FAIRHAVEN, Ma. -- Rookie Eric Axley earned his first
career PGA Tour title, firing consecutive career-best rounds of 63 en route
to a three-shot win at the Valero Texas Open. He becomes the second
consecutive Titleist brand ambassador to win on the PGA Tour. Last week,
Ben Curtis captured the 84 Lumber Classic for his second victory of the
year and the third of his career trusting the Pro V1x and a full bag of
Titleist golf clubs.
Axley finished the week with a 15-under 265 total, including a stretch of
53 consecutive holes without a bogey. Dean Wilson (Pro V1x) was among a
three-way tie for second place. Titleist full-line staff professional,
Frank Lickliter III (Pro V1, Pro Titanium 905S driver, PT 906F2 3-wood,
Forged 695MB irons, Vokey Design Spin Milled approach, sand and lob wedges,
Scotty Cameron Newport putter), tied for fifth with Chris Riley (Pro V1x),
while another Titleist brand ambassador, Charley Hoffman (Pro V1, Pro
Titanium 905R driver, PT prototype fairway metal, Forged 680 irons, Vokey
Design sand wedge and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Red X putter) tied for
eighth position.
Of the 20 players who finished in the top 15 and ties, 17 relied on
Titleist golf balls. In fact, Titleist was the most played golf ball at
the Valero Texas Open with 100 players (69%), more than six times the
nearest competitor with 15. Titleist was also the choice of more players
than any other brand in the wedge (106/34%) and putter (57/40%) categories.
The victory was the 20th for Titleist golf ball players this year on the
PGA Tour, compared to 11 for the nearest competitor.
Axley's win also marked the 22nd on the PGA Tour for players relying upon
the consistency and confidence inspired by a Scott Cameron putter, more
than three times the nearest competitor with 7.
WHAT'S IN ERIC AXLEY'S BAG?: Pro V1x golf ball, Pro Titanium 905R driver
(8.5), Forged 690MB irons (3-P), Vokey Design sand (56) and lob (60)
wedges, Scotty Cameron putter.
To learn more about Titleist's golf club success on the PGA Tour, the PGA
Professional National Championship and at major amateur events, visit the
new Titleist Golf Club leaderboard at:
http://titleist.com/leaderboard/default.asp
RYDER CUP: Europe defeated the United States 18 1/2-9 1/2 to win a third
straight Ryder Cup, this time by the same margin of victory as their win at
Oakland Hills in 2004. It is the first time in history that the Europeans
have defeated the Americans three straight in these biennial matches.
Fifteen players relied upon Titleist golf balls at the Ryder Cup, including
eight from the victorious European team and seven on the United States
squad. Among the Titleist golf ball loyalists on the European Team were
David Howell, Luke Donald, full-line Titleist ambassador Robert Karlsson,
Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.
American players included David Toms, Chris DiMarco, Vaughn Taylor, J.J.
Henry, full-line Titleist ambassador Zach Johnson, Brett Wetterich and
Scott Verplank. The nearest competitor had four golf balls in play.
