CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) Staff Professional Charles Howell III was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year yesterday. Howell, 22, won the award based on votes cast by PGA Tour members, underscoring the 2000 NCAA champion's emergence as one of the game's rising stars.

"This is a great honor for me," said Howell, who posted five top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this year. "To finish the year with a Tour card was exactly what I hoped for, and to top it off with this sort of recognition from my peers makes 2001 that much more rewarding. I learned a lot this year, and now I can focus on continuing to improve my game and winning tournaments."

Howell started the 2001 season with no status on the PGA Tour. Using a series of sponsors' exemptions, Howell put together a string of strong performances and earned conditional status midway through the season. Howell was then able to utilize unlimited sponsors' exemptions, playing in a total of 24 events. He led all non-member players in money won on the PGA Tour with $1,520,632, which would have placed Howell 33rd on the 2001 money list and was easily enough to earn him a 2002 PGA Tour card.

Howell will be honored at the PGA Tour's Annual Awards Ceremony, scheduled for Jan. 30 during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Callaway Golf Company makes and sells Big Bertha(R) Metal Woods and Irons, including Big Bertha ERC(R) II Forged Titanium Drivers, Big Bertha C4(TM) Compression Cured Carbon Composite Drivers, 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, 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 .

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SOURCE Callaway Golf Company

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