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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
For DP World Tour Championship winner Matt Fitzpatrick, switching to the new Titleist TSi3 driver and TSi2 fairway was critical to his success for the week. Fitzpatrick averaged 300 yards off the tee and finished first in driving accuracy at 76.8 percent on his way to four consecutive rounds in the 60’s and a one-stroke victory ahead of Lee Westwood.
Fitzpatrick put the 9-degree TSi3 driver back in play this week after working with Titleist Tour rep Liam McDougall offsite before the event. The decision was a big one considering Fitzpatrick has played three different drivers since the CJ Cup but ultimately found that the TSi3 with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 shaft offered the greatest consistency.
A month after Titleist won the driver count at the Masters for the first time in two decades, the brand won the driver count at the DP World Tour Championship for the first time. Of the 19 drivers that were in play, 17 were new TSi2 and TSi3 models. Interestingly, there were four non-contracted players who finished in the top 10 – Fitzpatrick, Patrick Reed, Branden Grace and Tommy Fleetwood. Reed has played well in both starts since switching to a 9-degree TSi3 with Aldila Rogue 70 Silver 2.5 MSI shaft, the first coming with a tie for 10th at the Masters.
Thomas Pieters had been playing a 9-degree Callaway Rogue driver with Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 70 TX shaft for the past three years before putting in a TSi2 last week. Pieters told Titleist reps he preferred the shape and weighting of the TSi2, all while picking up 2 mph of ball speed.
Viktor Hovland now has won two times in his PGA Tour career with both coming thanks to dramatic birdie putts on the 72nd hole. Hovland won the Mayakoba Golf Classic with a custom Ping PLD prototype, a putter he has taken a liking to in the past year – the 360-gram mallet is made from 100-percent milled carbon steel and features a patina finish that accelerates the rusting process, giving the head a worn look that Hovland likes.
Hovland is a Ping staffer and recently put a 9-degree Ping G425 LST driver into his bag, but he continues to sprinkle in other brands as well. He has a 15-degree TaylorMade SIM fairway, 21-degree Callaway X Forged UT hybrid and 60-degree Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks lob wedge.
Sean Fairholm