Tour Report: Curtis?new irons and Louis?golds

Ben Curtis claimed Titleist's first win with its AP1 irons. Carroll/Getty Images Ben Curtis claimed Titleist抯 first win with its AP1 irons.
One of the year抯 better stories on the PGA TOUR was authored last week by Ben Curtis, ending a six-year winless drought on TOUR with a win at the Valero Texas Open.
Curtis was the Cinderella champion won the 2003 British Open (Valero T2 finisher John Huh was 13 years old then) and two events in 2006, then a few years later dropped off the radar. This year he as many starts on the European Tour than the PGA TOUR (three each) before winning in Texas.
In winning by two shots at TPC San Antonio, Curtis had another first of sorts ?the first win for Titleist抯 AP1 712 irons. Most Titleist players on TOUR play the AP2 irons, which have more of a traditional blade feel and less offset. The AP1 irons have a high-density tungsten sole weight positioned toward the toe, increasing ball speed on off-center hits and reducing twist at impact.
Curtis had a 4-iron through pitching wedge in his AP1 set ?which we抣l see a lot more of in the U.S. now that Curtis has winner抯 status again on TOUR.
GOLDEN: Ping has enjoyed a great season so far, with wins on TOUR by Mark Wilson (Humana Challenge), John Huh (Mayakoba Golf Classic), Hunter Mahan (World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, Shell Houston Open).
All of its players have a gold-plated replica of their winning putters put in Ping抯 vault in Scottsdale, Ariz., and sometimes even more special additions are put in the vault. A double eagle at the Masters would qualify, so a gold S56 4-iron was added to the vault recently in honor of Louis Oosthuizen抯 feat. He also received one for his collection.
WEEKENDER: David Duval tested a Callaway Razr Fit driver against a Titleist 910D3 and TaylorMade RBZ last week, with the Callaway going into his bag at Valero at 9.1 degrees loft. He ended up making his first cut of the season after seven misses, and shot his best round on Sunday (71) to finish in a tie for 60th.
BY A HAIR: Amazing how just the slightest adjustments make all the difference for TOUR players. At TPC San Antonio, Derek Lamely thought a flatter lie angle would help to stop losing shots to the left with his 15-degree Callaway Diablo Octane Tour fairway wood. Callaway techs adjusted the angle by one degree ?from 59 to 58 ?allowing him to hit a baby fade. No more lefts. He finished T35 at Valero, his second-best finish of the season.
"If they played this golf course like we played it today it would be a tough tournament for me to win in the long run, to be quite honest," Toms said after shooting 68 in the pro-am on Wednesday. "But they do a good job of moving the tees around here, putting some of them up on some of the holes. So, I抳e had some decent tournaments here. "So, certainly if I get hot, I抣l have a chance but I wouldn抰 say this is one of the golf courses where I feel like going into the week where I抦 at an advantage. I wouldn抰 say that at all."
At the same time, the LSU product loves coming to New Orleans each year, 19 to be exact, and seeing old friends. He feeds off the partisan crowd, too ??it) just gives you that extra bit of a shot in the arm that sometimes you need," Toms said.
And make no mistake, he would like to gather some momentum this week.
Toms is starting an important three-week stretch with the Zurich Classic, Wells Fargo Championship and PLAYERS Championship. He抯 won the first two during his career and lost to K.J. Choi in a playoff at the third last year. He抣l take a week off and then defend his title at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
WINNER扴 BAG: Curtis at the Valero Texas Open: Driver: Titleist 910D3 (Aldila RIP NV 65X shaft, 8.5 degrees) Fairway wood: Titleist 910Fd, (Aldila RIP 80X shaft, 13.5 degrees) Hybrids: Titleist 910H (Aldila hybrid NV 85X shafts; 18, 20 degrees) Irons: Titleist AP1 712 (Dynamic Gold shafts; 4-PW) Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled C-C 200 (52 degrees), C-C TVD (58 degrees) Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

?http://www.golfonline.jp/ . All Rights Reserved. (ゴルフショップ)