Callaway Golf Clubs And Balls Jump To Strong Start In 2001 Tour Season Opener
Callaway Golf Clubs And Balls Jump To Strong Start In 2001 Tour Season Opener
January 8, 2001 at 12:00 AM EST
CONTACT(S): Larry Dorman, Mike Galeski, Millie Speirs (760) 931-1771
CARLSBAD, CA., January 8, 2001 – Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) is off to a fast start on the 2001 professional golf circuit. The Callaway Golf® “Rule 35™” ball – which last year recorded more than 260 top-10 finishes on the five major professional tours (PGA, Senior PGA, LPGA, Buy.com and PGA European tours) combined – was used in this year’s season opener by two of the top three finishers. Callaway Golf Staff Professionals Pierre Fulke and Tohru Taniguchi each used the “Rule 35” Softfeel™ (blue logo) ball to finish second and third, respectively at the Accenture Match Play Championship at Melbourne, Australia. And the top three finishers in this global tournament used drivers made by Callaway Golf. Last year, Callaway Golf led the five major professional tours combined in driver wins.
Fulke advanced to the championship match at the World Golf Championships by defeating No. 1 seed Ernie Els in the semifinals. The $500,000 won by Fulke moves him to the top of the European Ryder Cup standings. He also jumped from 45th to 32nd in the official World Rankings, increasing his chances of making the Masters field in April. Fulke used 13 Callaway Golf clubs, including the ERC™ Forged Titanium Driver he used to win twice last year on the PGA European Tour – including the Scottish PGA Championship and the Volvo Masters – as well as Steelhead Plus™ Fairway Woods and Big Bertha® X-14® Irons.
Meanwhile, Taniguchi defeated Els in the consolation match at the Accenture Match Play Championship, 4 and 3. Taniguchi won $400,000 for his third-place finish and moved into the top 50 on the world rankings list for the first time. Taniguchi won twice on the Japan Golf Tour last season and finished second on the tour’s order of merit. At the Accenture Match Play he used 12 Callaway Golf clubs, including a Great Big Bertha® Hawk Eye® Titanium Driver, Big Bertha Steelhead™ Fairway Woods, Big Bertha X-12® Irons and an Odyssey® White Hot™ 5 Putter.
Callaway Golf had exceptional success on the professional tours last year – its first in the golf ball business. Overall, golf balls made by Callaway Golf were used to win 31 tournaments across 10 international tours and more than $30 million in prize money. Callaway Golf ranked No. 2 among all
golf ball manufacturers in wins and top-10 finishes on the five major professional tours combined in 2000.
Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha® Metal Woods and Irons, including Big Bertha ERC™ II Forged Titanium Drivers, Big Bertha Hawk Eye® VFT™ Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Great Big Bertha® Hawk Eye Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Steelhead Plus™ Stainless Steel Drivers and Fairway Woods, Hawk Eye Tungsten Injected™ Titanium Irons, Steelhead™ X-14® and Steelhead X-14 Pro Series Stainless Steel Irons, and Bobby Jones® and Carlsbad Series™ Putters. Callaway Golf Company also makes and sells Odyssey® Putters, including White Hot™, TriHot™, and Dual Force® Putters. Callaway Golf Ball Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Callaway Golf Company, makes and sells the Callaway Golf® Rule 35™ Firmfeel™ and Softfeel™ golf balls. For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at www.callawaygolf.com, www.callawaygolfball.com and www.odysseygolf.com.