When The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina hosts the 103rd PGA Championship this week, the 156-player field will consist of 99 of the world’s top 100-ranked players. It will also feature the "Team of 20" PGA Club Professionals who earned their berths in April at the 53rd PGA Professional Championship. Fifteen (75%) of them will be teeing up a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, including 12 who trust Titleist equipment throughout the bag and from tee-through-green.
Among those representing Titleist at the second major of the year are reigning PGA Professional Champion Omar Uresti, a PGA Life Member from Austin, Texas. Playing a NEW Pro V1 golf ball, TSi3 driver and bag full of Titleist equipment, Uresti won his second PGA Professional Championship title in five years (2017) after posting an 11-under 276 for a three-shot win. Uresti will be participating in the PGA Championship for the fifth time, which included a four-year run from 2015-18.
Below are the 15 players to watch for this week and their journey to qualify at the PGA Professional Championship (PPC):
- Ben Cook posted three birdies down the stretch to finish solo 3rd at the PPC to secure his second straight PGA Championship appearance.
- Larkin Gross finished solo 4th, which included a third round 8-under par 64, the tournament’s lowest round. His performance included 11 birdies.
- Ben Polland, the 2020 Met Section Player of the Year, rounded out the top five, finishing at 3-under to qualify for his third PGA Championship
- Defending champion Alex Beach tied for 6th place with Stuart Smith at 1-under 286, as both qualified for their third PGA Championship.
- Smith, playing a NEW Yellow Titleist Pro V1x, made the biggest final round move at the PPC by closing with a 7-under 65 that propelled him 60 spots up the leaderboard.
- Danny Balin and Rob Labritz were among nine players who tied for 8th place at Even par.
- Balin and Labritz will be the most experienced of the 20 PGA Professionals at Kiawah Island, with each participating in their eighth career PGA Championship.
- Balin will be making his fourth straight appearance, while Labritz will appear in his third consecutive PGA Championship.
- Balin was one of two qualifiers who were also in the PGA Championship field in 2012, when it was last played at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
- Other Titleist players tying for 8th included Peter Ballo, Tim Pearce, Derek Holmes and Brad Marek.
- While Titleist players occupied four of the top five positions on the leaderboard, they also secured three of the final four positions in a 5-for-4 playoff for the final spots. Mark Geddes, Patrick Rada and Greg Koch finished in a five-way tie for 17th at 1-over par before emerging from the extra session with pars.
PGA Professionals Choose Titleist
Rob Labritz plays a shot during a practice round prior to the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Resort's Ocean Course on May 17, 2021
Equipment-wise, Titleist was the most played golf ball, driver, fairway, hybrid, utility iron, iron and wedge in the field of 312 teaching and club professionals.
Here’s a closer look at the Titleist Team of 15:
Omar Uresti
Hometown: Austin, Texas
2021 PPC finish: Winner
Club/Facility: PGA Life Member
PGA Section: Southern Texas
PGA Championship Experience: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Ben Cook
Hometown: Caledonia, Michigan
2021 PPC finish: 3rd
Club/Facility: Yankee Springs Golf Course
PGA Section: Michigan
PGA Championship Experience: 2019, 2020
Larkin Gross
Hometown: Center Cross, Virginia
2021 PPC finish: 4th
Club/Facility: Springfield Golf and Country Club, Virginia
PGA Section: Middle Atlantic
First PGA Championship Experience
Ben Polland
Hometown: Manhasset, New York
2021 PPC finish: 5th
Club/Facility: Shooting Star of Jackson Hole, Wyoming
PGA Section: Rocky Mountain
PGA Championship Experience: 2015, 2016
Stuart Smith
Hometown: Reno, Nevada
2021 PPC finish: T6
Club/Facility: Somersett Country Club, Nevada
PGA Section: Northern California
PGA Championship Experience: 2011, 2013
Alex Beach
Hometown: Rye, New York
2021 PPC finish: T6
Club/Facility: Westchester Country Club, New York
PGA Section: Metropolitan
PGA Championship Experience: 2017, 2019, 2020
Danny Balin
Hometown: Lake Success, New York
2021 PPC finish: T8
Club/Facility: Fresh Meadow Country Club, New York
PGA Section: Metropolitan
PGA Championship Experience: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020
Peter Ballo
Hometown: Stamford, Connecticut
2021 PPC finish: T8
Club/Facility: Silvermine Golf Club, Inc., Connecticut
PGA Section: Metropolitan
First PGA Championship Experience
Derek Holmes
Hometown: Cottage Grove, Minnesota
2021 PPC finish: T8
Club/Facility: PXG Minneapolis
PGA Section: Minnesota
First PGA Championship Experience
Brad Marek
Hometown: Berkeley, California
2021 PPC finish: T8
Club/Facility: Corica Park, California
PGA Section: Northern California
First PGA Championship Experience
Rob Labritz
Hometown: Pound Ridge, New York
2021 PPC finish: T8
Club/Facility: GlenArbor Golf Club, New York
PGA Section: Metropolitan
PGA Championship Experience: 2002, 2003, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2020
Tim Pearce
Hometown: Birmingham, Michigan
2021 PPC finish: T8
Club/Facility: Birmingham Country Club
PGA Section: Michigan
First PGA Championship Experience
Mark Geddes
Hometown: Coronado, California
2021 PPC finish: T17
Club/Facility: Coronado Golf Course, California
PGA Section: Southern California
First PGA Championship Experience
Patrick Rada
Hometown: Jupiter, Florida
2021 PPC finish: T17
Club/Facility: McArthur Golf Club, Florida
PGA Section: South Florida
First PGA Championship Experience
Greg Koch
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
2021 PPC finish: T17
Club/Facility: Ritz-Carlton Golf Club - Grande Lakes Orlando, Florida
PGA Section: North Florida
First PGA Championship Experience
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