 On Sunday 25th November, Stephen Ames holed a seven-foot putt that netted him $ 650,000 on the 18th hole of the Skins Game at Indian Wells, California.
The 43 year-old Canadian followed his victory in the final PGA Tour event of the season in Florida on November 4th (where he shot a 17 under score 271), winning the event for the 2nd consecutive year - one of only a handful of players ever to do so, including Fuzzy Zoeller, Payne Stewart, Curtis Strange and Fred Couples. In addition, Ames lays claim to the record for the second largest money total in the 25-year history of the event. Greg Norman took a record $800,000 and 17 skins on one hole in 2001.
One of the most vocal industry supporters to offer his heartfelt support for Ames's composure under pressure on the greens was Francis Ricci, CEO of world golf's brightest rising star, Yes! Golf. Ames switched putters only weeks before his Children's Miracle Classic win in Florida, perhaps dispelling the widely held belief that to change clubs so close to an event is bad for one's game.
"Stephen Ames won the PGA Tour's final tournament of the year using his new Valerie Putter that he started using just a few weeks ago. He finished tied for first in total putts and ninth in putts per green in regulation. His winning cheque of $828,000 moved him from 65th on the money list to 31st for a total of $2.9 million."
The allure of the Valerie will doubtless have been boosted by the fact that Sergio Garcia was seen 'stepping out with the lady' when he finished second at TCP Sawgrass earlier in 2007.
One doesn't always hear about Yes! achievements of this nature. The brand has come from nowhere in recent years to be a growing favourite among Tour pros and club golfers, due to its unique characteristics that get the putter into Tour Pros' bags no matter who their main sponsors. But the larger sponsorship budgets of the Wall Street club brands often drown out the C-Groove achievements. Yes! re-invests its cash in R&D rather than a string of Tour players, and it's earned them a pleasing reputation as an upstart with a bright future, that the golfers and media really warm to.
The Valerie is a mallet-style putter made of 304 stainless steel. It features a cavity-back compact head design that is face balanced with a double bend shaft and single sight line for easier alignment. The concentric C-Grooves on the faces of all Yes! Putters are designed to send the ball on a truer topspin roll for enhanced directional and distance control. |
