Hey Team Titleist!
The 151st Open Championship is here, and the world’s best have made their way to Hoylake for the playing of golf's oldest major at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
We caught up with Team Titleist to take a look at how they prepared to navigate the high winds, deep bunkers and firm conditions of links golf. The test at hand calls for iron play precision, ball flight control and short game creativity, all of which were practiced in plenty ahead of Thursday’s tee times.
Let’s start with the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year, Cameron Smith.
We caught up with Smith during a practice round on Tuesday, joining him on Royal Liverpool’s opening hole to see how he’s preparing for his title defense.
Aptly named “Royal,” the 460-yard Par 4 features bunkering on both sides of the hole, while around the green there’s plenty of collection areas and bunkering to put an emphasis on a well-played second shot.
On repeat and currently at the top of our minds, watch and enjoy Cameron Young ripping stingers on the Hoylake range.
With his T200 2 iron in the bag alongside his TSR3 driver, Young will have plenty of options off the tee this week, as he looks to build momentum from his second-place finish last year at St. Andrews.
Tom Kim showed us one way to play the third hole this week (capped off with a tap- in birdie, and some extracurriculars with some young fans). Here’s hoping his golf game holds up better than his rock-paper-scissors game this week in Hoylake.
Referred to as “Course,” the Par 4 3rd features a dogleg right, with out of bounds in play on that same side. Kim’s play of 2 iron off the tee, with a 3 iron approach may be not only the safest, but also the most effective way to play the hole.
Links golf requires different shots and plenty of imagination, so we caught up with Sahith Theegala to get a front row view on some of the shots he’ll be hitting this week. From escaping deep pot bunkers to flighting his Pro V1 on the sixth hole of Royal Liverpool, we can’t wait to see how he plots his way around the course this week.
And why does Theegala trust Pro V1 while competing on golf’s biggest stages? Just ask him.
“That's why I play the Pro V1, just to knock a little bit more of the spin off,” said Theegala.
“I've always been a high spin guy, so knowing that I'm going to hit the shot and if I hit it exactly how I want it flighted, it shouldn't balloon up in the air, and should penetrate through the wind. On the downwind holes, still knowing that if I execute it the proper way, I'll still be able to spin the ball. So obviously trusting my ball in both of those kinds of in those scenarios is really big and important.”
With action underway at the 151st Open Championship, be sure to follow along on all our social channels to keep up with everything #TeamTitleist at Royal Liverpool.