Fitzpatrick Wins at Valderrama, Titleist Sweeps Equipment Counts at the CJ CUP and more...

EUROPEAN TOUR | Estrella Damm Andalucia Masters

Playing a Pro V1x golf ball, Matt Fitzpatrick birdied two of his final three holes Sunday at Valderrama to claim his seventh European Tour victory.

  • Fitzpatrick’s flawless final-round 2-under 69, which started with 15 consecutive pars before his first birdie at No. 16, earned him a three-shot victory.
  • Fitzpatrick was the only player in the field with a scoring average below 70 (69.5) for the four days, while leading the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (+1.98).
  • Said Fitzpatrick: “Winning around Valderrama is something you want to tick off on the bucket list. To do it in the way that I did, with no bogeys in the final round was extra special.” 

FITZPATRICK ON THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS PRO V1X

“I’ve been Pro V1x ever since I was probably about 15. There was never anything else for me growing up, to be honest. That’s all I’ve ever known.

I think the big thing for me is the feel of the golf ball. I much prefer the Pro V1x, because I feel like, for me, the firmer the ball is, the more I can control the spin. That’s always nice for me, knowing that I can increase spin, and take spin off it. That’s been the big thing. I know for a fact, I can flight the ball easy, much easier, up and down, with the ball that I use.

If I’m hitting shots and I’ve got the right club, the spin’s always in the same region and it’s very, very consistent. But I know if I switch out the shaft or change the loft or whatever, then obviously that spin and the other factors fluctuate with the ball. But for me, the big thing is the consistency of the ball that I use. It makes a massive difference in my game.

A shot that I can always hit is just anything low, whether it’s with a driver, whether it’s with an iron, I can always bring the flight down really easy, just naturally, the way I play. It’s so nice for me, that having the Pro V1x just keeps the flight down. It doesn’t spin up too much. It doesn’t just dive because it’s not got enough spin. To me, I know the window that it’s going to come out, and it’s very consistent.

You just know, hitting other golf balls, that as soon as you’ve hit it, it doesn’t have the same effect. I’ve messed around with balls on the range when they’ve been mixed into the Pro V1x bag that I always go to grab, and they just get funky flights. I don’t know how you can play golf with that, to be honest, and not knowing what you’re going to get from shot to shot.”

WINNER PLAYS TSi DRIVER, NEW T100 IRONS, VOKEY WEDGES

  • The winner of the Estrella Damm Andalucia Masters played a Titleist TSi3 driver, NEW T100 4-5 irons and a pair of Vokey Design SM8 wedges:
  • He first put his TSi3 9.0° driver in play at the DP Tour World Championship last December, switching from a competitive model after working with Titleist European Tour Rep Liam McDougall in the days leading up to the event.
  • The specs: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 TX shaft, standard SureFit hosel setting (A1), and the SureFit Track Weight set at H2 (in the heel) to accommodate his strike location.
  • Said McDougall: “Listening to what the player and his coaches were trying to achieve with the driver, we started looking at counterbalanced shaft options, where he could apply force to the butt end of the club and feel strength in the handle. He preferred the looks of the TSi3 head and the face had the right amount of bulge and roll for him. We were also able to improve his strike location by adjusting the new SureFit Track Weight toward the heel of the club. By moving his miss pattern, we were able to bring him to a stronger launch and spin window that helped him gain distance and accuracy.”
  • His NEW T-Series T100 4-5 irons went in the bag in July at the abrdn Scottish Open, following a trip to the new Titleist Performance Centre at Woburn in England.
  • He finished the week T2 after making the playoff.
  • “His initial reaction was all about the feel,” said McDougall, “the way he could feel the ball on the face, and how that feeling related to control.”
  • A longtime Vokey wedge player, he currently carries a pair of SM8 models: 56.08M and WedgeWorks 60T.
  • Combined with his Pro V1x golf ball, he led the field at Valderrama in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, bettering the field by nearly two strokes (+1.98).

PGA TOUR | CJ CUP @ SUMMIT

For the first time of the 2021-22 season – and 24th time since the beginning of the 2019 calendar year – Titleist was the top choice in every major equipment category on the PGA TOUR, a feat that has never been matched by another brand.

Of the 78 players competing at the CJ CUP @ SUMMIT, Titleist was the most played brand in golf ballsdrivers, fairways (T1)hybridsutility ironironswedges, and putters:

  • A total of 58 players teed up either a Titleist Pro V1Pro V1xPro V1x Left Dash or Pro V1 Left Dot golf ball, more than seven times the nearest competitor (8);
  • Titleist was the most played driver (28 players), with 89% of the Titleist drivers in play being TSi2TSi3 or TSi4 models. TSi3 was the top driver model with 17 players, more than double the nearest competitor (8);
  • No brand had more fairway metals (37) or hybrids (15) in play than Titleist, with TSi2 being the most played model in each category (15 fairway, 5 hybrid).
  • Titleist irons were in the bags of 23 players – with 620 MB and T100 among the field favorites – compared to 12 for the nearest competitor;
  • Titleist was the most popular utility iron in Las Vegas (15), three times the nearest competitor (5), with more NEW T200 (Utility Build) irons (6) in play than any other brand;
  • There were 120 Vokey Design gap, sand and lob wedges in play, four times the nearest competitor (30);
  • And for the fourth-consecutive week, more players put their trust in a Scotty Cameron putter (44) than any other brand. 

JAPAN TOUR | Japan Open

Shaun Norris (Pro V1x) earned his second victory of the season – and sixth-career Japan Tour title – with a four-shot victory at Biwako Country Club.

  • Norris followed consecutive rounds of 6-under 64 on Friday and Saturday with a closing 70 to lift the trophy.
  • The win – his second major on the JGTO – also gives him a 5-year exemption through the end of 2026.

SUNSHINE TOUR | Blue Label Challenge

Lyle Rowe (Pro V1) clinched his third Sunshine Tour title, closing in 3-under 69 to finish the four rounds at 33 points in the modified Stableford scoring format.

  • Rowe’s total was four points (the equivalent of two birdies) clear of fellow Pro V1 player Dylan Mostert.
  • Rowe’s win was the 13th victory by a Titleist golf ball player in 14 events played this season.

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