PGA TOUR | QBE Shootout

• Titleist Brand Ambassador Tom Hoge and Titleist golf ball player Sahith Theegala (Pro V1) became the first rookie team to win the QBE shootout in 11 years, making birdie on the 18th hole to win by one shot.
• Hoge and Theegala closed Sunday’s fourballs session in 10 under, with Theegala rolling his Pro V1 in for birdie from 15 feet on the final hole, to wrap up a three-round total of 182 (60-60-62).
• The duo combined for 30 birdies and two eagles over the three days and were one of just four teams to finish the week without registering a bogey.
• The all-Pro V1x team of Charley Hoffman and Ryan Palmer finished a shot back at 33 under after a back nine 31. 
• “We were talking about it, I think our games are just really good for like partnering in this format,” Theegala said. “Tom was striping his irons yesterday and that was huge in alternate shot, he left me a lot of kick-ins for birdie, and I was able to get it down there a little bit further than I normally do with my tee shots. It was just a good – it just worked out great. And definitely a little bit ham and egg today, which is great.”
• Titleist Brand Ambassador Nelly Korda and Titleist golf ball player Denny McCarthy (Pro V1) teamed up to finish T5 after a final round 62, tied for the lowest score of the day.

What’s In The Bag? | Tom Hoge

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Left Dot
Driver: NEW TSR3 9.0° | Fujikura Ventus Black 6X
Fairway Metal: TS2 13.5° | Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec 8 Blue X
Hybrid: 913Hd 18.0°| Fujikura Speeder 904 X
Irons: 620 CB (4) and 620 MB (5-9) | Project X 6.5 
Wedges: Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 52.08F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60T wedges | True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 

TITLEIST GOLF BALL PLAYERS FILL LEADER BOARD AT QBE

• Longtime Titleist golf ball players Tom Hoge (Pro V1 Left Dot) and Sahith Theegala (Pro V1) topped a leader board that featured 13 Titleist golf ball players in the final top 14 positions (top 7 teams).
• Said Hoge: “I feel like one of my strengths has always been distance control. And if I go back, I’ve always played a Titleist golf ball and I’ve always played Titleist irons, the same sort of stuff. I would say I’m very comfortable and just have a lot of confidence. I was fortunate enough, when we played out in the Boston area a few years back, I went to the Ball Plant. Really cool experience. I would never have thought that much goes into making a golf ball. So, for me, it was really cool, and gave me some more confidence to know that I’m playing the best ball out there.”
• “I’ve been playing Left Dot for probably five years now and it’s just been an incredible golf ball for me. Really good in the wind is where I notice the biggest difference, and I can really flight my golf ball up and down as I want to. I grew up in North Dakota and Texas, so I like seeing those nice flat penetrating ball flights into the wind.”
• Said Theegala: “I just have full confidence that the ball’s going to do exactly what I want it to do. I mean, there’s very rarely an instance where I hit the shot that I want to and the ball doesn’t react how I want it to. And that’s just a testament for such an imperfect game, how Titleist has really been able to dial in the Pro V1.”
• “For me, the feel around the greens is really important. So I love how soft the Pro V1 feels around the greens, but I’m still able to get a bunch of spin while knocking down the spin with my irons and driver, because I’m high spin with those.
• “This is a weird key – but I think it works for some people – is I feel like the ball stays on the face longer. And I feel like the Pro V1 really allows me to do that around the green. So I feel like I’m almost one with the club head as I’m going through the ball and it just kind of sticks for me. And obviously there’s not much more satisfying than hitting the one-hop-stop that doesn’t even roll forward at all.” 

HOGE WINS IN FIRST WEEK WITH NEW TSR DRIVER

• Tom Hoge, having used the offseason to begin testing the NEW Titleist TSR driver, put his TSR3 9.0° model in play for the first time at the QBE Shootout.
• Hoge worked virtually with Titleist’s Director of Player Promotion J.J. Van Wezenbeeck to move into the TSR3 9.0° head on the D•1 SureFit Hosel setting, while remaining in the Fujikura Ventus Black 6X shaft from his prior generation TSi.
• “Tom immediately saw his speed jump and was just amazed by the distance and control he was seeing on miss hits,” Van Wezenbeeck said.
• Said Hoge’s playing partner at QBE: “Tom was driving it well and hitting a lot of fairways, so kind of let me swing a little bit harder than I normally would.”
• Charley Hoffman, who finished one shot back of the champions, also made a driver change at the QBE, moving to a NEW TSR2 8.0° with a 46-inch Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Orange 50 TX shaft.
• Hoffman switched to the longer, lighter combination after a trip to the Titleist Performance Institute the week prior to QBE.
• He was previously in a TSR3 9.0° with 45-inch Tensei CK Orange 60 X shaft.
• “I was down at Titleist, I’m lucky enough to live in San Diego and I got a new driver in the bag. It’s max length, a little less loft, a little bit different head, the new Titleist (TSR) series head, and it worked great today,” Hoffman said after Friday’s round. “Obviously it’s a lot easier standing on some of these tee shots when you have a partner behind you, but it worked good. It went long and went pretty straight.”

DP TOUR/SUNSHINE TOUR | Alfred Dunhill Championship

Ockie Strydom (Pro V1) captured his maiden DP World Tour victory on Sunday in his home country, making four closing-nine birdies to win by three shots.

• Strydom posted a final-round 69 at Leopard Creek CC to finish the week at 18 under, becoming the eighth South African to win the event.
• He made 25 birdies or better over the course of the week, including eight birdies and an eagle in his third-round 63.
• Eight of the top 10 finishers on the final leader board gamed a Pro V1 and Pro V1x model.

PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA | Gippsland Super 6

Titleist Brand Ambassador Tom Power Horan claimed his second Gippsland Super 6 victory and second career win on the PGA Tour of Australasia, overcoming a two-shot deficit with four holes to play in the event’s six-hole finale.

• Power Horan, playing a Pro V1 golf ball and NEW TSR2 driver among his Titleist setup, birdied his final four holes to win the match by three shots.
• Titleist was No. 1 in all equipment categories this week at Warragul Golf Club in Victoria, with 85 percent of the field playing a Titleist golf ball and 60 percent gaming a Titleist driver.

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