(COVINGTON, GA) – Amid daylong roars of “Ti-ger, Ti-ger, Ti-ger,” Bridgestone Golf ambassador Tiger Woods seized a decisive two-shot victory at the TOUR Championship, the final leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
Woods relied on Bridgestone Golf’s TOUR B XS ball to capture his 80th PGA Tour win and first since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. In 18 starts this season during one of sports history’s greatest comebacks, he has seven top 10s, including close calls at the British Open and PGA Championship. He is two victories behind record-holder Sam Snead.
Woods averaged 304 yards off the tee, ranking third in driving accuracy and first in putting average. He switched to the TOUR B XS in late 2017 because of its aerodynamic properties and highly-engineered 330 Dual Dimple design for maximum distance and control. A soft urethane cover helped with excellent spin and greenside playability. Woods chose the TOUR B XS in late 2017 because it perfectly fits his game, and millions of golfers engaged in Bridgestone’s pioneering ball-fitting process find the model that suits their unique needs.
“It was a grind out there, I loved every bit of it,” says Woods. “It’s been tough, not so easy the last few years, but I worked my way back and couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone around me.
“I still had some work to do and had a two shot lead on the last hole. It started hitting me that I was going to win the tournament and I started tearing up a little bit. I just can’t believe I pulled this off,” said Woods.
Holding off a group of 29 superstar challengers at East Lake is the momentum Woods and his fellow Americans need headed into this week’s Ryder Cup in France.
“Tiger started the year ranked 666th in the world,” says Dan Murphy, President and CEO of Bridgestone Golf. “His ascension to playing like a top-five player shows that dedication to his craft and determination to win produces incredible results; it’s a lesson for all of us in business and life.”
“In greater context, Tiger’s comeback is what the sport needs to increase its popularity and vitality for future generations,” added Murphy, citing TOUR Championship ticket sales reportedly up roughly 170% largely thanks to Tiger’s hot streak.
Despite Woods changing clubs throughout the season, Bridgestone’s Tour B XS balls remained a constant in his arsenal. The TOUR Championship marks the third 2018 FedExCup Playoff trophy for a Bridgestone staffer, as Bryson DeChambeau played the TOUR B X ball to win the Dell Technologies Championship and The Northern Trust. Bridgestone ambassador Brandt Snedeker won the Wyndham Championship one week before the FedExCup Playoffs began.
The TOUR B Series golf balls represent Bridgestone’s most technologically advanced models to date. During development, company engineers used data from more than three million in-person and online ball fittings, combined with insights from leading third-party industry sources, to identify needs of specific player types. They then drew on more than 800 golf ball patents to determine which proprietary technologies would most benefit each golfer persona identified.
In addition to Woods, DeChambeau and Snedeker, the company’s equipment is also trusted by Matt Kuchar, Fred Couples and LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Cheyenne Woods.
