CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb 25, 2002 (BW SportsWire) -- Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam opened her 2002 season with a dramatic four-hole playoff win over Karrie Webb at the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters yesterday. Sorenstam shot a final-round 69 to force the playoff, then secured the victory with a par on the fourth extra hole using a host of new products from Callaway Golf -- including the hot new Big Bertha C4(TM) Driver, the soon-to-be released HX(TM) golf ball and the Odyssey(R) White Hot(R) "2-Ball" Putter. Sorenstam, the 2001 LPGA Rolex Player of the Year, is one of three golfers to win professional tournaments around the world yesterday using Callaway Golf(R) equipment.

Sorenstam switched to the Big Bertha C4 Driver and HX Red golf ball during the off-season, and the changes paid off immediately at Royal Pines Golf Club. Her second-round 64 stood as the low round of the event, and she outplayed Webb -- a four-time defending champion on the course -- to win the four-hole playoff. Sorenstam credited the forgiveness of the Big Bertha C4 Driver and the remarkable aerodynamic stability of the HX golf ball with helping her navigate the course in blustery conditions.

"I just felt really confident, really solid with the driver," she said. "And the new HX ball is stable in the wind and feels great around the greens. All in all, this gives me a lot of confidence. It's a great way to start things out in a new season."

The victory is Sorenstam's third in her last four tournaments -- a stretch of outstanding play that began with her switch to the Odyssey White Hot "2-Ball" Putter late last season. Sorenstam used her putter to spur her comeback at the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters, holing 30-foot putts on consecutive holes down the stretch. "I couldn't have putted any better in the final round or in the playoff," said Sorenstam, who won eight LPGA Tour events in 2001. "When you start making long putts, you think, 'Today, it was meant to be.'"

Sorenstam is not the only pro to find success with the Big Bertha C4 Driver overseas. An Asian Tour golfer using a Big Bertha C4 Driver recently won the London Myanmar Open. Callaway Golf drivers are enjoying strong early success on the Asian Tour this year, as the champion of the Hero Honda Masters used the ERC(R) II Forged Titanium Driver in his win.

In addition to Sorenstam's victory, Callaway Golf equipment was also in the bags of two other international winners yesterday. The winner of the Accenture Match Play Championship carried a new Big Bertha(R) Steelhead(TM) III 3-wood and a Steelhead Plus(R) 5-wood while claiming his first PGA Tour victory and a $1 million payday. The runner-up at La Costa used a Hawk Eye(R) VFT(R) Pro Series Titanium Driver. Callaway Golf Staff Professional Niclas Fasth earned a top-10 finish at the event using 13 Callaway Golf clubs, including the new Big Bertha C4 Driver, a Steelhead III 7-wood, Steelhead(TM) X-14(R) Pro Series Irons, a pair of Callaway Golf prototype wedges and an Odyssey White Hot "2-Ball" Putter. Fasth also used the new HX Red golf ball, which is scheduled to ship to golf shops next month. Callaway Golf was the No. 2 ball brand in play at the Accenture Match Play Championship.

On the PGA European Tour, the winner of the Caltrex Singapore Masters also used a new Steelhead III Fairway Wood. The event's winner used a Steelhead III Strong 3-wood to triumph by five strokes and become the first Indian to win on the PGA European Tour. Callaway Golf was the leader in fairway woods, irons and putters in play at the Caltrex Singapore Masters, and the Company was second in drivers and balls in play at the event.

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, 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

URL: http://www.businesswire.com Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your home page.

Copyright (C) 2002 Business Wire. All rights reserved.