Tony Finau Wins the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities

PGA TOUR | 3M Open

Tony Finau (Pro V1 Left Dot) closed in 4-under 67, making three consecutive birdies from Nos. 14-16, to win by three shots.

  • Finau, who shot a 6-under 66 last Sunday in the final round at St. Andrews, followed with rounds of 67-68-65-67 this week at TPC Twin Cities to earn his third PGA TOUR title.
  • Finau topped the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (+16.651), while finishing third in SG: Approach (+7.855) and second in SG: Around the Green (+3.871).
  • He also finished first in Scrambling, getting his Pro V1 Left Dot up and down 83 percent of the time. 

TONY FINAU ON HIS PRO V1 LEFT DOT

  • “I think equipment starts with the golf ball, not with the clubs, not with the woods, not with any other piece of equipment. It starts with the golf ball. I’ve always been a believer in that.” 
  • “The Left Dot golf ball is right for me because I’ve always put a lot of spin on the golf ball, so it’s the lowest spinning Titleist Pro V1 that is out on the market, and right away, it caught my eye because of the ball flight. I think if you can control your ball flight, you can control the distance. And it’s been such a reliable ball flight for me from the first time that I hit it. I think the best word I can use is just reliable. I can count on the golf ball in crosswinds, into the wind, downwind. I know how far the golf ball is going to go. And that’s a great feeling to have as a professional golfer. Distance control is up there probably with the most important things when it comes to striking a golf ball and playing golf.”

HOW TONY FINAU MARKS HIS PRO V1 LEFT DOT

  • “I actually mark my Pro V1 golf ball with my kids’ initials. I have five kids. I’ll throw my wife in there sometimes as well. So the determining factor for me is if they make a couple bogeys, power lip out, whatever the case, they’re out, and I’m ready for the next kid to come into play and see if they’ll perform. And that’s pretty much it. I’m not crazy superstitious, but there does come a time where, if my kids are a little scared of the dark that day, they want to go swimming, they want to play in the beach, I’ve got to let them go and bring somebody else in that’s ready to score for me.”

TITLEIST SWEEPS EQUIPMENTS COUNTS AT 3M

  • For the third time of the 2021-22 season – and 26th 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 156 players in the field at the 3M Open, Titleist was the most played brand in golf balls, driversfairway metalshybridsutility ironsironswedges and putters:
    • A total of 114 players teed up either a Titleist Pro V1, Pro V1xPro V1 Left Dot or Pro V1x Left Dash golf ball, more than six times the nearest competitor (17) – including the winner and five of the top-6 finishers. 
    • Titleist was the most played driver (50 players), with 25 of them being NEW TSR models. Titleist drivers won the last three major championships of 2022, while the new TSR models have already won twice since their TOUR debut at the Travelers Championship. Cameron Smith won last week’s Open Championship playing a NEW TSR3 driver. 
    • More players chose Titleist fairway metals (61) and hybrids (21) than any other brand. The most popular Titleist fairways were NEW TSR2 and TSR3 models, while the top Titleist hybrid was TSi2.
    • There were 35 Titleist utility irons in play at TPC Twin Cities – including 25 NEW T200 (Utility Build) irons, more than double the nearest competitor’s total number of utilities (14).
    • Titleist irons were in the bags of 45 players, with more players using T100 models (24) than any other brand’s total number of iron sets.
    • Players gamed a total of 237 Vokey Design gap, sand and lob wedges, more than four times the nearest competitor (48). This includes the NEW SM9 WedgeWorks 60T lob wedge that was in the winner’s bag.
    • More players put their trust in Scotty Cameron putters (57) than any other brand, including four of the top-6 finishers.

LPGA | Amundi Evian Championship

Titleist was the most played golf ball at the LPGA’s penultimate major of 2022, with 80 percent of players teeing up a Pro V1 or Pro V1x – including Lydia Ko (Pro V1x), who shot a final-round 5-under 66 to vault up the leaderboard into a tie for third place at 15 under, her best major finish of the season.

WORLD NO. 1 & NO. 4 SWITCH TO TSR DRIVERS & FAIRWAYS

  • The No. 1 & No. 4 players in the Rolex World Rankings (as of July 18 ranking) put NEW TSR drivers and fairway metals in play for the first time at the Amundi Evian Championship, as three players in the top 8 and ties played TSR metalwoods:
    • World No. 1:
      • TSR3 10.0° driver | Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 5 R
        TSR2 15.0° fairway | Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 5 S
        TSR2 18.0° fairway | Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 6 S
    • World No. 4:
      • TSR3 9.0° driver | Mitsubishi Kurokage XD50 S
        TSR2 18.0° fairway | Mitsubishi Diamana PD60 S
  • The World No. 4, who closed in 5-under 66 Sunday, finished T3, while the World No. 1 finished T8 after her fourth straight round in the 60’s. Titleist Brand Ambassador So Yeon Ryu, who earned her best finish of 2022 (T8), also put a NEW TSR driver and fairway in play for the first time in France: 
    • So Yeon Ryu:
      • TSR3 9.0° driver | Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 5 S
        TSR2 15.0° fairway | Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 5 S

SO YEON RYU ON HER NEW TSR DRIVER

  • “I was able to see 1-2 mph of ball speed. It might sound like nothing, but 2-4 yards is still a big difference, so I am very looking forward to have this in my bag.
  • “I don’t think you can find this kind of feel with any other brands. I always like the feel of golf balls staying with the club face a little longer, and then jumping. For me, that’s the feel I like, and so this is the perfect driver. I can have that perfect feel.”
  • “I need to have this comfortable look when I address the ball. It’s the same thing, putter, wedge, everything. As soon as I address the ball [with TSR3], I always just feel really comfortable with it. And then it’s performed really well. No matter what kind of shot you’re going to hit, high, low, fade, draw, I love shaping the ball. And when my club’s just performing as well as I want it to in my head, I think that’s the most enjoyable thing to play golf.”

DP WORLD TOUR | Cazoo Classic

Richie Ramsay (Pro V1x) claimed his fourth title on the DP World Tour, making birdie on three of his final four holes to post a final-round 3-under 69 and win by one shot.

  • Ramsay, the only player to shoot all four rounds in the 60’s, finished the week at 14 under while leading a 1-through-7 for Titleist golf ball players.
  • Paul Waring (Pro V1x) finished second at 13 under, while five players tied for third another shot back. 

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS | The Senior Open Championship

Darren Clarke (Pro V1x) birdied the 72nd hole Sunday to post 1-under 69 and secure a one-shot victory on the King’s Course at Gleneagles.

  • Clarke, who is just the fourth player to win both an Open Championship and Senior Open, finished the week at 10 under, enough to hold off a charging Padraig Harrington (Pro V1), who made six birdies on his final nine to close in 67.
  • Clarke, 53, posted four rounds in the 60s’ – 65-67-69-69 – and birdied the 18th hole all four rounds. 
  • In winning his first senior major, Clarke topped a leaderboard that featured eight Pro V1 and Pro V1x players in the top 10 positions. 

SENIOR OPEN CHAMPION MAKES SWITCH TO PHANTOM X 9.5 PUTTER

  • The Senior Open Champion claimed his first senior major using a NEW Scotty Cameron Phantom X 9.5 tour prototype putter that he first put into play a week prior at the Open Championship.
  • Having previously played a Phantom X 11.5 model, the Senior Open champ told Scotty Cameron Tour Rep Henry Byrne that the 9.5 (with its small slant neck configuration) helped free up his stroke.
  • Additionally, he said the feel of the 9.5 reminded him of the Newport model he used to win the 2011 Open Championship, while providing him the added forgiveness of a mallet. 

KORN FERRY TOUR | Price Cutter Charity Championship

NEW Titleist TSR drivers made their debut on the Korn Ferry Tour last week with more TSR drivers (34) going immediately in play at the Memorial Health Championship than any other brand’s total number of drivers.

  • It was the same story this week at the Price Cutter Charity Championship, as more players used NEW TSR2TSR3 and TSR4 models (32) in Missouri than any other brand. 
  • TSR has also been the most popular fairway model in its first two weeks on the KFT with a total of 65 TSR2 and TSR3 models going straight into players’ bags. 

PGA TOUR CANADA | Osprey Valley Open

Titleist Brand Ambassador Danny Walker birdied the first playoff hole to earn his first-ever victory on PGA TOUR Canada.

  • Walker – playing a Pro V1 golf ball and 14 Titleist clubs – finished the week at 16 under after a final round 3-under 68.
  • On Friday, Walker posted a bogey-free 9-under 62, the best round of the week at the Heathlands Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.

What's in Danny Walker's Titleist Golf Bag?

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: TSi3 9.0°
Fairway Metals: TSi3 15.0°, 18.0°
Irons: T100 (4-5) & 620 MB (6-9)
Wedges: Vokey Design SM8 46.10F, 52.12F, 56.14F, 60.04L
Putter: Scotty Cameron Futura X 5W

USGA | U.S. Adaptive Open

World Golf Hall of Fame member and Titleist Staff Member Dennis Walters got up-and-down for par on his final hole Wednesday at Pinehurst No. 6 to win the Seated Players division of the U.S. Adaptive Open Championship.

  • Walters, 72, chipped from off the 9th green to 4 feet and made the putt to secure the one-shot victory.
  • It was Walters’ first tournament since he was paralyzed from the waist down in a golf cart accident in 1974.
  • “I don’t think I’ve ever tried harder at anything, and I don’t think I’ve ever had anything that was more difficult,” Walters said after Wednesday’s final round. “I proved it today by the way I played.”
  • “I think this tournament has the power to create a real movement for people with disabilities in the direction of playing golf, because a lot of people with a disability I’m guessing would say, I don’t think I could do that. But I think if enough people see this, then it can. I think it can change lives. For me personally, I’m exhausted. I’ve only played three rounds in a row one time in the last – since I started on this journey. Not six and a half hour rounds and not in 100-degree weather. This ol’ boy is tired.”

AMATEUR | U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship

The U.S. Girls’ Junior champion trusted her Titleist AVX golf ball to victory in Saturday’s final match, defeating her opponent 3-and-2 at The Club at Olde Stone.

  • The champion, who finished stroke play at 6 under (T3), also relied on three Vokey Design SM8 wedges and a Scotty Cameron Special Select Newport 2 putter to make key up-and-downs and clutch putts all week.
  • Despite just falling short, the runner-up used a Pro V1x golf ball and full bag of Titleist equipment to win five matches after finishing T14 (2 under) in stroke play.
  • With the victory, the champion earned a spot in next year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, while both finalists are exempt into the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur to be held later this summer at Chambers Bay.

ELITE AMATEUR SERIES | Pacific Coast Amateur

Playing a Pro V1 golf ball, the winner of the Pacific Coast Amateur posted a final round 3-under 68, making birdie on 18 to win by two shots.

  • He finished the week at Columbia Edgewater CC at 15 under.
  • Titleist golf ball players occupied four of the top five spots on the leaderboard, while 84% of the field used a Pro V1, Pro V1x or Pro V1x Left Dash.
  • Titleist golf ball players have won five of the first six Elite Amateur Series events played this summer.

...

#TeamTitleist