Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Young Wins THE PLAYERS Championship

By Zack R., Team Titleist Staff On Today Balls Tour Clubs

PGA TOUR | THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Fearless down the stretch at TPC Sawgrass, Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Young (Titleist Pro V1x prototype) closed out the week with a bogey-free, three-birdie back nine to become THE PLAYERS Champion. 

  • Playing a Pro V1x prototype golf ball and 14 Titleist clubs, Young posted a 4-under 68 Sunday to finish the week 13 under, one shot clear of Matt Fitzpatrick (Pro V1x).
  • Young's control of his Titleist golf ball was on full display this week in Ponte Vedra, as he gained nearly 10 shots (+9.840) tee to green (5th).
  • That included +7.076 strokes gained on approach shots (3rd), while leading the event in Proximity with an average of 28 feet, 1 inch.
  • On Sunday, he averaged a field-best 24 feet, 11 inches to the hole, making birdies on No. 1 (15 feet, 3 inches), No. 7 (3 feet, 4 inches), No. 10 (14 feet, 9 inches), No. 13 (3 feet, 9 inches) and No. 17 (9 feet, 7 inches).
  • Young’s birdie on the infamous island-green 17th on Sunday was his third straight, becoming the first PLAYERS champion to make birdie there in each of his final three rounds. On Saturday, he hit his tee shot to 21 inches.
  • Young also led the field in Scrambling, getting up and down on 16 of 21 attempts. He gained nearly five shots (+4.813) putting.
  • It was a 1-2 finish for Pro V1x and GT3 drivers, as five of the top seven finishers played a Titleist golf ball and driver. Six of the top seven had at least two Vokey wedges in the bag, while four gamed Titleist iron sets.
  • Overall, Titleist was the overwhelming #1 ball (68%) and most played driver (35%), iron (30%) and wedge (50%) among the elite 123-player field. 

What’s in the Bag? | Cameron Young

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x prototype
Driver: GT3 11.0° | D•1 SureFit hosel, Neutral SureFit CG | Mitsubishi Diamana PD 60 TX
Fairway Metal: GT1 14.5° | A•1 SureFit hosel | Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX
Hybrid: GT1 20.0° | A•1 SureFit hosel | Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX 
Irons: T200 4 | Dynamic Gold X7; T100 5-iron | Dynamic Gold X7; and 631.CY prototype 6-9 | Dynamic Gold X7 
Wedges: New Vokey Design SM11 48.10F, 52.12F, 56.14F (@ 57), WedgeWorks 60K* (@ 62) | Dynamic Gold X7 (48-57) X100 (62) 
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R tour prototype

‘IT MAKES GOLF EASIER FOR ME’: CAMERON YOUNG EARNS 2ND WIN AFTER MOVE TO PRO V1x PROTOTYPE GOLF BALL

  • With his victory at THE PLAYERS, Cameron Young has now won twice with seven top-10's in 11 starts since moving to a new Titleist Pro V1x prototype golf ball that he had been collaborating on with the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team. 
  • Titleist R&D is constantly soliciting feedback from the world's best players on the performance of their golf ball and their evolving performance needs. This process will often result in the development of new prototypes, some of which are designed to finely tune very specific flight, spin and feel characteristics.
  • These Custom Performance Options (CPOs) – such as Pro V1 Left Dot and Pro V1x Left Dash – play an important role in the discovery of new technological advancements that are frequently incorporated into next generation Pro V1 and Pro V1x models. CPOs also provide key learnings in the continued development of more robust custom performance options for all golfers and their unique launch conditions. 
  • “Fitting’s tremendously important,” Young said. “I mean, at a lower level, it can make a huge difference. At our level, it makes smaller differences in a sense, but huge differences because we have so much more experience and have so much more feel than your average golfer. And that all just kind of creeps into how we play. So, little tiny changes can make a huge difference to us.”
  • During a visit to the Titleist Performance Center at Manchester Lane (Acushnet, Mass.), Young, who was previously playing Pro V1 Left Dot, spent a range session with Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Director of Tour Research & Validation, testing early iterations of what would eventually become the ball he used to win his first PGA TOUR title. 
  • “The first time I hit it (at Manchester Lane) was kind of blind testing,” Young said. “Just immediately, the window it came out of was really nice. I really liked that the top of the flight looked like it just came back down. I’ve never liked to see anything floating and so that just really indicated a real consistency.”
  • Late last summer at the Wyndham Championship, Pitts approached Young to let him know that the final Pro V1x prototypes were now available to play in competition.  
  • “We weren’t sure if he was going to test it [that] week, but as he was warming up, he asked to hit a couple on the range,” Pitts said. “He was then curious to see some shots out on the course.”
  • Young, accompanied by Pitts, teed off Sedgefield’s first hole with both Left Dot and the Pro V1x prototype. By the second hole, he was exclusively hitting shots with the Pro V1x.   
  • “And kind of right off the bat, hit a couple wedges into 1 and 2 at Sedgefield and we were just like, ‘This makes golf easier for me,’” Young said. “So it was a really immediate just kind of thing among my dad, caddie and Fordie were all just like, ‘This makes perfect sense.’ ”
  • Said Pitts: “He was hitting tight draws everywhere. His misses were staying more in play. He hit some, what he would call ‘11 o'clock shots,’ where again he's taking a little something off it. He had great control there.” 
  • Further validation came on the seventh hole, a par 3 that played between 184 and 225 yards during the tournament. The setup on Tuesday's practice round called for a 5-iron from Young, who thought there was “no way” he could fly a 6-iron to the flag with his Left Dot.   
  • “He then hits this 6-iron [with the Pro V1x prototype] absolutely dead at the flag, and it lands right next to the pin, ending up just past it,” Pitts said. “And his response was, ‘remarkable.’ He couldn’t believe that he got that club there.” 
  • After the nine-hole practice round on Tuesday, Pitts walked with Young for nine more holes on Wednesday. Following the round, Young asked the team to put the Pro V1x prototypes in his locker. The results were immediate. Young opened the week 63-62, making 16 birdies over the two rounds before running away with a six-shot victory, his first on the PGA TOUR.

YOUNG UNLEASHES HISTORIC FINAL DRIVE AFTER MOVE TO GT3 11-DEGREE DRIVER

  • Tied for the lead on Sunday at THE PLAYERS, Cameron Young stepped to the 18th tee and pulled the GT3 11-degree driver that he had moved into just the week prior at Bay Hill.
  • Facing TPC Sawgrass’ most treacherous tee shot with the wind at his back, Young unleashed a 375-yard drive around the lake down the right side of the fairway.
  • It was the longest drive ever recorded on that hole in the ShotLink Era.
  • Said Young: “My thought process over that ball is, one, making sure that I’m committed to my line, and two, the overarching thought is ‘I’m going to hit the best shot of my life right here.’ I don't know if I can think of one that's better... first time that thought's really popped in my mind, and I think I did what I intended. It’s one of the best shots I've ever hit in my life.”
  • Since his switch to a new Pro V1x prototype golf ball late last season, Young has worked with J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s Senior Director of Player Promotions, to further dial in the top end of his bag. 

  • After making an initial move from his GT2 9.0° into a GT2 10.0°, Young, who has also been working through some swing changes, thought there was an opportunity to further optimize his carry distance. In working with Van Wezenbeeck at Bay Hill, they moved to the 11-degree GT3 head, lofted down to 10.25 in the D•1 Surefit hosel setting, resulting in higher launch without impacting spin.
  • The new setup took his launch conditions from 9 degrees at 2400 RPMs to 11/2500.
  • Following his golf ball change, Young has also added a GT1 14.5 fairway and GT1 20.0 hybrid to the top end of his bag. The 14.5-degree GT1 fairway, which Young added to the bag after testing this past offseason, is a tour-inspired model designed to produce effortless launch and stability while keeping spin in a low, playable window. It is packaged in GT1’s shallow fairway profile, but a stronger loft and lower center of gravity from its multi-material construction drive down spin compared to standard GT1 fairways.
  • Earlier this year at the Farmers Insurance Open, Young was looking to increase launch in his hybrid. After working with reps onsite, he added a GT1 hybrid with a Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80TX fairway wood shaft, which increased his peak height and gave him even more consistency than his previous hybrid gamer.

  • GT1 hybrids feature a sharper leading edge that sits low to the turf, helping produce easy launch and more playability out of the rough. They also both have fore-aft weight adjustability, which allows Titleist tour reps to lower spin and still maintain launch by moving weight forward in the head. The result is a high, strong ball flight that doesn’t over-spin. 
    • GT3 11.0° driver, D•1 SureFit hosel, Neutral SureFit CG | Mitsubishi Diamana PD 60 TX
    • GT1 14.5° fairway | A•1 SureFit hosel | Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX 
    • GT1 20.0° hybrid | A•1 SureFit hosel | Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80 TX

YOUNG LEADS THE FIELD IN PROXIMITY WITH BLENDED TITLEIST IRON SET, CUSTOM BLADE IRONS

  • For his irons, Young plays a blended set comprised of a T200 4-iron, a T100 5-iron and 631.CY prototype 6-9 irons. Young's T-Series long irons give him optimal peak heights and gapping through the top end of his iron setup.  
  • Young’s custom blades were designed with a pre-worn leading edge and a slightly wider sole to help reduce dig and improve turf interaction for Young’s delivery. Titleist R&D also moved weight lower in the head for slightly higher launch and peak height.  
  • Said Young on the development process: “It started just as basically a question. It was, ‘Hey, if your irons could do anything different what would they do?’ I said, ‘help me not dig quite as quickly into the ground at impact, and if anything, launch a little higher.’”

  • “I think it was one year from then they came and handed me a blank iron and said, ‘here, hit this,’” Young continued. “And I hit about three shots. They said, ‘what do you think?’ I said, ‘that seems great.’ Didn't hear from him for about six more months. And then they handed me a 6-iron and I said, ‘that feels great.’ And then all of a sudden, bang, I had my own set, and I wouldn't change anything about them. They’re honestly everything I could have ever asked for.”
  • This week at TPC Sawgrass, Young led the field in Proximity (28’ 1”) while gaining over seven shots on the field with his approach play (+7.076, 3rd). He also hit 71% GIR over the four rounds (8th).
  • Young, who has been working through some swing changes, also spent time with Van Wezenbeeck last month at Riviera to dial in the lie angles on his short irons, moving them more upright to produce his desired start lines.

YOUNG WINS WITH NEW VOKEY SM11 WEDGES, LEADS FIELD IN SCRAMBLING

  • Staring down the 134-yard 17th hole on Sunday, one shot back of the lead, Cameron Young pulled his NEW Vokey Design SM11 56.14F (@ 57) sand wedge and stuck his approach to within 10 feet, setting up a clutch final birdie of his week. It was his third birdie on the 17th in as many rounds, having rolled in a 24-footer on Friday and flagged his tee shot to inside two feet on Saturday. 
  • In addition to his approach play, Young was also dialed around the greens with his entire set of SM11 wedges — 48.10F, 52.12F, 56.14F (@ 57), WedgeWorks 60K* (@ 62) — as he converted 16 of 21 up-and-downs for a field-best 76% clip.

  • Over the past four years, Young has worked closely with Vokey Tour Rep Aaron Dill to dial in his wedge setup. One of the key changes involved moving from a 56-degree (@ 57) M Grind to, eventually, a 56.14F (@ 57), which improved consistency in carry numbers from distance and gave him more purpose greenside with his sand wedge. 
  • Another change to Young's setup involved moving to a 60-degree K* Grind lob wedge (@ 62), one of the most popular grinds on the PGA TOUR.
  • Instead of the full, smooth sole of the .06K Grind, the sole of the K* Grind features a steeper pre-wear on the leading edge to provide forgiveness from the square-faced position. K* also has heel, toe and trailing edge relief, which allows the leading edge to sit closer to the ground when the face is opened. And like all K Grind variations, K* has a wide sole that excels out of the bunker.
  • For Cameron Young, bunker performance was the primary motivation to move to K* in May of 2024 from his previous lower-bounce T Grind lob wedge setup: “The 62 is a 60 bent a little weak just to get the bounce right, but that's what I use mostly around the greens,” Young said. “So I've got a little bit more bounce than I used to have. Probably last time we did this, I was on a very low bounce version of it, and we went to this just to help improve bunker play... That one was a switch we made just over a year ago, PGA Championship Valhalla. I came to Aaron Dill and was having some issues and he said, ‘Hey, try this.’” 
  • “What we've learned over the years of working with the best players in the world is anytime we start to add a little bit of width to the bottom of the golf club, that creates a little bit of easy height,” said Dill. “So we talk about the K Grind being the bunker-friendly club. [K*] is a little bit of the best of both worlds because at the same time of him wanting to have all of the ease that comes out of the bunker with the height, the spin, the stopping power, he still wants the versatility that he so desperately needs in those firmer conditions... when he has to open up that face, it has to look good. It has to sit close to the ground. So that's the beauty about the K* is we've got the width for the bunkers, we've got the polishing on the bottom that helps with those green side shots when you have to open up the face.”
  • Said Young: “I think I went 10 for 10 out of bunkers that week, and [K* has] been in ever since.”

YOUNG KEEPS IT ROLLING WITH PHANTOM 9.5R PUTTER

  • Young was lights out on the greens this week, gaining over 4.5 shots on the field with his Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R tour prototype putter (+4.813, 7th). 
  • Young has played a Phantom putter for the entirety of his PGA TOUR career, gaming various head shapes and neck configurations since 2021. One reason he has gravitated towards the Phantom family is the stability and MOI provided by a larger mallet profile. The increased footprint also creates space for different alignment offerings, from direct features like his 9.5R gamer’s single black sightline to the more subtle angles and contours of the putter’s head shape and design. 

  • “There’s an element of forgiveness to it that just I think in my head makes sense,” said long-time Phantom loyalist Cameron Young. “I’ve just grown to like the way that [Phantom mallets] look. I look at a blade now and I have more trouble lining it up.”
  • Last year, he made an early season move at the 2025 RBC Heritage from a plumbing neck (.2) to a jet neck (.5) within the 9R head shape, seeking more toe flow in his putting stroke. 
  • “He’s always wanted to feel flow in the putter,” said Scotty Cameron Tour Rep Brad Cloke. “We’ve started in face-balanced mallets for him and we’ve kind of worked our way down to a point where he’s felt comfortable enough to feel the toe flow the way he wants it and get the release of the putter that he wants.” 
  • Said Young: “I just felt like the middle of the face was more apparent to me [after the move] with a little bit more [face] rotation and a little bit more release into the ball. I felt like I just struck it more in the middle, which kind of helped my speed, made it roll a little tighter... I feel like I've putted better and better as my mechanics keep improving and as I get more familiar with it.”
  • The switch paid off. Young delivered the best putting season of his career in 2025, finishing the year 7th in Strokes Gained: Putting (+0.642 per round), T6 in Putting Average (1.704) and 4th in One-Putt Percentage (44.57%), while collecting his first TOUR win at the Wyndham Championship. 
  • On Sunday, he used his gamer to roll in over 81 feet of putts, including a breaking 9’ 7” birdie putt on the 17th green that saw him reach the eventual winning 13-under total.

PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA | Heritage Classic

Highlighted by a Thursday 66 that featured seven birdies, Will Florimo (NEW Pro V1x Left Dash) claimed his first victory on The PGA Tour of Australasia. 

  • The Queenslander made an eagle and five birdies to shoot a 3-under 69 on Sunday, reaching 14-under for the week, and securing a two-shot win.
  • Titleist was the overwhelming #1 golf ball in Victoria with 87 (73%) players teeing up a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, more than four times the nearest competitor with 21.

SUNSHINE TOUR | The Courier Guy Playoffs: The Serengeti Playoffs

Titleist Brand Ambassador Daniel Van Tonder (Pro V1x) shot a 9-under 63 Sunday to charge up the leaderboard and secure a two-shot victory at The Serengeti Playoffs. 

  • The South African’s final round was highlighted by a clutch birdie-eagle-birdie finish on Nos. 16-18, which saw him reach the winning 21-under number.
  • Nine of the top 10 finishers on the final leaderboard played a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, with a total of 83% of the field in Kempton Park teeing up a Titleist golf ball.
  • Titleist was also the most played driver, gamed by 32 players (53%).

What’s in the Bag? | Daniel Van Tonder

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: GT3 8.0°
Fairway Metal: TSi2 13.5° and 18.0°
Irons: 620 CB 4-PW
Wedges:  NEW Vokey Design SM11 46.10F, 50.08F, 56.08M, 60.04T
Putter: Scotty Cameron Futura 5MB tour prototype

CHINA TOUR | Guangdong Open

Zihao Jin (Pro V1) posted a 3-under 67 Sunday to clinch a four-shot win and his sixth career China Tour title. 

  • The 27-year-old was the only player to shoot all four rounds under par (69-67-66-67) and the only one to finish double digits under par for the week.
  • Titleist was the overwhelming #1 golf ball in Guangdong with 106 (88%) players teeing up a Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball, more than 15 times the nearest competitor with 7.

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