Callaway Golf Staff Pro Sorenstam Wins Fifth Straight; Uses Prototype Fusion Driver, HX Tour Ball to Overpower Kraft Nabisco Field by 8 Strokes in First Leg of Grand Slam

March 28, 2005 at 3:24 PM EST

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2005--Callaway Golf (NYSE:ELY) Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam turned up the heat yesterday on her already torrid 2005 pace by dominating the field in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, winning the season's first major championship by eight strokes over Rosie Jones and taking the first step toward her goal of winning the Grand Slam. The victory was her fifth in a row - her third this year - and her 59th in a Hall of Fame career spanning 12 years during which she has exclusively endorsed Callaway Golf(R) equipment.

"I could not have asked for a better week," said Sorenstam, who used a prototype 460 cc Fusion(R) FT3 Driver, a Big Bertha(R) strong 4-wood, Big Bertha 7-wood, Callaway Golf Irons, a HX(R) Tour Golf Ball, a White Hot(R) 2-Ball Blade Putter and wore Callaway Golf Footwear in her victory. "Everything seemed to go right. I was driving the ball really well, long and very straight. I feel like I am reaching my prime as a golfer."

Sorenstam is reaching heights that few golfers have. She did not bogey a hole over the last 36 at Mission Hills Country Club, birdieing six in her third-round 66 and four in her final-round 68 for a total of 15-under-par 273. During those two rounds, she routinely outdistanced her fellow competitors by up to 50 yards off the tee, and her average drive of more than 276 yards led the tournament.

When she took the traditional post-victory dive into the lake adjacent to the 18th green, accompanied by her sister Charlotta and her mother Gunilla, Sorenstam was celebrating her third Kraft Nabisco title, her eighth major championship win and her fifth straight LPGA win. The five straight wins tied a record set in 1978 by Nancy Lopez, who deflected comparisons between herself and Sorenstam, saying, "I think really, and truly, she's better than Tiger Woods. We have a lot of great players out here and nobody is even coming close to her.''

Sorenstam made sure of that Sunday when she birdied three of the first five holes to expand her lead to nine strokes. She never looked back as she calmly closed out the tournament, undefeated in 2005. Afterward, her focus was fixed on what is to come.

"I'm looking forward to the rest of the year," she said.

Callaway Golf Company manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells golf accessories, under the Callaway Golf(R), Top-Flite(R), Odyssey(R) and Ben Hogan(R) brands. For more information visit www.callawaygolf.com.

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SOURCE: Callaway Golf Company