Published on February 23, 2016

California, United States: Being patient. Not getting too high or too low. Focusing only on the things that one can control. These are axioms that athletes across all sports rely on, but perhaps in no sport is the mental game as important as it is in the high-pressure world of tournament golf.
Just ask Titleist golf ball loyalist Bubba Watson (Pro V1x), who credited his second win in three years at the Northern Trust Open to his focused thinking.
“I made some mistakes but I stayed patient. I stayed committed,” said Watson in his post-round press conference. “That’s what we’re working on. Working on the head game. The physical game is there. It’s just staying patient, focusing on one shot at a time and staying committed.”
Watson closed with a three-under-par 68 at Riviera Country Club to post a 15-under 269 total, good for a one-shot victory over Titleist Brand Ambassador Adam Scott (Pro V1) and Titleist golf ball loyalist Jason Kokrak (Pro V1x).
Scott, who birdied the final two holes, including a chip-in on 18, posted a pair of 67s on the weekend to go with his 68s in the first two rounds.
The win marks Watson’s ninth career PGA Tour title, all of which he’s won playing a Titleist Pro V1x golf ball.
The long-hitting left-hander noted that the creative shots he was able to play with his Pro V1x was a big key to navigating the demanding Riviera layout.
“You could hit shots around here. You can use your imagination. I hit some big hooks. I hit some big slices and it worked out,” he said.
The win is the eighth for players relying upon Titleist golf balls this season, twice the nearest competitor with four.
Watson topped a leaderboard that included six Titleist golf ball loyalists among the top-10 finishers as Titleist golf ball players Chez Reavie (Pro V1x, seventh), Sung Kang (Pro V1x, tied eighth) and Ryan Moore (Pro V1x,10th) finished four, five and six strokes back, respectively.
Moore made a rare hole-in-one on 16 en route to a final round 69.
A total of 94 players relied on a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball for their success at the Northern Trust Open, more than six times the nearest competitor with 15 and more than all competitors combined.
Titleist was also the top choice in hybrids (20) and tied for first in the irons (42) category. Vokey Design Wedges topped the approach, sand and lob wedge (176) category and Scotty Cameron putters were the top choice in the putter (65) category.
Titleist is part of the Acushnet company, a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.