“I'm looking forward to creating the best memories yet this week. I'd really like to get my name there by Byron's statue after coming out and looking at all those names for so many years.”
This is how Titleist Brand Ambassador Jordan Spieth (Pro V1x), a favorite son of Dallas, summed up his hopes as he competes at this week's AT&T Byron Nelson Championship. This marks the 35th and final year for the event in Irving, Texas, hosted at the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas. In 2018, the tournament will move to Trinity Forest Golf Club, a links-style course designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore located just 10 minutes south of downtown Dallas.
Spieth first captured national attention at this event in 2010, when he competed as a 16-year-old amateur and finished T16. He has gone on to win 9 PGA TOUR titles, including two majors and a hometown win at the 2106 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. Capturing the Nelson to round out the Dallas/Fort Worth double is high on Spieth's list.
"I do consider this one to be that one that I grew up with, my dad and I coming out and watching our favorite players -- I did that a little at Colonial, (but) this one is definitely more home for me being in Dallas versus Ft. Worth. Winning both is something that is a lifelong goal for me and I have this one yet to accomplish."
And at this farewell edition of the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, Titleist is the once again the overwhelming golf ball choice with 107 players in the field of 156 trusting a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball for their success. That’s more than six times the nearest competitor with 17 and more than all competitors combined.
Titleist is also the top choice of players in the hybrids (27) and irons (46) categories. Vokey Design Wedges topped the approach, sand and lob wedge (214) category. Scotty Cameron putters were the top choice in the putter (65) category.
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FAST FACTS:
- The AT&T Byron Nelson is the first PGA TOUR event to be named in honor of a professional golfer. The tournament has been conducting TOUR events since 1944, making the event the TOUR’s ninth-oldest. The only breaks came in 1947-55, 1963 and 1965. The inaugural tournament in 1944 was played at Lakewood Country Club, with Byron Nelson recording a phenomenal 10-stroke win over his nearest challenger Harold “Jud” McSpaden. Nelson’s victory that year was the beginning of a two-year stretch in which the Hall of Famer won 26 tournaments, including the amazing streak of 11 straight wins in 1945. Here’s a list of the longest running tournaments on the PGA TOUR (not counting majors):
- 1. BMW Championship - 1899
- 2. RBC Canadian Open - 1904
- 3. Valero Texas Open - 1922
- 4. Genesis Open - 1926
- 5. Waste Management Phoenix Open - 1935
- 6. AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - 1937
- 7. Wyndham Championship - 1938
- 8. Zurich Classic of New Orleans - 1938
- 9. AT&T Byron Nelson - 1944
- 10. DEAN & DELUCA Invitational|Shell Houston Open - 1946
- Titleist Brand Ambassador Adam Scott (Pro V1) is one of fifteen players who have won the Dallas/Fort Worth Double. Only one player, Ben Hogan, won the AT&T Byron Nelson and DEAN & DELUCA Invitational in the same year (1946).
- Adam Scott is also the only player to win the Texas Grand Slam, winning all four legs of the PGA TOUR’s traditional Texas swing (not counting the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play). Scott accomplished the feat following his victory at the 2014 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, adding that trophy to those he captured at the 2007 Shell Houston Open, 2008 AT&T Byron Nelson and 2009 Valero Texas Open.
- The 528-yard third hole is the longest par 4 at TPC Las Colinas, and ranked as the most difficult at the 2016 Nelson, playing to a stroke average of 4.158. The field managed just 58 birdies, fewest of any hole. Water running down the right side offers danger, but there are also bunkers on the left, leaving players with a narrow tee shot. The approach to a small green continues the challenge.
- The signature hole at TPC Las Colinas is the 429-yard, par-4 18th, an attractive dogleg left that plays around a pond highlighted by a series of waterfalls. Players will take aim at or slightly left of the bunker on the far side of the fairway, setting up an uphill approach to the green. The putting surface is protected by a bunker on the right and water on the left, requiring one of the more demanding approach shots of the day.
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PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS YEAR:
- Local favorite and 2015 FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth will be playing the AT&T Byron Nelson for the seventh time (T16-2010, T32-2011, T68-2013, T37-2014, T30-2015, T18-2016). The youngest winner of the FedExCup and of the TOUR Championship (22 years, 2 months), Spieth has the second-most wins by a player 22 years and younger in Tour history with eight, trailing only Horton Smith (14).
- Dallas resident and Titleist golf ball loyalist Ryan Palmer (Pro V1x) is scheduled to make his 14th consecutive start at the AT&T Byron Nelson, dating to 2004. Among his best finishes are runner-up (2011), T9 (2012) and T10 (2015).
- Co-runner-up at THE PLAYERS Championship and Titleist golf ball loyalist Louis Oosthuizen (Pro V1x) is playing consistently solid golf this year. He leads the TOUR in consecutive made cuts with 15.
- First-round co-leader and Titleist golf ball loyalist James Hahn hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation to shoot the only bogey-free round on Thursday, a 6-under-par 64. Hahn holed more than 120 feet of putts in the 29 putts he required to shoot 64.
- Titleist Brand Ambassador Jason Kokrak(Pro V1) recorded four birdies on the back-nine on Thursday en route to to a 4-under-par 66, marking his lowest score on TOUR since a second-round 65 at The RSM Classic earlier this season. In 145 career starts, Kokrak is seeking his first win. He owns two runner-up finishes, most recently at the 2016 Genesis Open.
- Also seeking his first victory on TOUR is Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Tringale (Pro V1x), who also opened with a 4-under-par 66 that included an eagle and four birdies. Tringale has finished second on the PGA TOUR three times; 2014 Northern Trust Open, 2015 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
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SOCIAL BUZZ:
Welcome to the 2017 AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.
Congratulations to Titleist Brand Ambassador Jordan Spieth, the newest champion to grace the box of the “Breakfast of Champions”.
Congratulations are in order, too, for Titleist Brand Ambassador Justin Thomas, who’ll be appearing on your local newsstands soon!
Spotted this week: Jordan Spieth is rolling a new Scotty Cameron Tour-only Futura 5W putter at TPC Las Colinas.
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Check out the new Futura 5W here.
The facial hair stylings of Cameron Tringale's caddy, Carl Smith, first caught the attention of the golf world at the 2015 Open Championship, where Carl sported a waxed mustache.
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Titleist Brand Ambassador Zac Blair shares a one-of-a-kind Vokey prototype, hand-ground by Vokey Wedge Rep, Aaron Dill..
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Farewell to TPC Las Colinas and thanks for the wonderful memories!
Good luck to all of #TeamTitleist!
#TeamTitleist