Callaway Staff Pro Annika Sorenstam Shoots 59! Record-shattering Round Leads To LPGA Tour Victory
Callaway Staff Pro Annika Sorenstam Shoots 59! Record-shattering Round Leads To LPGA Tour Victory
March 19, 2001 at 12:00 AM EST
CONTACT(S): Larry Dorman, Mike Galeski, Millie Speirs (760) 931-1771
CALLAWAY STAFF PRO ANNIKA SORENSTAM SHOOTS 59!
RECORD-SHATTERING ROUND LEADS TO LPGA TOUR VICTORY
CARLSBAD, CA., March 19, 2001 – Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam further solidified her place among golf’s greatest performers by shooting 59 on the LPGA Tour – the first woman in history to do so. Sorenstam posted that magical number during the second round of the Standard Register Ping, which she went on to win yesterday with an LPGA-record score of 27-under-par 261. It was Sorenstam’s second victory in as many weeks and the 25th of her LPGA Tour career. She joins Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval as one of only four golfers to shoot 59 in a PGA or LPGA Tour event.
“I can't believe what I just did,” said Sorenstam, who birdied 12 of her first 13 holes during the historic round. “I’ve played some good golf, but I never thought I could put this together. It was fun, to put it mildly. I hit great shots all day.”
Sorenstam used 11 Callaway Golf® clubs and a Callaway “Rule 35®” Softfeel™ golf ball in her two-stroke victory over Se Ri Pak at the Standard Register Ping. In her bag: a Big Bertha® Hawk Eye® VFT™ Pro Series Titanium Driver, Steelhead Plus™ 4-wood and 7-wood, Steelhead® X-14® Irons and an Odyssey® Dual Force® Rossie® 2 Putter. Playing with remarkable precision during her record-setting round, Sorenstam hit every green in regulation, missed just one fairway and needed only 23 putts. She narrowly missed a putt for 58 on the final green before tapping in for 59.
Sorenstam broke the previous LPGA Tour single-round scoring record – which she shared with Karrie Webb – by two strokes and tied the nine-hole scoring record at 28 during her first nine holes of the second round. She also set new LPGA Tour standards for lowest score after 36 holes by three strokes at 20-under 124, as well as most birdies in a single round with 13.
The victory continues a sizzling eight-round stretch, during which Sorenstam is 50-under-par. Last week, she set the tournament scoring record at the Welch’s/Circle K Championship with what was then the second-lowest tournament score in LPGA Tour history – a 23-under-par 265. In her previous two events, she finished second. She currently leads the LPGA Tour in scoring average, money won and player of the year points.
“We congratulate Annika for her spectacular performance and for her exceptional record,” said Ely Callaway, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Callaway Golf. “We are all very proud to be associated with such a superb champion golfer and such an outstanding person.”
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™ and Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT Pro Series 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. Callaway Golf Company also makes and sells Odyssey® Putters, including White Hot®, TriHot™, and Dual Force® Putters. Callaway Golf Company makes and sells the Callaway Golf® “Rule 35®” Firmfeel™ and Softfeel™ golf balls, and the CB1™ Red golf ball. For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at www.callawaygolf.com, www.callawaygolfball.com and www.odysseygolf.com.