CARLSBAD, Calif., Apr 24, 2002 (BW SportsWire) -- Golf balls manufactured by Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) continued this week to garner worldwide recognition. Buoyed by another victory on the LPGA Tour last weekend, Callaway Golf(R) balls are #2 in both total victories and total usage on the six major tours combined so far in 2002. The exciting new Callaway Golf balls also continue to make inroads at retail, where they have risen to the #2 U.S. market share position in the premium category according to the most recent Golf Datatech report.

On the LPGA Tour, Callaway Golf balls have been used to win four of the tour's six events this year. The latest such victory was recorded this past weekend by Cristie Kerr, who used the CTU 30(TM) Red golf ball to win the Longs Drugs Challenge and notch her first tour win.

Kerr is using the CTU 30 ball to have her strongest season to date on the LPGA Tour. Since switching to the CTU 30 Red this year, Kerr has improved her driving distance average by more than 10 yards -- jumping from 248 yards in 2001 to 258.3 yards this year -- while increasing her driving accuracy from 69.3 percent to 74.6 percent. Kerr has also shown significant improvement in her game from tee to green by moving into the top 5 in greens hit in regulation and birdies.

Callaway Golf Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam has won three times since switching to the new HX(TM) Red golf ball. The reigning LPGA Player of the Year has added 12 yards to her driving distance average, from 252.3 yards last year to 264.3 yards this year. Sorenstam has also improved her statistics in other key areas, including driving accuracy (from 78.1 percent to 80.3 percent) and scoring average (from 69.42 to 69). Sorenstam has finished 16 of her 18 LPGA Tour rounds under par this season, and she also leads the tour in money won and Rolex Player of the Year points.

Liselotte Neumann has also shown an impressive increase in driving distance average since switching to a new golf ball model. Neumann has used the CTU 30 Red while adding 13.4 yards to her driving distance average, improving from 238.8 yards last year to 252.2 yards this year. Meanwhile, Callaway Golf Staff Professional Rachel Teske is another of this year's LPGA Tour winners, having used the HX Red ball to defeat Sorenstam in a playoff at the Ping Banner Health event. Teske has moved into the top 10 on the LPGA Tour money list since switching to the HX Red golf ball, and she has also improved her driving distance average (from 249 last year to 251.7) this year.

Callaway Golf now has 10 golf ball wins across the world's six major professional tours combined -- the second-highest total of any golf ball manufacturer this year. That includes last week's Buy.com Arkansas Classic, where the winner used the HX Blue golf ball to birdie the final three holes and win by a stroke. In addition to being second in victories, Callaway Golf balls are also second in usage across the PGA, Senior PGA, LPGA, Buy.com, PGA European and Japan Golf tours combined this year. A total of 19.2 percent of all balls put in play on those six tours in 2002 have been made by Callaway Golf, according to numbers from the Darrell Survey and Sports Marketing Survey. The HX ball is the No. 2 ball model in play at 10.7 percent, and the CTU 30 is No. 3 at 8.1 percent through April 21.

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, Carlsbadbr> Larry Dorman/Mike Galeski/Millie Speirsbr> 760/931-1771

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