FAIRHAVEN, Mass. (September 4, 2012) – The winning momentum of Rory McIlroy and the Titleist brand continued at the Deutsche Bank Championship, where the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer topped a leaderboard loaded with major tournament champions. Trusting Titleist equipment from tee-through-green, McIlroy captured the second leg of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs by one shot over fellow Pro V1x loyalist Louis Oosthuizen.
-Competing against a world-class field, McIlroy closed with a 4-under par 67 en route to a 20-under 264 victory total. He overcame a three-shot deficit and jumped from fourth to first in the FedExCup standings with the victory.
-Not only did McIlroy finish first on the leaderboard, he led the field statistically in birdies (25), putts per round (25.8), and putts per greens in regulation (1.521), was second in strokes gained – putting (1.67) and tied for fifth in driving distance (310.3).
-McIlroy’s win marks the second consecutive for Titleist Brand Ambassadors through the first two FedExCup Playoffs events. Last week, Nick Watney trusted the Pro V1x golf ball and 14 Titleist clubs to capture The Barclays. McIlroy and Watney are now 1-2 in the FedExCup standings heading into this week’s BMW Championship, the final event leading up to the TOUR Championship.
-What’s in Rory McIlroy’s Titleist Bag?: Pro V1x golf ball, prototype 913D3 driver (8.5), prototype 913Fd fairway metals (13.5, 18), MB irons (3-9), Vokey Design SM4 pitching (46), sand (54) and lob (60) wedges, Scotty Cameron GSS putter.
-What’s in Nick Watney’s Titleist Bag?: Pro V1x golf ball, prototype 913D3 driver (10.5), 910F fairway metals (15, 19), AP2 irons (3-PW), Vokey Design SM4 sand (54) and lob (60) wedges, Scotty Cameron GSS putter.
- McIlroy was the first player to win a major with the prototype Titleist 913 driver at the PGA Championship last month. This week, he was the first player to win with the prototype 913 fairway metals. Titleist began the seeding process of the new 913F metals and 913H hybrids at The Barclays, where McIlroy put both a 913Fd Low Spin 13.5 and 18 degree fairway metals in the bag immediately. The switch by McIlroy was significant considering he had been gaming the 906F fairway metals for the majority of his professional career.
-The win was the fifth of McIlroy’s PGA TOUR career, and he becomes the second player to win three times this season. In addition to his record-breaking PGA Championship title last month, he also captured the Honda Classic in March.
- Rory McIlroy isn’t the only Titleist Brand Ambassador to win multiple times on the 2012 PGA TOUR as Jason Dufner (Zurich Classic, Byron Nelson Championship) and Zach Johnson (Crowne Plaza Invitational, John Deere Classic) have as well. Additional full product line Titleist players to win in 2012 include: Steve Stricker (Hyundai Tournament of Champions), Kyle Stanley (Waste Management Phoenix Open), Bill Haas (Northern Trust Open), Ben Curtis (Valero Texas Open), Webb Simpson (U.S. Open), Marc Leishman (Travelers Championship), Scott Stallings (True South Classic), Scott Piercy (RBC Canadian Open) and Nick Watney (The Barclays).
MORE WINS…: The tee-through-green success of Titleist players through the first 38 events on the 2012 PGA TOUR translates into more wins across every major product category than any other competitor:Golf Balls: Titleist 26, Nearest Competitor 4Drivers: Titleist 16, Nearest Competitor 6Fairway Metals: Titleist 16, Nearest Competitor 10Hybrids: Titleist 8, Nearest Competitor 4Irons: Titleist 18, Nearest Competitor 5Wedges: Titleist 19, Nearest Competitor 5Putters: Titleist 15, Nearest Competitor 6
MORE PLAYERS…: Titleist was the top choice of more players in the Deutsche Bank Championship field of 98 in the golf ball category with 71 (72%), nearly eight times the nearest competitor with 9. Year–to-date, 3,307 players (66%) have teed up a Titleist golf ball in PGA TOUR competition, more than six times the nearest competitor with 537.
-Titleist was also the field favorite at the Deutsche Bank Championship in the iron (34), wedge (107) and putter (39) categories. A total of 32 players relied upon Titleist drivers at the event, including a combined 19 new 913D3 (12) and 913D2 (7) models.
-In addition to golf balls, Titleist continues to be the leading choice of more players on the 2012 PGA TOUR in the iron (1,328/25%), wedge (4,627/39%) and putter (2,015/39%) categories, and second in drivers and fairway metals.
WORLDWIDE WINS: With four more wins this week, Titleist golf ball loyalists have accumulated 122 victories across the 2012 worldwide professional tours, more than nine times the nearest competitor (13).
WEB.COM: Titleist Brand Ambassador Robert Streb fired a final round 7-under 64 to capture the Mylan Classic for his first career Web.com Tour win. The rookie, who posted four consecutive rounds in the 60s en route to a tournament-record 18-under 266 total, finished four shots clear of fellow Titleist Brand Ambassadors Matt Weibring (Pro V1x, 910D2 driver, 906F2 fairway metal, MB/CB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron GoLo putter) and Brad Fritsch (Pro V1, 913D2 driver, 913F fairway metal, CB/MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron prototype putter), and third-round leader Cliff Kresge (Pro V1x). Two-time winner and Titleist Brand Ambassador Ben Kohles (Pro V1x, 913D3 driver, 913F fairway metal, 913H hybrid, CB irons, Vokey Design SM4 gap and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron GoLo putter) rounded out the top five, another shot back.
What's in Robert Streb's Titleist Bag?: Pro V1, 913D3 driver (8.5), 913F fairway metal (13.5), CB irons (2, 4-PW), Vokey Design SM4 gap (52), sand (56) and lob (60) wedges, Scotty Cameron Laguna 2.5 putter. Streb became the first player across the worldwide professional tours to win with the prototype Titleist 913F fairway metal that was seeded with Titleist Brand Ambassadors last week. Rory McIlroy won with the prototype 913Fd Low Spin fairway metals a day later.
With the victory, Streb moved from No. 23 to No. 4 on the 2012 Web.com Tour money list with seven events left on the schedule, virtually ensuring himself of a promotion to the PGA TOUR for 2013. Trusting Titleist equipment from tee-to-green, Streb finished tied for third in driving accuracy (44 of 56), tied for 20th in greens in regulation (53 of 72) and second in total putts (108).
-Fellow rookie and Titleist Brand Ambassador Ben Kohles continued his impressive start as a professional. Kohles, who became the first player in Tour history to win his first two starts as a professional, now has three top-5’s in his first four Web.com Tour starts. He won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational and the Cox Classic and was 60th at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. He remains No. 3 on the money list and has virtually clinched a PGA TOUR card for 2013.
-Titleist was the top choice of more players in the field of 156 in the golf ball category with 112 (72%), more than seven times the nearest competitor with 15. Titleist was also the field favorite in the iron (50), wedge (179) and putter (65) categories. A total of 36 players relied upon Titleist drivers at the event, including a combined 28 (including the winner) who chose the new 913D3 (21) and 913D2 (7) models.
-The win is the 13th for Titleist golf ball loyalists on the 2012 Web.com Tour, more than six times the nearest competitor with 2.
JAPAN: Titleist Brand Ambassador Kyung-Tae Kim closed with a 3-under 68 for a come-from-behind, one-shot win at the Fujisankei Classic. It marked the fifth career Japan Golf Tour title for Kim, who finished with an 8-under-par 276 victory total on his 26th birthday.
What’s in K.T. Kim’s Titleist Bag?: Pro V1x golf ball, prototype 913D3 driver (8.5), 910H hybrid (17), CB (3-5) and MB (6-9) irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching (48), sand (52) and lob (58) wedges.
-Kim becomes the first player on the JGTO to win with the prototype Titleist 913 driver.
-Titleist was the top choice of more players in the field in the golf ball (50) and wedge (94) categories.
SOUTH AFRICA: Titleist Brand Ambassador Trevor Fisher Jnr (Pro V1x, CB irons, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron putter) carded a final round 4-under par 66 to win the Wild Waves Challenge by two shots. It marked the fifth career Sunshine Tour victory for Fisher who posted a 13-under par 197 victory total.
-Fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Oliver Bekker (Pro V1x, 913D3 driver, 910F fairway metal, CB irons, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron putter) finished in solo third position, three strokes behind Fisher, while Titleist golf ball loyalist Danie van Tonder (Pro V1x) finished a further shot back in fourth place. Ulrich van den Berg (Pro V1x) was solo fifth, another shot back, as four of the top five finishers relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.
-Titleist was the top choice of more players in the field of 111 in the golf ball category with 81 (73%).
KOREA: Titleist Brand Ambassador Jun Won Park (Pro V1x, 913D3 driver/8.5, 910F fairway metal/ 13.5, 910H hybrids/17, 21), CB irons/4-PW, Vokey Design sand/52 and lob/58 wedges, Scotty Cameron Circle T Putter) and Titleist golf ball loyalist Jae Ho Kim (Pro V1x) were among three players who tied for second place at the KPGA Championship. Eight of the 11 players who finished among the top 10 and ties at the event relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.
Titleist was the top choice of more players in the field of 150 in the golf ball category with 98 (65%), more than four times the nearest competitor with 22.
