A pair of Titleist Pro V1x golf ball players captured momentous PGA Tour victories this week in a showcase of hard work and short-game confidence.

Pro V1x loyalist Luke Donald won the prestigious WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, never trailing in any of his six matches at an unseasonably chilly (and sometimes snowy and icy) Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz., including his 3-and-2 victory in Sunday's finale.

About 2,500 miles away in Mexico, Titleist Brand Ambassador Johnson Wagner won the Mayakoba Golf Classic in a sudden-death playoff, tapping his Pro V1x golf ball in for par on the first playoff hole for his second career PGA Tour title.

Titleist golf ball players have now won eight of the first nine events to begin the 2011 PGA Tour season, including Pro V1x loyalist Aaron Baddeley, who won by two shots at last week's Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.


Also finding the winner's circle this season: Pro V1x loyalist Mark Wilson (Sony Open, Waste Management Phoenix Open), Pro V1 loyalist Jonathan Byrd (Hyundai Tournament of Champions), New Pro V1x loyalist Bubba Watson (Farmers Insurance Open) and Pro V1x loyalist D.A. Points (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am).

Donald's victory at the WGC-Match Play will go down as one of the most dominant performances in tournament history, as he became only the second winner to never reach the 18th hole in any of his matches.

Throughout the week, Donald frustrated his opponents with the masterful short game for which he is renowned, trusting his Pro V1x golf ball to get up-and-down on several occasions from unfriendly and frosty terrain. In total, he made 32 birdies.

"I'm very diligent about working on my short game," said Donald. "I know that my game off the tee and some of my iron play, there is room for improvement, you look at my statistics. But I make up for it around the greens, especially the last few years. And I pride myself on being a good – having good fundamentals and working on it."

Donald was one of 36 players in the 64-player bracket that trusted Titleist golf balls, more than all other competitors combined. Titleist was also first in Iron Sets (19), Hybrids (17) and Sand, Lob and Approach Wedges (50).

For the week, Donald played just 89 holes (just under 15 holes per match), a tournament record, and led after 81 of them. Credit that partly to getting off to good starts, as Donald was a combined 9-up and 8-under through Dove Mountain's first three holes.

"It couldn’t have gone any better – not to get to the 18th hole in any match this week and pretty much go through reasonably stress-free," Donald said of his third-career PGA Tour title. "I played solid this week."

 

• Wagner's short game also starred in Mexico, where he eventually triumphed in an all-Pro V1x playoff with New Pro V1x loyalist Spencer Levin.

Wagner and Levin were two of only three players to post four rounds in the 60s, both finishing regulation at 17-under 267. Levin closed with a Sunday's best 6-under 65, while Wagner's final-round bogey-free 67 was highlighted by an up-and-down at the par-4 16th after nearly hitting his drive into the right hazard.

"I laid it up and made an unbelievable up-and-down," said Wagner. "One of the best up-and-downs I've ever made in my life."

Wagner also made a 9-footer on No. 18 in regulation to force overtime, then two-putted from 15 feet for par on the 18th to win the playoff.

For the week, Wagner finished tied for fourth in greens in regulation (79.2 percent) and seventh in putts per greens in regulation (1.689).

"I'm just beside myself excited. I've been working really hard, and it's just nice to see -- it's nice to see stuff pay off when you work hard, and it shows," said Wagner, who finished last season at No. 126 on the money list. "It makes you want to work even harder."

Wagner was one of 88 players in the field that trusted a Titleist golf ball, more than five times the nearest competitor with 16.

Seven of the Top 10 finishers on the leaderboard also relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success, including Titleist Brand Ambassadors Bobby Gates and Jarrod Lyle, along with Pro V1 loyalists Briny Baird and Brian Gay, all of whom tied for fifth.

Titleist also was first in Sand, Lob and Approach Wedges (105); and Putters (52).

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Wilson and Wagner were two of five Titleist golf players to win last week across the worldwide professional tours. In 2011, Titleist golf ball players have recorded 19 total victories, three times more than the nearest competitor with six and more than all competitors combined:



SUNSHINE TOUR: Titleist Brand Ambassador George Coetzee shot a final-round 8-under 64 to win the Telkom PGA Championship for his first Sunshine Tour title in three years.

“I don’t think there are a lot of people who have hit more balls than me over the last two years,” said Coetzee. “But I am very glad it’s finally paid off, because while you’re battling, the question is always whether you’ll get out of the rut.”

Coetzee (Pro V1x) finished with a 27-under 261 total at the Country Club of Johannesburg, two shots ahead of fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Neil Schietekat.

Coetzee and Schietekat were two of 107 players in the event that trusted Titleist golf balls, more than three times the nearest competitor with 35.



• AUSTRALASIAN TOUR: It was an all-Titleist finish at the Queensland PGA Championship as New Pro V1 loyalist Gareth Paddison led a 1-2-3-4-5 finish for Titleist golf ball loyalists.

Paddison fired a final round 4-under 66 en route to an 18-under 262 victory total, two shots better than Pro V1 loyalist Kieran Pratt and New Pro V1 loyalist Terry Pilkadaris

New Pro V1 loyalist Peter Wilson finished fourth, while Pro V1 loyalist Mike Hendry placed fifth. 

Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at The Queensland PGA Championship with 99 players, nearly five times the nearest competitor with 21.

NATIONWIDE TOUR: Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the Panama Claro Championship with 91 players, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 13.

The winner played the New Pro V1x golf ball and posted all four rounds in the 60s for an 11-under par 269 total.

Titleist also was first in Iron Sets (37); Sand, Lob and Approach Wedges (124); and Putters (59). 

LPGA: Forty-three players at the HSBC Women's Champions trusted Titleist golf balls, more than six times the nearest competitor with seven and more than all competitors combined.