Matt Fitzpatrick and Hyo Joo Kim Trust Pro V1x to Win the Valspar Championship and Fortinet Founders Cup

By Zack R., Team Titleist Staff On Yesterday Balls Tour Clubs

PGA TOUR | Valspar Championship (Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club

In absolute control of his Pro V1x golf ball, Matt Fitzpatrick led the field with over 11 strokes gained tee-to-green this week at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course, birdieing the 72nd hole to claim the one-shot victory.

  • Fitzpatrick was the only player to post four rounds in the 60s (68-69-68-68) while going bogey-free over his final 36 holes. 
  • Fitzpatrick was dialed-in with his ball-striking, gaining nearly six shots on the field with his approach play (+5.939, 2nd).
  • He hit 72% GIR (2nd) and finished second in Proximity with an average of 32 feet, 3 inches.
  • Fitzpatrick led a 1-2-3 finish for Titleist golf ball players, followed by runner-up David Lipsky (Pro V1x) and third-place finisher Jordan Smith (Pro V1), as eight of the top 10 and 21 of the top 25 finishers played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x.

FITZPATRICK ON THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS PRO V1x

  • “There’s obviously so many different variables with a golf ball. I’ve always been kind of a lower flight player but I am kind of high spin, so that’s where I feel like my game is at with the golf ball. To be able to rely on the golf ball and know that it’s going to do what I want it to do – have a consistent flight, consistent spin with every shot that I hit – that’s so important. Having that ability to know what your ball is going to do rather than second guessing makes a hell of a difference and obviously makes you more comfortable. And from there you’re going to hit better golf shots. I love the golf ball that I’m in, it just works perfectly for my game.” 
  • “The reason [Pro V1x] is so good for me is feel. I like the harder feel off the club face. I just feel like the spin’s consistent, the flight’s consistent, and that’s what you need in a golf ball. You don’t need it kind of in different windows. It’s nice to have that consistency to have the confidence in the golf ball to know how far it’s going to go every time, and to be within a really tight deviation is obviously so important. This is a game of inches after all, the margins are so fine you want it to be as tight as possible. So that’s why I play Pro V1x because it’s exactly that, you know what you’re going to get every shot and you don’t get any strange effects from shots.” 
  • “You just know, hitting other golf balls, that as soon as you’ve hit it, it doesn’t have the same effect. I’ve messed around with balls on the range when they’ve been mixed into the Pro V1x bag that I always go to grab, and they just get funky flights. I don’t know how you can play golf with that, to be honest, and not knowing what you’re going to get from shot to shot.” 
  • “I feel like, for me, the firmer the ball is, the more I can control the spin. That’s always nice for me (with Pro V1x), knowing that I can increase spin, and take spin off it. That’s been the big thing. I know for a fact I can flight the ball easy, much easier, up and down, with the ball that I use.” 
  • “I’ve been Pro V1x ever since I was probably about 15. It was always the best ball. There was never anything else for me growing up, to be honest. That’s all I’ve ever known.” 

TOP 3, 8 OF TOP 10 & 21 OF TOP 25 PLAY PRO V1 OR PRO V1x

  • Matt Fitzpatrick topped a leaderboard that featured 21 Titleist golf ball players in the top 25 positions, including the top three finishers and eight of the top 10.
  • David Lipsky (Pro V1) finished one back of Fitzpatrick in second, while Titleist Brand Ambassador Jordan Smith finished another shot back in third. 
  • In total, 73% of the field teed up a Titleist golf ball this week in Tampa (99 players), nine times the nearest competitor.

NOW ON TOUR: TITLEIST GTS DRIVERS

  • For the first time, PGA TOUR players in the field at the Texas Children’s Houston Open are getting their first look at the next generation of Titleist driver technology: GTS.
  • The lineup of three new Titleist driver models — GTS2, GTS3 and GTS4 — is also being introduced to players at this week's LPGA Ford Championship and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship.

Click here to read more.

LPGA | Fortinet Founders Cup

Hyo Joo Kim (Pro V1x) went wire-to-wire to win LPGA title No. 8, trusting her Pro V1x golf ball to a one-shot victory in Northern California.

  • Kim opened with the week’s best round, a 9-under 63 capped by an eagle on the par-5 18th.
  • Kim was one of 103 players (71%) this week playing a Titleist golf ball, with three of the top four finishers gaming a Pro V1 or Pro V1x.

DP World Tour / China Tour | Hainan Classic

Titleist Brand Ambassador Jordan Gumberg made a field-best 25 birdies at Mission Hills on his way to a wire-to-wire win, his second on the DP World Tour.

  • Gaming a setup that included his Pro V1 golf ball, GT metals, blended set of Titleist irons, Vokey Design wedges and Scotty Cameron Phantom putter, Gumberg followed an opening 8-under 64 with three more rounds of 70 or better (66-69-70) on his way to a one-shot victory.
  • The 30-year-old American’s control of his Pro V1 golf ball was on full display in Hainan, as he gained more than 10 shots (+10.36) from tee to green (3rd).
  • Over five strokes came from his approach play (+5.16, 8th), and he hit 74% greens in regulation (8th).
  • He also had total command of his GT3 driver, gaining +5.04 strokes off-the-tee (4th) and finishing tied for 5th in Driving Accuracy (86%).
  • Gumberg, who kept his DPWT card with a dramatic hole-out eagle on the 72nd hole of the Genesis Championship in Korea last October, was also dialed around the greens with his Vokey wedges, converting 14 of 19 up-and-downs to finish T10 in Scrambling (74%).
  • On the greens, he ranked 6th in SG: Putting with his Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.2R tour prototype putter, gaining over five shots (+5.4).
  • Gumberg led a 1-through-8 finish for Pro V1 and Pro V1x players, as Titleist was the overwhelming #1 golf ball at Mission Hills (78%).
  • 11-time China Tour winner and Titleist Brand Ambassador Yanhan Zhou recorded rounds of 68-68-68-69 to reach 15-under and secure a T3 finish on home soil.
  • The 17-year-old earned his 2026 DP World Tour card after a record-breaking 2025 China Tour season highlighted by seven wins and an Order of Merit title.  

What’s in the Bag? | Jordan Gumberg (19-under 269)

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: GT3 8.0° | B•1 SureFit setting | Graphite Design Tour AD DI-6 X
Fairway Metal: GT2 13.5° | Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 70 TX
Irons: T250 4-iron | Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100; 620 CB 5-6; and 620 MB 7-9 irons | Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Vokey Design SM10 46.10F, 50.08F, 54.10S, WedgeWorks 60A+ wedges | Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46-50), S400 (54-60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.2R tour prototype

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS | Cologuard Classic (La Paloma Country Club)

Steven Alker (Pro V1) closed in 6-under 65 and made birdie on the first playoff hole to secure his 11th PGA TOUR Champions title.

  • Alker turned in rounds of 71-62-65, matching the three-round total (198) of Titleist golf ball loyalist Padraig Harrington (Pro V1).
  • The 54-year-old New Zealander’s week was highlighted by a second round 9-under 62 that included nine birdies.

JLPGA | V POINT*SMBC Ladies Golf Tournament

Ritsuko Ryu (Pro V1x) birdied the last to close out a two-shot win and secure her seventh career JLPGA title.

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