Bruce Fleisher Wins U.S. Senior Open To Highlight A Three-win Weekend For Callaway Golf Clubs And Balls
Bruce Fleisher Wins U.S. Senior Open To Highlight A Three-win Weekend For Callaway Golf Clubs And Balls
July 2, 2001 at 12:00 AM EDT
CONTACT(S): Larry Dorman, Mike Galeski, Millie Speirs (760) 931-1771
CARLSBAD, CA., July 2, 2001 – Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) Staff Professional Bruce Fleisher outplayed a field packed with legends to win the U.S. Senior Open yesterday, earning the first professional major championship of his career. Fleisher joins fellow Callaway Golf Staff Professional Arnold Palmer and the legendary Jack Nicklaus as the only men to ever win both the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Senior Open. Fleisher was the only golfer to equal par with a 280 total at Salem Country Club, as he recorded his third victory of the 2001 Senior PGA Tour season.
“There's no doubt that driving the ball was the key to this victory,” said Fleisher, who was the only golfer to hit all 14 fairways over the final round – an amazing feat on Sunday in a major championship. Fleisher used 13 Callaway Golf® clubs in his dramatic victory, including a Hawk Eye® VFT™ Pro Series Titanium Driver, Steelhead Plus™ 4-wood and 5-wood, Hawk Eye Tungsten Injected™ Titanium Irons and an Odyssey® Dual Force® 664 Putter. Fleisher also relied upon the premium performance of Callaway Golf's Rule 35® Firmfeel™ (red logo) ball.
Over the event's four rounds Fleisher finished second in driving accuracy, tied for eighth in greens hit in regulation and tied for 10th in putting. Fleisher's major victory has moved him to the top of the Senior PGA Tour money list with $1,597,592 in earnings this year. Callaway Golf was the No. 1 driver, fairway wood, iron and putter manufacturer at the U.S. Senior Open, according to data from the Darrell Survey.
Fleisher's fellow Callaway Golf Staff Professional Colin Montgomerie also had a winning weekend, as he triumphed at the Irish Open for the third time in his career. Montgomerie's wire-to-wire victory included a sizzling 63 in the opening round, punctuated by a pair of eagles. Montgomerie finished at 18-under-par 266 in the 25th win of his PGA European Tour career.
At the Irish Open, Montgomerie displayed power and accuracy using the Rule 35 ball. He averaged 289.9 yards in driving distance and 78.8 percent driving accuracy, while hitting 75 percent of the greens in regulation. Montgomerie used 11 Callaway Golf clubs at the event, including a Hawk Eye Titanium Driver, Big Bertha® Steelhead™ 3-wood, Steelhead X-14® Pro Series Irons and an Odyssey White Hot® 7 Putter. Like Fleisher, Montgomerie won using the Rule 35 Firmfeel model.
Meanwhile, the Rule 35 Softfeel™ (blue logo) model was used by LPGA Hall of Famer Betsy King to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic yesterday. King notched her 34th career victory by shooting three consecutive rounds in the 60s. The winner also used a Hawk Eye VFT Pro Series Titanium Driver and a Steelhead Plus 5-wood in her two-stroke victory. Lorie Kane finished second using the Rule 35 Firmfeel model. Four of the top eight finishers at the event used Rule 35 golf balls, while Callaway Golf leads the LPGA Tour in golf ball wins this season with 11.
The three latest Rule 35 victories bring Callaway Golf's ball victory total to 22 across the world's five major professional tours this year – the second-highest total among all ball manufacturers. Callaway Golf leads the five major professional tours combined in driver wins with 30.
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 and CB1 Blue golf balls. For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at www.callawaygolf.com and www.odysseygolf.com.