favorite in the iron (40), wedge (149) and putter (64) categories. A total of 32 players relied upon Titleist drivers at the event, including 26 who chose the new prototype 913 drivers.
The win is the 12th for Titleist golf ball loyalists on the 2012 Web.com Tour, six times the nearest competitor with 2.
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LPGA: The winner of the event trusted a Titleist Pro V1 for a record-setting victory. She became the youngest winner ever on the LPGA tour and is the first amateur to win an LPGA event since 1969. Titleist was also the top choice of more players in the field of 144 in the golf ball category with 100, more than eight times the nearest competitor with 12.
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CANADIAN TOUR: Titleist was the top choice in the golf ball category with 102 players trusting Pro V1 and Pro V1x, more than four times the nearest competitor 22.
