Srixon and Cleveland Golf Seize Sunday! Knox and Durant Win + First Victory for RTX-3

(HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA) – What a Sunday! Srixon and Cleveland Golf congratulate staffers Russell Knox and Joe Durant for their respective wins over the weekend on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS. Knox sealed his second career victory with a par save on the final hole at the PGA TOUR Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., holding off fellow Srixon / Cleveland Golf staffer Jerry Kelly by one shot. Durant won in equally dramatic fashion on the PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS. After shooting a 9-under-par 63 in the final round to force a sudden-death playoff, he made an eagle on the first extra hole to top fellow Srixon staffer Miguel Angel Jimenez and win the 3M Championship at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn.

Joe Durant

Knox, who fired four under-par rounds to close with a 14-under-par total, found the greenside bunker on the par-4 18th hole and hit his third shot 12 feet from the flag. Faced with a breaking, uphill putt for par, the 31-year-old native of Scotland calmly sank it and threw off his Srixon cap in a moment of pure elation.

“I played it just a little higher to the right, and about halfway I had a good feeling it was right in the middle. I felt like the Incredible Hulk when it went in. I could have ripped my shirt off,” said Knox, who won $1.18 million and jumped to fourth in the FedEx Cup points standings and 18th in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Durant began the final round four strokes off the lead but made 10 birdies and only one bogey Sunday to finish regulation tied with Jimenez at 19-under par. On the first sudden-death hole, the par-5 18th, Durant hit his second shot to 10 feet and then rolled his Srixon Z-STAR XV Tour Yellow golf ball into the cup for eagle and the victory. It’s the first individual PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS title for the 52-year-old Durant, a 4-time PGA TOUR winner, who collected a $262,500 first-place check and rose to second in Charles Schwab Cup points standings.

“I’ve been knocking on the door, but those doubts start creeping in your mind … if you could ever shoot low enough for three days to do it,” Durant said. “So, I’m very thankful. I’m fortunate to win this week,”

Knox and Durant further cemented their status as premier ball-strikers on their tours this week. Knox hit 79 percent of the greens in regulation, fifth-best in the field, and he ranks third in GIR for the 2015-16 PGA TOUR campaign. Durant hit a stunning 91 percent of the greens en route to victory, only missing 5 of 54, to tie for second. The 52-year-old ranks second on the PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS in GIR at almost 78 percent.

Durant’s victory marks the first professional win for the new Cleveland Golf RTX-3 wedges. Durant has two RTX-3 Blade Tour Raw wedges in his bag: 54° V-FG and 60° V-MG. The new RTX-3 features three key innovations that have been proven to help get players closer to the hole than any wedge Cleveland Golf has ever made: Feel Balancing Technology, V Sole Grinds, and an Enhanced Rotex Face. Jerry Kelly also had two RTX-3 wedges in his bag for the first time this week: a 52° V-MG and 60° V-FG.

Durant has a new Srixon Z 765 Driver in the bag, featuring three technologies that work together to create a Ripple Effect of more distance and better performance. This represents the third worldwide professional win for the Z 765 driver in the last two months.

Srixon/Cleveland Golf Equipment Used By Russell Knox:
· Srixon Z-STAR Pure White golf ball
· Cleveland Golf Launcher FL fairway wood (19°) with Miyazaki Kusala Black 83X shaft
· Cleveland Golf Launcher DST 3-hybrid, Cleveland Golf Mashie 4-hybrid with Aldila VS Proto 95X shafts
· Srixon Z 545 5-iron, Srixon Z 745 6-9 irons with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts
· Cleveland Golf 588 RTX 2.0 Custom Edition wedges: 48°,  54°, 60° with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts

Srixon/Cleveland Golf Equipment Used By Joe Durant:
· Srixon Z-STAR XV Tour Yellow golf ball
· Srixon Z 765 Driver (10.5°) with True Temper Project X LZ60 6.0 shaft
· Srixon Z U65 utility iron (20°) with KBS Tour S shaft
· Cleveland Golf 588 TC irons, 4-P, with KBS Tour S shafts.
· Cleveland Golf RTX-3 Blade Tour Raw wedges: 54° V-FG, with KBS Tour S shaft and 60° V-MG with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft
·        
Srixon/Cleveland Golf Equipment Used By Jerry Kelly
· Srixon Z-STAR XV Pure White golf ball
· Srixon Z Forged Prototype irons, 4-P, with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts
· Cleveland Golf RTX-3 Blade Tour Raw wedges: 52° V-MG, 60° V-FG with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

Srixon Equipment Used By Miguel Angel Jimenez
· Srixon Z-STAR Pure White golf ball

For additional information on Srixon / Cleveland / XXIO products and staff players, visit the following sites: www.srixon.com, www.clevelandgolf.com, and www.xxiousa.com.