Callaway Golf Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam Wins Again With Big Bertha C4 Driver, Odyssey White Hot `2-Ball' Putter and HX Ball

May 13, 2002 at 7:47 PM EDT
Odyssey White Hot Putters Finish 1-2 At PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Classic

CARLSBAD, Calif., May 13, 2002 (BW SportsWire) --Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam won her third LPGA Tour event of the season yesterday, making birdie on three of the last four holes to claim victory at the Aerus Electrolux USA Championship. Counting her triumph at the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters prior to the start of the LPGA Tour season, Sorenstam has now won four times this year using the new Big Bertha C4(TM) Driver, Odyssey(R) White Hot(R) "2-Ball" Putter and the HX(TM) Red golf ball. Sorenstam's latest victory headlined a powerful showing for Callaway Golf(R) equipment around the world, including a 1-2 finish for Odyssey Putters at the Verizon Byron Nelson Classic.

Bogey-free opening and closing rounds at the Legends Club of Tennessee keyed Sorenstam's 34th career LPGA Tour victory. Her final-round 64 tied the course record and enabled her to break the tournament scoring record by three strokes at 17-under-par 271. Overcoming windy conditions, Sorenstam relied on the accuracy of the Big Bertha C4 Driver and the next-generation aerodynamics of the HX Red golf ball to hit 12 of 14 fairways. "It was a tough wind because it was gusty out there today," said Sorenstam, who also hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation during the final round. "I was able to play aggressively and hit a lot of straight shots even though most of the time we were playing in a side wind."

Sorenstam used 13 Callaway Golf clubs at the Aerus Electrolux USA Championship, including two Callaway Golf fairway woods and a set of Steelhead(TM) X-14(R) Irons. Sorenstam also had a pair of Callaway Golf prototype wedges in her bag, becoming the first player to win a tour event while testing this new wedge design. Sorenstam leads the LPGA Tour in victories, money won, player of the year points, scoring average, rounds under par and greens hit in regulation this year. She has also improved from 26th in driving distance average last season to 11th this year at 259.9 yards since switching to the Big Bertha C4 Driver and HX Red ball.

Sorenstam's latest victory was the 23rd of the season for Odyssey Putters, the leading putter brand in wins and usage across the world's six major professional tours -- including another four victories tallied just yesterday. Sorenstam and the winner of the Senior PGA Tour TD Waterhouse Championship each used Odyssey White Hot "2-Ball" Putters, while the winners of the PGA Tour Verizon Byron Nelson Classic and the Japan Golf Tour Fuji Sankei Classic each used Odyssey White Hot 5 Putters. The winner of the Verizon Byron Nelson Classic overcame a charging Callaway Golf Staff Professional Ben Crane, who also used an Odyssey White Hot 5 Putter. Odyssey Putters account for 31.8 percent of all putters put in play across the PGA, Senior PGA, LPGA, Buy.com, PGA European and Japan Golf tours combined through May 12, 2002. Odyssey Putters have been used to win six of the eight LPGA Tour events played this year and four of the Japan Golf Tour's five events this year. The top seven finishers at the Fuji Sankei Classic used Odyssey Putters, as did five of the top seven finishers at the Benson and Hedges International Open on the PGA European Tour.

Callaway Golf balls are also compiling impressive results on the world's professional tours, where they have been used to win events in each of the last four weeks. In addition to Sorenstam's win using a HX Red ball yesterday, Nobuhito Sato was victorious using the CTU 30(TM) Red ball at the Fuji Sankei Classic. Callaway Golf balls have now been used to win 17 events across the world's six major professional tours this year, the second-highest total among all golf ball manufacturers. Callaway Golf is also No. 2 in golf ball usage with 20.2 percent of all balls in play across the six major professional tours combined.

Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha(R) Metal Woods and Irons, including Big Bertha C4(TM) Compression Cured Carbon Composite Drivers, Big Bertha ERC(R) II Forged Titanium Drivers, Big Bertha ERC Forged Titanium Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Hawk Eye(R) VFT(R) and Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT Pro Series Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods, Big Bertha Steelhead(TM) III Stainless Steel Drivers and Fairway Woods, Hawk Eye VFT Tungsten Injected(TM) Titanium Irons, Big Bertha Stainless Steel Irons, Steelhead X-14(R) and Steelhead X-14 Pro Series Stainless Steel Irons. Callaway Golf Company also makes and sells Odyssey(R) Putters, including White Hot(R), TriHot(TM), and Dual Force(R) Putters. Callaway Golf Company makes and sells the Callaway Golf(R) HX(TM) Blue and HX Red balls, Rule 35(R) Firmfeel(TM) and Softfeel(TM) balls, the CTU 30(TM) Blue and CTU 30 Red balls, the HX 2-Piece Blue and HX 2-Piece Red balls, and the CB1(TM) Blue and CB1 Red balls. For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our Web sites at www.callawaygolf.com and www.odysseygolf.com.

 

CONTACT:
Callaway Golf, Carlsbad
Larry Dorman/Mike Galeski/Millie Speirs
760/931-1771

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