Titleist Tour Report: Pro V1x loyalist D.A. Points Earns First PGA Tour Victory, Leads Top-8 Sweep for Titleist Golf Ball Players

Pro V1x loyalist D.A. Points won the AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend, leading a top-8 sweep for Titleist golf ball loyalists on the Monterey Peninsula.

Points holed out for eagle on Pebble Beach's infamous par-5 14th during his final-round 5-under 67, adding style points to his two-shot victory.

He tapped in for par on 18, celebrating his first PGA Tour title with pro-am partner, comedian and fellow Illinois native Bill Murray, who despite the close finish helped turn this one into a laugher.


Titleist golf ball players have now won five out of the PGA Tour's first six events of the season, following victories by Pro V1x loyalist Mark Wilson (Sony Open, Waste Management Phoenix Open), Pro V1 loyalist Jonathan Byrd (Hyundai Tournament of Champions) and New Pro V1x loyalist Bubba Watson (Farmers Insurance Open).

"It will take me a really long time to truly grasp what I was able to accomplish with Bill this week. But it's really exciting and it's a dream come true," said Points, who finished at 15-under 271 after opening with a 7-under 63 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.


New Pro V1x loyalist Hunter Mahan finished runner-up after closing in 6-under 66, the best round of the day. Titleist Brand Ambassador Tom Gillis (Pro V1) finished solo third (275), while New Pro V1x loyalists Steve Marino and Spencer Levin tied for fourth (276). Titleist Brand Ambassadors Nick Watney (Pro V1x) and Bryce Molder (New Pro V1x) and Pro V1x loyalist Aaron Baddeley tied for sixth (277).

Twelve of the top 13 finishers at Pebble Beach were Titleist golf ball players.

In total, 107 players in the field trusted Titleist golf balls, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 14 and more than all other competitors combined. Titleist also was first in Iron Sets (42); Sand, Lob and Approach Wedges (137); and Putters (63).

The shot of the tournament came Sunday at the par-5 14th, where Points stood in the fairway faced with a 107-yard shot downwind to a dangerously small target, faced with what Points said is "one of the hardest wedge shots us pros have to hit all year." His Pro V1x golf ball sailed over the front left bunker, landed in the first cut of rough, bounced slightly left and rolled into the cup for eagle and a one-shot lead.

"We are trying to get as much spin on it so we can hold it up there (on 14)," Points said. "It's just a treacherous shot. There's not much green and when it's firm and there's a little wind and it's so uphill and the lip on that bunker makes it just kind of a scary shot."

Check out the shot below:


He extended his lead to two shots with a bending 30-footer for birdie on the 15th green, his tournament-leading twenty-third birdie of the week. Points also led the field in putts per green in regulation (1.6).

"I grew up on the 17th hole of a local country club in Illinois and both of my parents played and taught me the game, and to win on the PGA Tour, and especially at Pebble Beach and especially with Bill Murray, gosh, I mean, I don't think I could even dream it up," Points said. "I don't think I could even dream it that well."

• LPGA: Pro V1x loyalist Yani Tseng took over the top spot in the Rolex World Ranking after winning the Australian Ladies Masters for her second victory in two weeks.

Tseng shot a final-round 4-under 68 for a 24-under 264 total and four-shot victory at Royal Pines Resort in Benowa. Tseng won last week's Australian Open at Commonwealth Golf Club in Melbourne by seven shots.

“It is so soon,” Tseng said of her No. 1 ranking. “I wasn’t expecting it as quickly as this. I still have another 10 months to go. I just need to be very patient and keep working hard. I still have a lot of things to learn too.”

The 2011 LPGA season begins this week at the Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club in Chonburi.

• CHAMPIONS TOUR: It was a 1-2-3 finish for Titleist players at the Allianz Championship, where Pro V1 loyalist Tom Lehman sank a 6-footer for birdie on 18 to edge fellow Pro V1 loyalists Jeff Sluman and Rod Spittle for his third career Champions Tour title.

“It was a good day, it was a fun day,” Lehman, who closed with a 3-under-par 69 for a 13-under 203 total, told the Associated Press. “It was pretty nip-and-tuck all the way. No one could really get a separation. I played a pretty steady round of golf and was fortunate to get the victory.”

Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the event with 53 players, more than four times the nearest competitor with 11. Of the 10 players who finished tied for 9th place or better at the Allianz Championship, 7 trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success. Titleist also was first in Iron Sets (24); and Putters (T-20).

• EUROPEAN TOUR: Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic with 84 players, four times the nearest competitor with 21.