Callaway Golf Balls Tied for #1 Spot At Major Championships in 2002
CARLSBAD, Calif., Jun 25, 2002 (BW SportsWire) -- Golf balls made by Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) have been used to win two major championships already this year, which places the Company in a tie for most golf ball victories at the six major championships contested in 2002. Callaway Golf is tied with Nike Golf with two wins, while Maxfli and Srixon have one each. Titleist, despite being the leading golf ball in play across the world's major professional tours, is still looking for its first major championship win of the year.
"We think that our record in the major championships sends a clear signal that our golf balls perform at the highest level for the world's best golfers, even though they were designed to make the game more enjoyable for average golfers," said Ron Drapeau, president, CEO and chairman of Callaway Golf. "Hundreds of tour professionals around the world are using our HX(TM) and CTU 30(TM) golf balls -- and better yet, they're winning with them."
Callaway Golf Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam won the year's first major, claiming the Nabisco Championship using the HX Red golf ball for the fourth major of her storied LPGA Tour career. Callaway Golf Staff Professional Jim Thorpe followed that victory by using a CTU 30 Red golf ball to win The Countrywide Tradition for the first major championship title of his Senior PGA Tour career. Tour professionals have used Callaway Golf balls to win more than $38 million already this year.
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 25 tournaments already this year -- accounting for 25 percent of all events contested across the six major professional tours combined. The CTU 30 Red ball has 15 wins, while the HX Red has nine victories and the HX Blue has been used to win one event to date. Since entering the golf ball business in 2000, Callaway Golf has already registered 92 golf ball victories on tour.
Meanwhile, Callaway Golf is second in ball usage at 21.7 percent across the six major professional tours combined in 2002. Aside from Titleist, no other ball manufacturer accounts for more than 8.9 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 was also the No. 2 ball in play at last week's U.S. Open, where 20 golfers teed it up with the Company's golf balls -- with 10 golfers using the HX and another 10 using CTU 30. Callaway Golf Ball Staff Professional Peter Lonard shot the low score of the U.S. Open's final round, carding a 67 using the CTU 30 Red ball.
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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