The year 2022 proved to be another great one for #TeamTitleist, with worldwide professional tours and top amateur circuits providing the setting for countless unforgettable moments in golf.
From breakthrough major championship wins to tournament-winning shots and everything in between, check out our top moments of 2022 where #TeamTitleist delivered on some of golf’s biggest stages and make sure to add your favorites in the comments!
9. Improbable Hole-Outs for Danielle Kang, Max Homa
With her Vokey WedgeWorks 58.06K wedge, Danielle Kang chipped her Pro V1x golf ball for eagle on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. It marked the best finish since January for Kang, who was making only her third LPGA start in over three months after taking medical leave midway through 2022. Despite falling short in the playoff, her final-round 64 and dramatic hole-out was a defining moment in her season.
“As we walked up (18), I said, man, I really wanted to make an eagle. I’ll chip that in,” Kang said. “[My caddie] was like, ‘you can chip that in easy.’ We chipped it in. For us, it was really cool, but I think this event itself was like a huge win for me. Obviously I wanted to win, but putting that aside, the result really didn’t matter as much as how I felt and what I felt coming into this event, leading up to this event.”
On the 72nd hole at the Fortinet Championship, Max Homa found himself one shot back of the lead with a short-sided, must-make chip on the closing par 5 at Silverado Resort's North Course. Homa, using his Pro V1 golf ball and Vokey Design SM9 60.04L lob wedge, played the shot to perfection, holing out for a winning birdie and back-to-back titles at the Fortinet Championship.
“I clipped the pitch really good but it was dead,” said Homa on the shot. “I mean, it was as short-sided as you could be, you couldn't really stop it. I spun it and once it hit the pin, it almost like spun straight into the ground.”
“Max has a high bounce sand wedge (56.14F) and low bounce lob wedge (60.04L), and that combination gives him the ability to hit anything he wants,” said Vokey Tour Rep Aaron Dill on Max’s wedge set up. “I think when you’re faced greenside with shots like some of those where you create lift in a hurry, you need to be able to open up the face and feel like you can slide through the ball easily. So by giving him a little bit thinner sole, he can open it up. It sits nice and close, and he can just freely do the things that he needs to do, which is chip it in off the side of the green to win a championship.”
8. Amateur Success: Davis at ANWA, Sargent at NCAA Championships
Just two shots back heading into Sunday’s final round at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Anna Davis knew she had a shot to take home one of the most coveted titles in the women’s amateur game. The 16-year-old went on to post the second lowest round of the day, playing Amen Corner in 2 under and carding consecutive birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 to become the youngest champion in the event’s three-year history.
Davis on her Pro V1x: “At Augusta - I’ve always been like a really good chipper, I’ve always chipped - when I get bored I’ll go chip. But especially with Titleist balls, like I know what my ball is going to do when I chip - where to land it into the turf so it’s going to release. But I’ve been hitting that chip since I was like 5 years old. So I think knowing how your ball is going to react and spin is super important in your golf ball.”
WITB | Anna Davis, 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur: Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSi2 11.0 driver; TSi2 16.5 and 18.0 fairways; TS2 23.0 hybrid; 620 MB 5-P irons; Vokey Design SM8 50.12F, 54.10S, 58.10S wedges; Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 putter
Davis on her MB irons: “When I was younger, my dad really wanted us to hit blades, so I have MBs and I’ve been hitting them since I was 11,” said Davis on her iron set up. “That’s kind of like all I’ve known... I just like the way they feel, like when you hit one solid, it sounds solid, it reacts very nicely.”
Two months removed from Davis’ win in Augusta, Vanderbilt freshman Gordon Sargent won the individual title at the NCAA Championship held at Greyhawk GC. Sargent, playing an all-Titleist set up, stuck his approach on the first playoff hole to 5 feet after a massive tee shot with his TSi driver left him just 140 yards in on the 520-yard par-4 18th. After draining his Pro V1x, Sargent became the first freshman to win the individual title since 2007.
Later in the year, after making the switch to the NEW TSR driver, Sargent claimed the individual stroke play title at the East Lake Cup while helping his team to their second victory of the fall season.
“I'd heard great things about it and I really loved the TSI, so I didn't know how it could get much better. And with this, it definitely helps the workability and just the forgiveness it gives you, too. The TSR, I think it might beat the TSI for the looks and stuff, just super sleek and sets up perfect to it. So it’s probably my favorite driver I ever hit.”
WITB | Gordon Sargent, 2022 NCAA Championship: Titleist Pro V1x golf ball; TSi3 9.0 driver; TSi2 16.5 fairway; T200 Utility Build 2 iron, 620 CB 4-9 irons; Vokey Design SM9 46.10F, 52.08F, 56.10S, WedgeWorks 60T wedges; Scotty Cameron 009M prototype putter
7. Cameron Young’s 72nd Hole Eagle at St. Andrews
Playing in Sunday’s penultimate group at the 150th Open Championship’s, Cameron Young drove the 72nd hole with his new TSR3 10.0 driver and drained the 17-foot eagle putt with his Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11 Knuckle Neck tour prototype putter, briefly tying him for the lead before Cameron Smith finished off his winning birdie. Young shot a final-round 65 to finish solo second, the best finish by a player at St. Andrews in their Open debut since 1964. With Smith’s victory, TSR drivers finished 1-2 in their major championship debut.
Young on his NEW TSR3 driver: “I’ve loved it. It’s faster … and I feel like especially the toe miss for me, I haven’t gotten as much curve out of it, which is obviously a good thing. It seems to be a little bit more consistent on my misses. I’ve put it right in play and it’s been great.”
6. Will Zalatoris’ Clutch Putting and Win No. 1
Will Zalatoris earned his first PGA TOUR victory with three of the year’s most clutch putts. On Sunday at the FedEx St Jude Championship, Zalatoris rolled in a clutch 10-footer for par on 18 to make the playoff, then dropped another 10-footer for par on the second playoff hole to extend the match. His 7-footer on the third playoff hole sealed the victory. For the week, Zalatoris led the field in approach putt performance (also known as lag putting).
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It was just one year earlier at TPC Southwind – at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational – that Zalatoris put a new Phantom X 11 in play for the first time.
“Immediately when I was hitting putts [with it for the first time], I knew exactly where the putt was going to go. Right off the face, I can feel the putt distance-wise and that’s super important,” Zalatoris said. “When it comes to testing for me, it’s all feel. It was a putter that the second I put it down, I felt like I could see the line super well. I put a line on my ball and seeing that ball roll end over end, it’s a pretty good feeling when you strike a putt and it goes in dead center.”
5. Matt Fitzpatrick’s US Open-winning fairway bunker shot
Down to the wire. On Sunday of this year’s U.S. Open, Matt Fitzpatrick’s defining moment came on the 72nd hole, where he was faced with an uncomfortable lie in the left fairway bunker, 161 yards from the hole. With his last full swing of the tournament Fitzpatrick stuck his approach, his Pro V1x ball settling 18 feet from the cup. He two-putted for his first Major title.
“It’s one of the best shots I ever hit, there’s no doubt about it,” said Fitzpatrick of the shot. “When I look back, it just all happened so fast,” said Fitzpatrick. “It was like just kind of natural ability took over and just played the shot that was at hand, as if I was a junior trying to hit it close.”
Hear why Fitzpatrick puts his trust in Pro V1x:
Fun fact: Matt Fitzpatrick also won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at the Country Club using a Pro V1x golf ball.
4. Justin Thomas’ PGA Championship Playoff 3-Wood
Justin Thomas became a two-time PGA Champion at Southern Hills after mounting the largest final-round comeback in PGA Championship history. Thomas started the day seven shots back of the lead and shot a final-round 67 to force a playoff with Will Zalatoris. After the two traded birdies on the first playoff hole, Thomas hit perhaps the shot of the tournament: a 3 wood on the 302-yard par-4 17th hole to within 40 feet, safely aboard the green. The high, towering cut with his TS3 15.0 fairway led to a two-putt birdie, and a closing par sealed the deal for JT.
“That was a nice one,” said Thomas on the shot. “I mean, the wind off the left with a 3-wood isn't exactly my favorite, so I hit a beautiful shot in regulation in that bunker like we wanted to, and I just -- I hit essentially the same shot, just had a little bit more cut on it, and for it to go up on the green was nice just to put a little bit of heat on Will.”
3. Cameron Smith’s Road Hole two-putt
Of the year’s three first-time major champions, Cameron Smith was the last to lift his trophy, capturing the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews. In the midst of a historic back nine charge, Smith found himself just short of the green on the famed 17th hole after two shots. Taking a confident stroke and a bold line, Smith used his Scotty Cameron 009M tour prototype putter to putt around the cavernous Road Hole bunker, leading to a clutch up-and-down par save. Smith made another impressive two-putt on the 72nd hole to cap off a bogey-free 64 and a back-nine 30, the lowest closing nine-hole score of all time by an Open Champion.
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2. Lydia Ko Reascends to No. 1 in the World
Lydia Ko capped off her 2022 season in style, winning two of her last three starts on the LPGA Tour and rising to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. Ko, who plays a Pro V1x golf ball, captured the LPGA season finale for her 19th career title. The win earned Ko both Rolex Player or the Year honors and the season-long Race to the CME Globe points title, and she now is just two shy of the 27-point total needed for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Ko won three times in 2022, had 14 top-10 finishes, and recorded a scoring average of 69.988, the second lowest in LPGA history.
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1. Five Major Titles for Titleist Golf Balls
2022 was a year to remember for many reasons, but the #1 ball in golf being trusted to victory at five Major Championships – including a men’s major sweep – takes the top spot on our list. With wins from Jennifer Kupcho at the Chevron Championship (Pro V1), The Masters (Pro V1), Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship (Pro V1x), Matt Fitzpatrick at the U.S. Open (Pro V1x), and Cameron Smith at the Open Championship (Pro V1x), the Pro V1 and Pro V1x were not only trusted by a combined 76% of players across every women’s and men’s Major in 2022, but also the most victorious.
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Bonus: #TeamTitleist at the Presidents Cup
The 14th Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club provided countless highlight-reel moments from #TeamTitleist. Jordan Spieth led the United States team to a 17.5-12.5 victory after going 5-0-0 in his matches for the week, becoming just the sixth player in Presidents Cup history to ever do so. Spieth’s four wins in foursomes and four-balls came alongside Justin Thomas, whose 4-1-0 record for the week brought his combined team event record to 16-5-3 (two Ryder Cups, three Presidents Cups).
U.S. Presidents Cup team rookie Max Homa and International rookie Joohyung “Tom” Kim gave standout performances in their team event debuts, eventually meeting each other in a tightly contested Sunday singles match. Homa’s undefeated, four-point total saw him become just the fourth rookie in Presidents Cup history to finish with a 4-0-0 record or better, while Tom Kim earned the International Team two essential points on Saturday to stay within reach of the U.S. Kim’s clutch, match-winning birdie on No. 18 on Saturday provided perhaps the moment of the event, as he hit his T200 2-iron to 10 feet from 235 yards and rolled in the birdie putt to lead the International Team to a 5-3 Saturday.
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Wishing everyone a happy holiday season – here's to an even better 2023!
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