Titleist Brand Ambassador Geoff Ogilvy captured the "jewel" of Australian golf Sunday in Sydney, using a Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, the new Titleist 910 driver and a bag full of Titleist equipment.

Ogilvy was the only player to post four rounds in the 60s (68-65-67-69) at The Lakes Golf Club, four gems that led to a 19-under 269 total, a comfortable four-shot victory and his first Australian Open title.

"My goal is to win every tournament I play – but this is the real special one in Australian golf, this is the jewel," said Ogilvy, one of four Titleist Brand Ambassadors and golf ball loyalists last weekend to find winner's circles around the world.

Pro V1x loyalist and World No. 1 Lee Westwood cruised to an eight-shot victory at the Sunshine Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge, while Maria Hjorth (LPGA Tour Championship) earned the first LPGA victory for the new Titleist Pro V1x prototype golf ball and fourth overall since the seeding of the new golf balls began across the worldwide professional tours in October. On the Japan Tour, Titleist Brand Ambassador Hiroyuki Fujita became the first player to win using the new Titleist Pro V1 prototype golf ball.

Ogilvy was also the 16th player across the worldwide professional tours to win using the new Titleist 910 driver, which he first put into play at the Open Championship at St. Andrews. Ogilvy plays a Titleist 910D3 8.5 model with an Aldila RIP 80 shaft and his SureFit Tour (SFT) hosel in the A•3 setting (+1.5 more loft, +1.5 upright).

For the week, Ogilvy totaled 20 birdies, two eagles and just five bogeys – and hit just under 82 percent of his greens in regulation, the statistic considered the most important by Team Titleist members in a recent poll. His second-round 7-under 65 included seven birdies and no bogeys, including five birdies over his final six holes.

"I came into a bit of form late but ran out of tournaments," said Ogilvy, winner of the PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions in January. He also tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship in September.

"(This win) definitely helped the year a lot," he said. "Any year you win a golf tournament is exciting (and) any year you win the Australian Open you're going to have to look back and think it's a pretty special year."

Starting the day with a five-shot lead, Ogilvy held off fellow Titleist Brand Ambassadors Matt Jones and Alistair Presnell, who finished joint runner-up at 15-under 273.

Ogilvy, Jones and Presnell were three of the 122 players in the field that trusted a Titleist golf ball, more than 13 times the nearest competitor with nine.

Nine of the 11 golfers who finished among the top 10 and ties trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success.


Titleist was also the top choice in every other major equipment category including Drivers (58); Fairway Metals (65); Hybrids (48); Iron Sets (79); Sand, Lob & Approach Wedges (189); and Putters (47).

Also in Ogilvy's bag this week was a new Titleist 910F 15.0 fairway metal with an Aldila RIP 90 shaft and his SFT hosel in the C•3 position (+.75 more loft, +.75 upright).

Here's a closer look at the Titleist equipment Ogilvy used at the Australian Open:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Titleist 910D3 8.5, A•3 SFT Setting (Aldila RIP 80)
Fairway metal: Titleist 910F 15.0, C•3 SFT Setting (Aldila RIP 90)
Iron (2): Titleist CB (KBS Tour)
Irons (3-9): Titleist MB (KBS Tour)
Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled 50, 54, TVD58 (Dynamic Gold)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circle T 303 SSS Prototype

• • •

In 2010, Titleist golf ball players have recorded 148 total victories across the worldwide professional tours, nearly six times the nearest competitor with 25:


• SUNSHINE TOUR:  Pro V1x loyalist Lee Westwood punctuated the 2010 season with an eight-shot victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa.

The win guaranteed Westwood will enter 2011 as the No. 1 player in the world.

Westwood closed with a 4-under 68, including a chip-in from almost 40 yards for birdie on the final hole.


“To chip in on the last when you’ve got a seven-shot lead,” said Westwood, who posted rounds of 68-64-71-68 at the Gary Player Country Club for a 17-under 271 total. “That’s the stuff that dreams are made of, I guess.”

"(Being No. 1 is) still something I’m trying to come to terms with,” said Westwood. “There’s expectation whenever you turn up at tournaments and you have to fulfil that. But since I’ve become No. 1, I’ve finished second, third and first. So I think I can cope with it.”

• LPGA TOUR: Pro V1 loyalist Maria Hjorth became the first LPGA player to win using the new Pro V1 prototype golf ball, sinking a clutch putt on the 18th hole at Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., for a one-shot victory over Pro V1 loyalist Amy Yang at the LPGA Tour Championship.

“I love the new Pro V1 because it fits my game very well," said Hjorth, who closed in even-par 72 for a 5-under 283 total,  the second highest-winning score relative to par this season.

"It has a great ball flight and spins less for me, which I like. It is very durable and feels great around the greens,” she said.

Hjorth's victory was highlighted by several par-saving putts on Grand Cypress' firm and frustrating putting surfaces, including a 10-footer on the 16th and an eight-footer on No. 18, which broke slightly downhill.

It was Hjorth's fourth LPGA victory and first since giving birth to her 1-year-old daughter, Emily.

Also earning prizes at the LPGA's season finale were Pro V1x loyalists Na Yeon Choi and Yani Tseng.

Choi tied for fifth to wrap up the LPGA money title and also claim the Vare trophy for the year's lowest scoring average. Tseng, who had three wins in 2010 including a pair of major championships (Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Ricoh Women's British Open), clinched the LPGA Player of the Year award.

Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the LPGA Tour Championship with 87 players, more than six times the nearest competitor with 14. Of the 10 players who finished tied for seventh or better at the event, nine trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success.

• JAPAN TOUR:  Pro V1 loyalist Hiroyuki Fujita earned the first victory across the worldwide professional tours for the new Titleist Pro V1 prototype golf ball, closing in 4-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Pro V1x loyalist Toru Taniguchi at the season-ending JT Cup 2010.

Fujita eagled the 17th hole to sneak past a hard-charging Taniguchi, who posted a final-round 9-under 61

The victory was Fujita's second this season (Tsuruya Open) and the 10th of his career. Fujita finished second on the money list behind Titleist Brand Ambassador Kyung-Tae Kim, who carded a closing 5-under 65 and shared fifth place. 

The 24-year-old Kim became the Japan Tour's first South Korean money title winner.

Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the limited-field Golf Nippon Series JT Cup with 10 players, compared to 85 for the nearest competitor.  Titleist was also the top choice in Hybrids (9); and Sand, Lob and Approach Wedges (28).




• ASIAN TOUR: Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the 2010 Hero Honda Indian Open in New Delhi, India with 85 players, more than eight times the nearest competitor with 10. Of the 12 players who finished in the top-10 at the Hero Honda Open, 8 trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success.

Seventeen-year-old Titleist Brand Ambassador Matteo Manassero was named the PGA European Tour’s Rookie of the Year this week after a record-breaking season in which he became the youngest player ever to win a European Tour event.

Manassero officially launched his professional career in May at the BMW Italian Open, also making his debut as the newest Titleist Brand Ambassador.

Just a few months later, Matteo captured his maiden victory, trusting his Pro V1x golf ball and a full bag of Titleist clubs to record a four-shot win at the Castello Masters.

He was 17 years and 188 days old at the time of the achievement, eclipsing the previous record set by New Zealand’s Danny Lee, who won the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic at the age of 18 years and 213 days. At the same time, Matteo surpassed the legendary Seve Ballesteros (17 years and 200 days) as the youngest player to become a full European Tour Member.

“It is a big honor to win the Rookie of the Year award,” said Manassero, currently ranked 59th in the world. “I never expected to win on tour so quickly and to win the Rookie of the Year Award is a perfect way to end my first season as a professional. It is such a special award because you only get one chance to win it so it is a great honor."

Matteo's arrival on the professional circuit was preceded by a brief but distinguished amateur career that included a victory at last year's British Amateur Championship as well as low amateur honors at both the 2009 Open Championship (he tied for 13th at Tunberry) and the 2010 Masters Tournament (tied for 36th), where he became the youngest player ever to compete and make the 36-hole cut at Augusta National.
 
Manassero earned €890,401 ($1.17 million) in 2010 to finish in 31st place in the European Tour's Race to Dubai. He was a cumulative 73-under par for 54 rounds, and only posted seven rounds worse than 72.

Here's a closer look at Matteo Manassero's Titleist equipment:

Golf Ball: Pro V1x
Driver: 910D2 9.5, SFT Setting A∙1 (Graphite Tour Issue 7 X, 45")
Fairway: 909F2 13.5 (Graphite Tour Issue 7 X, 43")
Hybrids: 909H 17.0 & 21.0 (Graphite Tour Issue Hybrid X, 41")
Irons (3-PW): AP2 (Precision Project X 5.5*)
Wedge: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C 252-08 (Precision Project X 5.5*)
Wedge: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C TVD 58 (Precision Project X 5.5*)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Newport Select w/ Xperimental Black Finish
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet (.580" round, 1 extra wrap, logo underneath)

*All irons and wedges standard loft and length, 1° flat lie angle

The final event of the 2010 LPGA season is upon us – and it should be an interesting conclusion with the LPGA money list title, Vare Trophy (scoring average) and Rolex Player of the Year races all still up for grabs.

Chasing those titles this week at the LPGA Tour Championship will be several Titleist golf ball players, including four out of the top five players in the Rolex World Rankings: 1. Jiyai Shin (Pro V1); 3. Cristie Kerr (Pro V1); 4. Yani Tseng (Pro V1x); and 5. Na Yeon Choi (Pro V1x) – all of whom spent time with us Tuesday at Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., during our LPGA TV shoot. (We'll post behind-the-scenes pictures soon.)

In total, 87 players at the LPGA Tour Championship are trusting Titleist golf ball this week, more than six times the nearest competitor with six.

Team Titleist members T. Meadows, D. Galloway, S. McGuigan, J. Coffey, J. Henry, J. Williams, R. Sygerych, J. Mock, C. Cundiff, P. Bean, B. Berzanskis, J. Stricklin, M. Marquez, S. Bartle, K. Smith and T. Kyle won tickets to this event through Team Titleist and will be attending the event courtesy of the LPGA Tour Championship.

TV coverage of the tournament on Golf Channel is as follows (all times ET):

• Thursday, Dec 2: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
• Friday, Dec 3: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec 4: 7:30-9:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec 5: 7:30-9:30 p.m.

For more information about the tournament or to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.lpga.com/lpgatourchampionship.aspx