TaylorMade has strengthened its tour staff for the 2017 season after signing up a host of new players, including Paul Casey, Nick Watney, Smylie Kaufman, Seung-Yul Noh, Kyle Stanley and Jon Curran.
The six new signings join a roster that already includes four players in the top 15 in the world rankings, comprising world no.1 Jason Day, world No.3 Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia (13) and Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose (15).
Smylie Kaufman joins TaylorMade after completing his first full season on the PGA Tour, whereby he secured ten top-25s and four top-10 finishes in 28 events, including his maiden victory on Tour at the 2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. The Louisiana State University graduate added the M2 driver into his bag at The Barclays last August and has played it in every tournament since.
Three-time Ryder Cup player Paul Casey has 14 international and 1 PGA Tour victory on his CV. Predominantly playing on the European Tour, where he was Player of the Year in 2006 – Casey carded 12 top-25s and seven top-10 finishes in 22 tournaments on the PGA Tour in 2016, which included runner-up finishes at both the Deutsche Bank and BMW Championships en route to a fourth place finish at the Tour Championship. Casey first put the M2 driver into play at the Safeway Open in October.
One of the game’s most promising young stars, Seung-Yul Noh will play TaylorMade metalwoods throughout the 2017 campaign. Having made his PGA Tour debut in 2010 at the age of 19, Noh has accumulated 16 top-25 finishes since 2014, including a victory at the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Noh put the ’16 M1 fairway into play for the first time at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the M1 430 driver the following week at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open. As of the RSM Classic, both are still in the bag.
After a successful collegiate career following his walking on to the golf team at Fresno State University, Nick Watney’s accomplishments on Tour include five victories and career earnings amassing more than $24m since first turning professional in 2003. The California native, who averages 302 yards off the tee, switched into the ’16 M2 driver and 3-wood, in addition to an M1 5-wood, at the Safeway Open in Napa, which remained in his bag through the end of the year.
Also joining TaylorMade’s Tour staff is Kyle Stanley. After turning pro in 2009, the 29-year-old Clemson University graduate won his first PGA Tour event in 2012 and has since accumulated 23 additional top-25 finishes and more than $7 million in career earnings.
Jon Curran, a relative newcomer on Tour, turned pro in 2009 and has enjoyed early success in his career, including three professional victories and eight top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.
“We’re thrilled to welcome these six men into the TaylorMade family as our newest Tour staff ambassadors, said Chuck Presto, senior vice president of the company’s sports marketing division. Each players’ accomplishments speak for themselves, and we look forward to watching them succeed while playing the highest performing products in the world out on Tour.”