Callaway Golf Staff Professional Jim Thorpe Uses Prototype Golf Ball,
New Odyssey 2-Ball Blade Putter
in Champions Tour Victory
CARLSBAD, Calif.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Aug. 18, 2003 -- Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) Staff Professional Jim Thorpe became the first player to win a pro tour event with the Company's new prototype golf ball, birdieing two of the final three holes yesterday to win the Long Island Classic by one stroke. Thorpe's victory was keyed by his record performance with the new ball -- which Callaway Golf is testing on the world's professional tours -- and with the new Odyssey(R) White Hot(R) 2-Ball Blade Putter. Thorpe's win included a Champions Tour record-tying 60 in the second round, bettering his career-best round by two strokes. He finished at 15-under-par 195 at the three-round event to earn the sixth senior win of his career.
Thorpe
put the Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade Putter in his bag last month
at the Fleet Boston Classic and finished tied for second. He finished
fourth in putting at the Long Island Classic and clinched the title
with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, which gave him his final
one-stroke margin of victory. "The putter is in my bag for good," said
Thorpe, who needed just 25 putts during his record-tying second round.
Seven of the top 13 finishers at the Long Island Classic used Odyssey
Putters. Thorpe became the second player to win with an Odyssey 2-Ball
Blade Putter, following Callaway Golf Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam's
victory at the Weetabix Women's British Open using the same putter model
earlier this month.
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Thorpe also was among the leaders in driving and ball striking at the Long Island Classic with Callaway Golf's prototype golf ball. Using his Great Big Bertha(R) II Pro Series Titanium Driver, Thorpe averaged 282.9 yards off the tee. And he led the field in greens hit in regulation using his Hawk Eye(R) VFT(R) Tungsten Injected(TM) Titanium Irons at 81.5 percent. In all, Thorpe used a complete set of 14 clubs made by Callaway Golf.
The Great Big Bertha II Titanium Driver and an Odyssey 2-Ball Putter also made for a winning combination on the PGA European Tour yesterday. The winner of the BMW Russian Open used a Great Big Bertha II Titanium Driver and an Odyssey DFX(TM) 2-Ball Putter to win his first PGA European Tour title in a two-hole playoff. The first-time winner also used a Big Bertha(R) Steelhead(TM) III Strong 4-wood and a Big Bertha 2-iron. Callaway Golf won the driver count at the BMW Russian Open with 68 drivers in play, while seven of the top 10 finishers at the event used Odyssey Putters -- the No. 1 putter brand in play across the world's six major professional tours combined again last week.
