Another Record Victory For The Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver Highlights A Worldwide Winning Weekend For Callaway Golf

October 30, 2000 at 12:00 AM EST
CONTACT(S): Larry Dorman, Mike Galeski, Millie Speirs (760) 931-1771

CARLSBAD, CA, October 30, 2000 – For the fourth consecutive week, the newest conforming driver from Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) has won on tour. The Big Bertha® Hawk Eye® VFT™ Titanium Driver was used by the winner of the Buy.com Tour Championship as he triumphed in record style yesterday. This is the seventh win for the Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver on the world’s major professional tours, including five wins as a prototype before being introduced to the public less than two weeks ago.

After switching to the Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver prior to the tournament, the winner set Buy.com Tour Championship records with his 16-under-par 272 total and five-shot margin of victory. His driving distance average at the event was 282.6 yards – more than five yards above his year-to-date driving distance average of 277.3 yards. He also hit 71.4 percent of the fairways at the event, a marked improvement over his year-to-date average of 62.2 percent. Helped by his consistently long and accurate drives, and his Big Bertha X-12® Irons, the winner led the Buy.com Tour Championship field in greens hit in regulation. In all, the winner of the Buy.com Tour Championship used 12 Callaway Golf® clubs as he moved top of the Buy.com Tour money list and secured his PGA Tour card for 2001.

The Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver has now won on each of the world’s five major professional tours. It also has been used to set tournament scoring records at four tour events: the Buy.com Tour Championship, the Canon European Masters (by Callaway Golf Staff Professional Eduardo Romero) and The Transamerica and Gold Rush Classic, each by Callaway Golf Staff Professional Jim Thorpe.

Thorpe continued the hot streak that started when he switched to the Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver five weeks ago. Thorpe finished fourth at the SBC Senior Classic yesterday, marking his fourth consecutive top-5 finish – including his back-to-back victories earlier this month. In 15 Senior PGA Tour rounds since switching to the Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver, Thorpe is 55-under-par and has won $487,200. Callaway Golf Staff Professional Stewart Ginn joined Thorpe in the top five at the SBC Senior Classic using a Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver. A total of 12 golfers put the Hawk Eye VFT Titanium Driver in play at the SBC Senior Classic, making it the most-used driver at the event. Overall, Callaway Golf was the most-played driver brand at the event with 24 drivers in play, compared with 11 for the nearest competitor.

Ginn and Thorpe each used the Callaway Golf “Rule 35™” Firmfeel™ ball at the SBC Senior Classic. Callaway Golf had 29 players use the “Rule 35” ball at the event, making it the second most-played ball brand on the Senior PGA Tour last week.

In international play, Callaway Golf Staff Professional Toru Taniguchi was victorious on the Japan Golf Tour for the second time in as many months, winning the Phillip Morris Championship. Taniguchi overcame a three-stroke deficit over the final round to score a one-stroke victory. Taniguchi used 12 Callaway Golf clubs in his victory, including a Hawk Eye Titanium Driver, Steelhead Plus™ Strong 4-wood and 5-wood, Big Bertha X-12 Irons and an Odyssey® White Hot™ 5 Putter. The victory lifted Taniguchi into second place on the Japan Golf Tour money list.

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 TriForce® 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.