The 152nd Open Champion gamed a pair of Vokey Design wedges in earning his second major title, claiming the fifth victory in the last six major championships for Vokey wedge players.
He put the result out of reach on Royal Troon’s par-5 16th, using his Vokey Design SM10 60.04T lob wedge to execute a menacing pitch over a greenside pot bunker, leaving himself a 4-foot putt for birdie to reach his winning total of 9 under par.
The champion, who also carried a Vokey SM10 56.10S sand wedge, gained nearly three shots on the field around the green (+2.866/15th) with half of them coming on Sunday (+1.437).
At the PGA Championship, he used his Vokey WedgeWorks 60-degree Low Bounce K lob wedge to make the tournament-clinching up and down on the 72nd hole. (The champion most regularly games his 60.06K, rotating to the 60.04T during weeks with tighter, firmer conditions such as Royal Troon.)
This week in Scotland, 49 percent (217) of the gap, sand and lob wedges in play were Vokey Design, compared to 64 (14%) for the nearest competitor.
The champion also led a 1-2-3 finish for Vokey wedge players, with a total of nine Vokeys among them:
• 152nd Open Champion: NEW Vokey Design SM10 56.10S, 60.04T wedges | True Temper Dynamic Gold X100.
• Billy Horschel (T2): NEW Vokey Design SM10 46.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60V (@62) wedges | True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100 (46), Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Onyx S400 (52-60).
• 2013 U.S. Open Champion (T2): Vokey Design SM9 52.12F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60L | KBS C-Taper 125 S+ (52), KBS Tour Hi-Rev 2.0 Wedge 125 S (56), NS Pro Modus3 125 (60).
Vokey wedges have been brought to the winner’s circle in 20 of the last 25 weeks on the PGA TOUR.
JUSTIN ROSE RECORDS BEST MAJOR FINISH IN 6 YEARS
Playing his Pro V1x+ prototype golf ball, Justin Rose carded rounds of 69-68-73-67 to post 7 under and finish T2, his best major result in six years.
The 43-year-old has been playing a Titleist golf ball since switching from a competitive brand at the Open Championship in 2021. For years, he opted for the low-flight, low-spin performance of Pro V1 Left Dot, which he used to win his 11th PGA TOUR title at the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. This season, he began testing different Titleist ball models, eventually landing on the higher-spinning custom performance option of the Pro V1x+ prototype, which he first played at the Masters. He finished T6 at the PGA Championship at Valhalla before finishing T2 this week at Troon.
This week, he hit 50 greens in regulation (69%, T2) and gained over seven shots on the field with his approach play (+7.186, 4th).
“The Pro V1x has been a surprise being fitted into that,” said Rose. “But the reason I’m fitted into it is because on the driver, I’m seeing no change at all. 2300-2400 spin rates are great. I go into my irons, I’m seeing a big uptick in spin. That’s something that I think that’s helping me be more creative with my iron play.
“Now, I have massively high demands of myself, and actually the way I try to operate with my swing at the moment is that I’m very, very, very precise with how I’m dealing with my baseline and my swing. We’re kind of dealing with zeros if I’m more than one degree out with my swing path, we’re making adjustments to that. So obviously if I’m dealing with a degree of tolerance, I want to make sure that there’s something on the other end of that swing that has zero tolerance as well. The ball is your ultimate teacher. What you do to it is what it does. It doesn’t have a mind of its own. It does what we tell it to do. That’s all you want from your golf ball. When you put the correct move on it, it does exactly what you want.”
OPEN RUNNERS-UP GAME TITLEIST GOLF BALLS, NEW GT DRIVERS, 13 TITLEIST CLUBS EACH
Titleist Brand Ambassador Billy Horschel and the 2013 U.S. Open champion finished in a tie for second place, both gaming a Pro V1x golf ball model along with 13 Titleist clubs. In the bags of both players: NEW GT3 drivers, a blended set of T100 and 620 MB irons, along with a T200 2-iron, and NEW Vokey Design SM10 wedges.
Horschel closed on Sunday with three consecutive birdies over his final three holes, locking up his runner-up finish at 7 under, the best major championship result of his career. The 2013 U.S. Open champion also finished in style, birdieing the par-5 16th — after reaching the green in two with a GT3 driver off the deck approach — and then rolling in a birdie putt on the last with his new Scotty Cameron Phantom 5 tour prototype putter.
Both players have moved into NEW GT3 9.0 models since the models launched at the Memorial Tournament in June. Horschel moved into his GT3 driver immediately after testing on the range at Muirfield Village:
“It feels more solid to me,” he said then of his new driver. “I know where the ball is better…Even the ones I missed, the dispersion is still tight. We haven’t lost anything. It’s faster, spin rate is more consistent.”
The 2013 U.S. Open champion, who put his GT3 in the bag at the Scottish Open, was previously playing a TSR3 driver that had been in the bag since the 2024 Masters. The week of the Masters was also the same week that he moved into Titleist irons (T100 4-5 irons, 620 MB 6-P irons).
WITB | Billy Horschel
Titleist Pro V1x+ prototype golf ball
NEW GT3 9.0 driver | Fujikura Ventus Black TR 6 X
TSi2 15.0 fairway | Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
T200 2-iron | Graphite Design Tour AD DI-105 Hybrid X
T100 3, 5 irons | True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100
620 MB 6-9 irons | True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100
Vokey Design SM10 46.10F, 52.12F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60V (@62) wedges | True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100 (46), Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Onyx S400 (52-60)
WITB | 2013 U.S. Open Champion
Titleist Pro V1x+ prototype golf ball
NEW GT3 9.0 driver | Project X HZRDUS Black 60 6.5 TX
T200 2-iron | Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 90 HY 6.5
T100 4-5 irons | KBS C-Taper 125 S+
620 MB 6-P irons | KBS C-Taper 125 S+
Vokey Design SM9 52.12F, 56.08M, WedgeWorks 60L | KBS C-Taper 125 S+ (52), KBS Tour Hi-Rev 2.0 Wedge 125 S (56), NS Pro Modus3 125 (60)
NEW Scotty Cameron Phantom 5 tour prototype putter
OPEN RUNNER-UP MAKES SWITCH TO NEW PHANTOM 5 PUTTER
The 2013 U.S. Open champion earned his best major finish in six years Sunday at Troon, closing out his week by rolling in a 15-foot birdie putt on the last with his new Scotty Cameron Phantom 5 tour prototype putter. For the week, he gained four strokes (+ 4.001) on the field with his putting (11th).
The Phantom 5 is a recent addition to the 43-year-old’s bag, having made a mid-tournament switch to the Phantom 5 from a competitive model at the Travelers Championship, where he gamed it for the first time in Round 3.
His next start with the new putter was at Final Qualifying for the 152nd Open, where he posted 8-under over 36 holes at Burnham & Berrow to earn a spot at Troon.
OPEN’S LOW AMATEUR GAMES PRO V1; ALL FOUR AMS TO MAKE CUT PLAY TITLEIST
The low amateur at the 152nd Open Championship played a Pro V1 golf ball, finishing the week T43 to earn the silver medal in his home country. All four of the amateurs to make the cut this week at Royal Troon played a Titleist golf ball, with three of them also gaming Titleist drivers and Vokey wedges.
T43:Pro V1
T60: Pro V1x golf ball; TSR3 9.0 driver; Vokey Design SM10 52.12F, 56.12D, 60.08M wedges; Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 putter
T60 | Jacob Skov Olesen:Pro V1 golf ball; TSR2 9.0 driver; NEW GT3 15.0 fairway; TSR2 18.0 hybrid; T150 4-iron; T100 5-P irons; Vokey Design SM10 50.12F, 56.08M, SM9 60.04L wedges
78th | Luis Masaveu:Pro V1 golf ball; TSR3 9.0 driver, T200 2-3 irons; 620 CB 4-5 irons; 620 MB 6-9 irons; Vokey Design SM10 46.10F, 50.12F, 54.14F, 58.08M wedges; Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 putter
PGA TOUR | Barracuda Championship
The winner of the Barracuda Championship gamed a Pro V1 golf ball in winning his second PGA TOUR event of 2024, while leading a 1-2-3-4 finish for Titleist golf ball players.
The champion hit 16 of 18 greens on Sunday in Tahoe on his way to closing 9-under 62 and 19 points in the Stableford format. He played his final four holes in four under, with an eagle (five points) on 15 and a birdie (two points) on 17 that would prove to be the winning margin, getting him to 49 points for the week.
It marked the winner’s first PGA TOUR victory since turning professional, six months after his historic victory at The American Express as an amateur.
Leading the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (+6.318), Titleist Brand Ambassador Vincent Whaley (Pro V1 Left Dot) birdied 18 to claim solo second (47 points). Patrick Fishburn (Pro V1) finished in third another point back (46), while Titleist Brand Ambassador Mac Meissner (Pro V1x) was fourth with 44 points.
LPGA | Dana Open
Playing her Pro V1 golf ball, the winner of the Dana Open closed with back-to-back birdies on her final two holes of the tournament to earn her second LPGA title. The winner, who broke through with her first LPGA victory at the 2023 Portland Classic, carded four rounds of 67 or lower this week (66-65-66-67), good for a 20-under total and a one-shot win.
LET | Dutch Ladies Open
Jan Melichova (Pro V1) earned the second LET title of her career with a one-shot win Sunday in the Netherlands. The 26-year-old made three back-nine birdies coming down the stretch to outpace the chasing pack and post a final round 5-under 67.
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