[PHOTO: Julio Aguilar]
It seems only fitting that at a tournament littered with colourful paint buckets that Peter Malnati, wearing a bucket hat and using a yellow golf ball, won.
Malnati broke a deadlock with Cameron Young by stinging an iron off the tee at the 181-metre, par-3 17th hole to six feet then dropped the putt for birdie – his fourth on the final nine. He started the back nine by staking a gap wedge to 16 inches on the 10th, knocked another wedge tight at the par-5 11th then drained a 15-footer at the par-4 12th.
That helped Malnati rank fourth in strokes gained/putting, picked up more than eight shots on the field, as well as ranking first in putts per green in regulation. Malnati’s putter is a Scotty Cameron by Titleist TourType Special Select Masterful tour-only prototype. The blade-style putter features soft curves and has a welded neck.
The heartwarming reason why Valspar Championship winner Peter Malnati uses a yellow ball
Malnati also used his driver to great effect, ranking fourth in strokes gained/off the tee despite averaging just 266 metres (291 yards) off the tee, which ranked 59th. Malnati’s driver is a 10-degree Titleist TSR3 with a Project X Denali Blue 60 TX shaft.
As for colour, Malnati will get to experience another colour for the first time in his career: Masters green. In his decade-long career Malnati has not teed it up in the Masters, but with the win comes a coveted invitation to Augusta National.
Come to think of it, that yellow ball matches nicely with green.
What Peter Malnati had in the bag at the 2024 Valspar Championship:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (Project X Denali Blue 60 TX), 10 degrees
3-wood: Titleist TSi3, 15 degrees
Hybrid: Titleist 818 H2, 19 degrees
Irons (4): Titleist T200; (5): Titleist T150; (6-9): Titleist T100; (PW): Titleist Vokey SM10
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 (52, 56, 62 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist TourType Special Select Masterful prototype
