Callaway Golf Balls Take Lead in 2002 Major Championship Victories as Don Pooley Wins U.S. Senior Open Using the HX Red Golf Ball

July 1, 2002 at 6:19 PM EDT

CARLSBAD, Calif., Jul 1, 2002 (BW SportsWire) -- Golf balls made by Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) are leading the way in wins at the world's major championships this year. With Callaway Golf Ball Staff Professional Don Pooley's victory at the U.S. Senior Open yesterday, the Company's golf balls have now been used to win three of the seven professional major championships contested in 2002. Callaway Golf is followed by Nike Golf with two major wins, while Maxfli and Srixon have one each. Titleist, the leading golf ball in play across the world's professional tours, has yet to register a golf ball win at a major championship this year.

Pooley used Callaway Golf's HX(R) Red ball to score a dramatic five-hole playoff victory at the U.S. Senior Open, defeating Tom Watson to earn the first victory of his Senior PGA Tour career. Pooley used the next-generation aerodynamic performance of the HX golf ball to hit 14 greens in regulation over the final round at Caves Valley Golf Club -- just one day after hitting 15 greens while shooting a U.S. Senior Open record-setting score of 63.

This marks the second consecutive U.S. Senior Open won using a Callaway Golf(R) ball. Callaway Golf Staff Professional Bruce Fleisher won last year's championship using the Rule 35(R) Firmfeel(TM) ball. Overall, Callaway Golf balls have now been used to win five major championships since the Company entered the golf ball business in 2000.

"This latest major championship victory by a golfer using our golf balls is yet another validation of Callaway Golf ball technology," said Ron Drapeau, chairman, president and CEO of Callaway Golf. "In the two short years since we launched our first golf ball, Callaway Golf has become a major player, and we are very proud of that achievement."

Pooley joins Callaway Golf Staff Professionals Annika Sorenstam and Jim Thorpe as 2002 major championship winners using Callaway Golf balls. Sorenstam -- who won her seventh tournament of the year yesterday -- won the Nabisco Championship using the HX Red golf ball, while Thorpe used the CTU 30(TM) Red golf ball to win The Countrywide Tradition. Pooley and Sorenstam were among the four golfers to win tournaments using Callaway Golf balls yesterday, including Callaway Golf Ball Staff Professional Soren Hanson's win at the Murphy's Irish Open with CTU 30 Blue and Callaway Golf Staff Professional Dean Wilson's victory on the Japan Golf Tour with CTU 30 Red.

Overall, Callaway Golf is a strong No. 2 in both golf ball wins and usage across the PGA, Senior PGA, LPGA, Buy.com, PGA European and Japan Golf tours combined this year. Callaway Golf balls have been used to win 29 tournaments already this year -- accounting for 27 percent of all events contested across the six major professional tours combined. The CTU 30 Red ball has 16 wins, while the HX Red has 11 victories and the HX Blue and CTU 30 Blue have each been used to win one event to date. Since entering the golf ball business in 2000, Callaway Golf has already registered 96 tour victories.

Callaway Golf also stands second in ball usage at 21.6 percent across the six major professional tours combined in 2002. Aside from Titleist, no other ball manufacturer accounts for more than 7.4 percent of balls in play. Taken alone, the HX and CTU 30 balls are the No. 2 and No. 3 most-played ball models, respectively, on the six major professional tours combined. HX Blue and Red golf balls together account for 12 percent of all balls in play on those tours combined, while CTU 30 Blue and Red combined represent 9.2 of all balls in play.

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(R) 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 Company, Carlsbad
Larry Dorman/Mike Galeski/Millie Speirs
760/931-1771

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