Steele closes in style to win season-opening Safeway Open

Titleist golf ball loyalist Brendan Steele (Pro V1x) topped Titleist Brand Ambassador Patton Kizzire (Pro V1x) by one shot at the 2016-17 season-opening Safeway Open to earn his second career PGA TOUR title.

Steele rallied from four shots behind at rain-softened Silverado Resort & Spa and finished with three straight birdies en route to a closing 7-under-par 65 and 18-under-par 270 victory total.

Steele two-putted from long range on the par-5 16th, holed an 18-foot birdie on the 17th and then made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 18th to set the clubhouse lead while Kizzire was playing in the final group.

Patton Kizzire (2nd): Titleist Pro V1x golf ball, 917D3/10.5° driver, 915F/15° fairway metal, 913H/19° hybrid, 716 T-MB 4-iron, CB 5-6 irons, MB 7-PW irons, Vokey Design TVD gap/52°, sand/56° and lob/60° wedges, Scotty Cameron GoLo putter

"You've got to really make something happen, especially when the conditions are soft," Steele said after the win. "I wanted to be aggressive and I didn't want to just kind of coast in and just make sure that I had a decent week. It's nice to close it off this way."

Four players tied for 3rd place, another shot back, including Titleist Brand Ambassadors Scott Piercy (Pro V1) and Michael Kim (Pro V1), as well as Titleist golf ball loyalist Johnson Wagner (Pro V1x).

Scott Piercy (T3): Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, 917D2/8.5° driver, 917F2/16.5° fairway metal, 816H1/21° hybrid, 716 AP2/4-iron, 716 MB/5-PW irons, Vokey Design SM6 gap/53°, sand/57° and lob/62° wedges, Scotty Cameron Concept 2 putter

Michael Kim (T3): Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, 917D2/9.5° driver, 915F/15° and 21° fairway metals, 716 T-MB 4-iron, 716 AP2/5-9 irons, Vokey Design SM6 pitching/46°, gap/52°, sand/56° and lob/60° wedges, Scotty Cameron GSS-350 putter

Johnson Wagner (T3): Titleist Pro V1x gol ball

Titleist Brand Ambassador Kevin Na (Pro V1x), who lost in a playoff at this event a year ago, closed with a 6-under-par 66 to finish solo 7th.

Titleist Brand Ambassador Justin Thomas (Pro V1x) and Titleist golf ball loyalist Chris Kirk (Pro V1x) were among five players who tied for 8th, as eight of the 12 players who finished among the top 10 and ties relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.

TITLEIST BY THE NUMBERS


 At the first event of the new 2016-17 wraparound season, Titleist was the overwhelming field favorite in golf balls with 98 players trusting a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball for their success, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 13 and more than all competitors combined.

Titleist was also the top choice among players in the hybrid (30) and irons (42) categories at the Safeway Open. Titleist Vokey Design Wedges were tops in the approach, sand and lob wedge (179) category and Scotty Cameron putters were the top choice among players with 60 putters in play. Six of the top seven finishers relied upon a Scotty Cameron putter for their success this week.

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