Labor Day weekend is here and though the summer may be winding down, this is the time on the PGA Tour when the FedExCup Playoffs swing into high gear.
The second leg of the playoffs is underway at TPC Boston (just a short ride from Titleist headquarters), where 96 players are hoping to go low at the newly sponsored Dell Technologies Championship.
One of the headliners this week is Titleist Brand Ambassador Jordan Spieth (Pro V1x), who is brimming with confidence after his runner-up finish at last week's playoff opener. Jordan rose to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings after his perfromance at The Northern Trust and likes the position he's in.
"I'm just trying to play the Dell Technologies Championship here just strictly for the tournament and not really thinking much about the FedExCup this week," Spieth said. "I think with the 2nd-place points, it puts me in a position where I'm likely to stay in the top five, which is a really good feeling. And it takes a lot of any added pressure off of these next couple of events."
TPC Boston will test players with a variety of challenging, tree-lined holes over the span of its par-71, 7,342-yard layout. It shares some similarities to the parkland design of last week's Glen Oaks Club, but should surrender considerably more red numbers.
One hole that could provide a lot of excitement this weekend is No. 18, a par-5 that winds left to right. The 18th features a large, but narrow, undulating green with aprons that feed wayward approaches to deep collection areas. Most players will go for this green in two, including Spieth, who shared his approach.
"Fairway, green, 2-putt. I mean, it's actually a good driving distance for me. I can carry the bunkers in the middle of the fairway and I don't worry too much about it reaching any other trouble. The hole forces probably a 225-yard shot into a pretty shallow green that you've got to bring in with some height. It's tough. I've had triumph and failure on the hole, and it is a really good finishing hole that can yield a bogey or an eagle. So the tournament's never over at this event."
The Labor Day finish at the Dell Technologies Championship has become a New England tradition in the brief time since the inaugural event in 2003 (the became a FedExCup playoff stop in 2007).
With playoff hopes on the line, we're sure to some exciting golf action as we enjoy the last few days of summer. Good luck to all of #TeamTitleist this Labor Day weekend!
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TITLEIST BY THE NUMBERS
This week at Dell Technologies Championship, Titleist is the overwhelming golf ball choice, with 58 players in the limited field of 96 trusting a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, more than four times the nearest competitor with 14 and more than all competitors combined.
Titleist was also the top choice among players in the hybrids category (14 ) as well as the irons category with 25 sets in play. Vokey Design Wedges also topped the approach, sand and lob wedge (117) category and Scotty Cameron putters were the top choice among players with 44 putters in play.
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FAST FACTS:
- At the conclusion of the final round on Monday points will be retabulated and the top-70 players on the FedExCup points list after the Dell Technologies Championship advance to the BMW Championship, contested at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill.
- The top-30 players following the BMW Championship will qualify for the TOUR Championship. Prior to the TOUR Championship, a points reset will take place, giving all players in the field a mathematical opportunity to win the FedExCup title. The top-five players control their own destiny and would claim the FedExCup with a victory at East Lake.
- Eight past champions of the Dell Technologies Championship are in the field this week including Titleist Brand Ambassadors Adam Scott (2003), Charley Hoffman (2010) and Webb Simpson (2011) as well as Titleist golf ball loyalists Henrik Stenson (2013), Billy Horschel (2014) and Rickie Fowler (2015).
- Only four players have finished inside the top 10 in all four FedExCup Playoffs events in a single season including Titleist golf ball loyalists Rory Sabbatini in 2007 and Padraig Harrington in 2009 as well as Titleist Brand Ambassadors Adam Scott in 2016.
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PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS WEEK:
- Titleist Brand Ambassador Jordan Spieth (Pro V1x) enters the week ranked No. 2 in the FedExCup point standings. Spieth collected eight top-ten finishes in 19 starts this season. Among those finishes, Spieth claimed his ninth, 10th and 11th PGA Tour titles at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Travelers Championship and The Open Championship. Spieth has played in all 16 FedExCup Playoffs events for which he has been eligible, advancing to the TOUR Championship in each of the last four seasons. He captured the FedExCup title in 2015.
- Titleist Brand Ambassador Justin Thomas (Pro V1x) comes to Boston ranked No. 3 in the standings. He collected four victories this season, including his first major title at the PGA Championship. After a T8 finish in the season-opening Safeway Open in Napa, Thomas defended his CIMB Classic title in Malaysia. His second win of the season came at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. He then won the Sony Open in Hawaii, firing an 11-under 59 in the opening round to become the seventh player in Tour history to post a sub-60 round. He tied Titleist golf ball loyalist Rickie Fowler (Pro V1) for most top-10 finishes on Tour with nine. He finished T6 at the 2016 Tour Championship.
- Titleist golf ball loyalist Rickie Fowler (Pro V1) recorded nine top-10 finishes in 17 starts in the 2016-17 PGA Tour season, tied for most top-10s for the season with Justin Thomas heading into the FedExCup Playoffs. Fowler won The Honda Classic for his fourth PGA TOUR title and enters this week at No. 6 in FedExCup points standings. He's made 25 playoff starts and is looking to advance to the Tour Championship for the fourth time in his career after competing at Eastlake in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
- Titleist Brand Ambassador Charley Hoffman (Pro V1) climbed to No. 9 in the FedExCup points standings following his T17 finish at The Northern Trust. He closed with a 5-under-par 65 at the event. Hoffman posted seven top-ten finishes in 2017, including a runner-up finish at the RBC Canadian open, a T2 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a 3rd place showing at the WGC Championship at Firestone. Hoffman's best finish in Boston came in 2010, when he carded a career-low 62, including 11 birdies, en route to a five-stroke win at this event, then named the Deutsche Bank Championship.
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SOCIAL BUZZ:
Welcome to Norton, MA, home of TPC Boston and the Dell Technologies Championship.
The second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs feature a unique Friday start and Monday final round.
It’s great to have the Dell Technologies Championship in our back yard, because it gives us a chance to invite players like Titleist Brand Ambassador Graham DeLaet (Pro V1x) to our Ball Plant 3 facility, where we can show them how we make Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls
Titleist golf ball loyalist Mackenzie Hughes (Pro V1) and Titleist Brand Ambassador Cam Smith (Pro V1x) also visited our New Bedford, MA facility.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Kevin Na (Pro V1) made some new fans this week at TPC Boston.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Justin Thomas (Pro V1x) also spent time with some young golfers this week.
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Like all of us this week, Justin has been sending thoughts and prayers to the people in Houston. And he’s come up with a great way to help.
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Quite the routine from Titleist golf ball loyalist James Hahn (Pro V1x).
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Titleist Brand Ambassador and proud Wake Forest alum Bill Haas (Pro V1x) shows off a new Scotty Cameron gamer.
A great piece on Titleist Brand Ambassador Charley Hoffman (Pro V1) and how the 2010 Dell Technologies champion balances golf and fatherhood.
Also this week, the kick-off to the Web.com Tour Finals. Learn more from Titleist Brand Ambassador Chesson Hadley (Pro V1x), who’ll be rejoin the PGA Tor next season.
A great memory to close on from Titleist golf ball loyalist Rickie Fowler (Pro V1), the 2015 Dell Technologies champion.
#TeamTitleist