With the sun dropping fast in the desert, Mark Wilson rolled his Pro V1x golf ball in for birdie on the final hole Sunday at the Humana Challenge to extend Titleist's win streak to start the 2012 PGA Tour season.

On a chilly evening at PGA West, Wilson closed with a 3-under 69 for a 24-under 264 total and two-shot victory over Robert Garrigus (Pro V1), John Mallinger (Pro V1x) and Johnson Wagner (Pro V1x), winner of last week's Sony Open in Hawaii.

Pro V1x players have now won the PGA Tour's first three events of 2012, beginning with Titleist Brand Ambassador Steve Stricker's season-opening victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

in 2011, Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x players won 33 of 44 PGA Tour events played, including a pair of early-season wins for Wilson (Sony Open, Phoenix Open).

Sunday's victory was the fifth of Wilson's career, not to mention the coldest.

"I played in short sleeves all day I didn't want to put my sweater on the last hole," Wilson said. "That's why I was blowing on my hands to get them warm enough to get that last hole in."

He already had the hot hand, of course, hitting over 80 percent of his greens in regulation Sunday and playing his last 8 holes in 4 under, including a hole-out from the bunker for birdie on No. 12 and the clinching putt on the 18th.

Wilson topped a leader board that featured 10 Titleist golf ball loyalists among the top 11: Wilson, Garrigus, Mallinger, Wagner, Jeff Maggert (Pro V1x), John Senden (Pro V1), David Toms (Pro V1), Ben Crane (Pro V1x), Bobby Gates (Pro V1x) and Zach Johnson (Pro V1x).

A total of 99 players in the field relied on Titleist golf balls for their success, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 14 and more than all competitors combined.

Titleist was also No. 1 in iron sets (41); sand, lob and approach wedges (123); and putters (57).

• CHAMPIONS TOUR: Dan Forsman captured the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, trusting a Pro V1x golf ball to

Forsman, who led the field in Greens in Regulation (81.5 percent) and finished T-4 in Driving Accuracy (81 percent) finished the three rounds at Hualalai Resort at 15-under 201, two shots ahead of Jay Don Blake (Pro V1x).

The win marked the third victory of Forsman's Champions Tour career.

"On the 18th green I couldn't even speak," Forsman told PGATour.com. "I am really humbled to top this field of guys I've admired and competed with all my professional life. The chance to be on top of a distinguished group of players like this is something I'll always cherish. You've got to be blessed to have opportunities like this and I feel like I am."

• EUROPEAN TOUR: Titleist was the No. 1 golf ball of choice at the Volvo Golf Champions event with 17 players, more than two times the nearest competitor with eight and more than all other golf balls combined.

The inaugural Humana Challenge is under way and the score board is lighting up as many of the world's best golfers take it low at PGA West.

Considering the opening-round scores, fans should expect another birdie bonanza in the desert, with the majority of players picking Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls out of the cups.

A total of 99 players in this week's field are playing Titleist golf balls, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 14 and more than all competitors combined.

Titleist is also No. 1 in iron sets (41); sand, lob and approach wedges (123); and putters (57).

Now that the PGA Tour season has officially started its 2012 campaign, you can likely hear your golf clubs whispering “hit me” from their hibernation. If you haven’t already pulled out a couple clubs and made a few swings in the living room, you likely will soon. Your golfing itch needs scratching and the most efficient solution would be to start preparing for the upcoming season. Given that we are allowed to carry 14 clubs in our bags, we should be sure that we know a few things about each of those clubs.

The equipment in your bag should be fit properly to your individual specifications. The golf swing is an extremely dynamic movement involving incredible force development, so you should be confident your clubs fit your swings fingerprint. Today’s advancements in club technology paired with launch monitor technology, enables experts to ensure the clubs in your bag are designed to match your requirements in length, weight, flex, loft and lie angle. With properly fit golf clubs, you will give yourself the greatest opportunity to control the direction and distance of your golf ball.

Each club in your bag should serve a purpose and you should know exactly how far it goes. Launch monitors have given us the knowledge to determine the distances associated with each club in a golfers bag. Occasionally, players have extremely tight distance gaps between some clubs and larger gaps between others. Creating a set composition that keeps your gaps consistent has never been easier given the abundant loft options in the Titleist metal, and Vokey wedges lines. The Titleist SureFit System allows for further customization in the driver, fairway, and hybrid line. We’re seeing more and more golfers choosing to carry additional hybrids or fairway woods rather than long irons with the goal of improving carry distances. The new Vokey SM4 Wedges collection offers a wide array of loft, lie, bounce, and grind options to fit your unique swing. Getting fit for your wedges will allow you to simplify the distance gaps and optimize your wedges to meet the performance you seek. For example, are you a ‘slider sweeper’ or a ‘driver digger’ style of wedge player? That’s a great place to start when determining the ideal wedge bounce for your game.

Given the variety of shots that arise on any given day, it is crucial to know that you are making the best use of your 14 tools.

Titleist has a vast network of trained Canadian PGA Certified Fitting Professionals with the skills necessary to complete a full bag analysis. They are great resources for you to ensure that your clubs are fit properly and gapped effectively to give you the best opportunity to succeed. Whether it is fitting your long game to control your launch angle and spin rates or analyzing your wedges to determine proper distance gaps and bounce options, Titleist Certified Fitting Professionals have the expertise to finely tune your specific club matrix.

Best,

Alex Riggs
Canadian PGA Professionals
TPI Golf Instructor Level III & Junior Coach Level III