Jin Young Ko Wins the BMW Ladies Championship, Reclaiming World No. 1 Ranking

By Zack R., Team Titleist Staff On 25 October 2021 Balls Tour Clubs

LPGA | BMW Ladies Championship

Playing in her home country, Jin Young Ko rolled her Pro V1 golf ball in for birdie on the first hole of a playoff to win her second-consecutive LPGA victory and third in her last five starts, moving her back to No. 1 in the world ranking.

  • All added up, it marked her fourth win of the season, 11th of her career and 200th by a Korean-born player on the LPGA Tour.
  • Ko, who rallied from four shots back with a flawless closing round of 8-under 64 that included a front-nine 30, played her final 55 holes bogey-free.
  • For the week, she hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation (86.1%).
  • In her last seven starts, Ko is a cumulative 90 under par and has totaled more bogey-free rounds (8) than rounds in the 70s (4), while making birdie or better on 28 percent of holes played.
  • Of the 28 events played this year on the LPGA, 24 have been won by a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball player.

WIN NO. 10 FOR TITLEIST DRIVERS ON LPGA

  • Playing a Titleist TSi3 driver, the winner of the BMW Ladies Championship claimed win No. 10 for Titleist drivers (nine for TSi models) on the 2021 LPGA Tour.
  • She first put her Titleist TSi3 11.0° model into play at the KIA Classic in late March, making a mid-tournament switch from a competitive model.
  • Following the first round, she made the short drive from Aviara GC in Carlsbad, Calif., to the Titleist Performance Institute in nearby Oceanside to test the new TSi models.
  • It took no more than 30 minutes for her to get dialed in to a TSi3 11.0° driver with a Graphite Design IZ 5R shaft (45”), while working with Titleist fitters Aaron Luttrell and Nick Geyer.
  • The new setup, which she gamed for Round 2, delivered added ball speed with a more optimal spin number for increased carry distance.
  • Over the final three rounds that week, she averaged 264 yards off the tee, 12 yards longer than her Round 1 average.
  • This week in South Korea, she hit 43 of 56 fairways (76.8%) and averaged 252 yards off the tee.

WINNER PLAYS NINE TITLEIST CLUBS

  • In addition to her Pro V1 golf ball, the winner of the BMW Ladies Championship had a total of nine Titleist clubs in the bag, eight of which she put into play for the first time last month for her win at the Cambria Portland Classic.
  • Having worked with Titleist fitters in Korea following the Olympics, she added two TSi2 fairways (15.0°, 18.0°), two TSi2 hybrids (21.0°, 24.0°), three Vokey Design SM8 wedges (50.08F, 52.08F, 58.06K) and a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 putter to the bag. 

WORLD NO. 1 ON A ROLL WITH SCOTTY CAMERON PHANTOM X 5.5

  • The winner of the BMW Ladies Championship claimed her third LPGA title and fifth top-6 finish in five starts since putting a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 putter in play.
  • The new World No. 1 switched to the Phantom X 5.5 from a competitive mallet model following a fitting session with Scotty Cameron fitter Eric Kong in Korea, where she took an extended break after a T-9 finish at the Olympics.
  • She debuted her new Phantom X 5.5 – inspired by the putter Justin Thomas has used for 13 of his 14 PGA TOUR wins – several weeks later at the Cambria Portland Classic, where she needed only 78 putts over 54 holes (1.44 average) on her way to a four-shot win. In both of her latest two wins, she has averaged 1.58 putts.
  • “I changed this putter five or six weeks ago in Korea, and I use this putter four weeks in a row from the Portland and here,” she said after her previous victory at Cognizant Founders Cup. “I got two wins with this putter and two top-10s, so, yeah, I think I will love this putter (smiling).” 

EIGHT TITLEIST GOLF BALL PLAYERS EARN 2022 LPGA CARDS

  • Titleist golf ball players claimed eight of the top 10 positions on the 2021 Symetra Tour, each earning their tour cards for the 2022 LPGA season.
  • Topping the list was Titleist Pro V1x loyalist Lilia Vu, who won three times and had eight total top-5 finishes to earn Symetra Tour Player of the Year honors.
  • Titleist golf ball players occupied each of the top six positions on the final Race for the Card money list, which was finalized Oct. 10.

PGA TOUR | ZOZO Championship

The winner of the ZOZO Championship trusted a Scotty Cameron Timeless tour prototype putter to a five-shot victory in Japan, claiming his first win of the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season and second victory of the year.

  • A longtime Scotty Cameron player, his first win of 2021 came at the Masters Tournament, where he played a similar-style Newport 2 tour prototype model.
  • His victory at Augusta National was one of 18 wins for Scotty Cameron players during the ‘20-21 season, six more than the nearest competitor.
  • His win Sunday was the third for Scotty Cameron players through five events to start the ’21-22 season, following victories by Max Homa (Phantom X 5) and Sungjae Im (Flowback 5).

EUROPEAN TOUR | Mallorca Golf Open

Playing a Pro V1x golf ball, Jeff Winther posted a pair of 8-under 62’s on his way to claiming his first European Tour title.

  • Winther’s closing even-par 70 in windy conditions at Golf Santa Ponsa earned him the hard-fought one-shot victory, the 20th of the season for Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x players on the European Tour.
  • He made just one bogey over his final 36 holes.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS | Dominion Energy Charity Classic

Bernhard Langer became the oldest winner in PGA TOUR Champions history – at 64 years, 1 month, 27 days old – rolling his Pro V1x golf ball in for birdie on the first hole of a playoff Sunday at the Country Club of Virginia.

  • Langer, who led a 1-2-3 finish for Titleist golf ball players, closed in 3-under 69 to force the playoff with Doug Barron (Pro V1 Yellow) at 14 under.
  • Langer finished first in Greens in Regulation (87%), hitting 47 of 54 fairways for the week.
  • Langer has now claimed 42 wins on the 50-and-over circuit, three shy of the all-time mark.

KOREAN TOUR | Hana Bank Invitational

Titleist Brand Ambassador Richard T. Lee – playing a Pro V1x golf ball and full bag of Titleist equipment – captured his third-career KPGA Tour title, closing in 1-under 70 to claim a four-shot victory.

  • Lee topped a leaderboard that featured 10 Titleist golf ball players in first 11 positions.

WHAT’S IN RICHARD T. LEE’S BAG?

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: TSi2 9.0°
Fairway Metals: TSi2 13.5° & 15.0°
Irons: 620 MB 3-9
Wedges: Vokey Design SM8 48.10F, 56.10S, 60.10S
Putter: Scotty Cameron Super Rat 2 tour prototype 

SUNSHINE TOUR | Blair Atholl Championship

Luke Brown (Pro V1) closed with a bogey-free 67 to rally from two shots back and clinch his maiden Sunshine Tour victory.

  • Brown, who finished two shots clear of fellow Titleist golf ball loyalist Neil Schietekat (Pro V1x), led a 1-through-5 finish for Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x players at Blair Atholl Golf Estate.
  • Brown’s victory marks the 14th win for Titleist golf ball players in 15 events this season.

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