Callaway Golf Staff Pro Annika Sorenstam Wins by 10 Strokes at Chick-fil-A Charity Championship; Prototype Fusion Driver, HX Tour Golf Ball Keys to 60th Career Victory
CARLSBAD, Calif., May 16, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Callaway Golf (NYSE:ELY) Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam yesterday won her fourth tournament in five starts, dominating the field at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship at the Eagles Landing Country Club in Atlanta with a 10-stroke victory. The spectacular win moved her into a tie for third place on the LPGA Career Victories list with Patty Berg at 60. Sorenstam posted all four tournament rounds in the 60s (67-64-67-67) to finish at 23-under-par 265 for a runaway victory that was her eighth in her last 11 outings.
As she has throughout the 12 years of her Hall of Fame career, Sorenstam used and endorsed Callaway Golf(R) equipment, which this week included a prototype 460cc Fusion(R) Driver, a Big Bertha(R) strong 4-wood, Big Bertha 7-wood, Callaway Golf X-18(TM) Irons, a HX(R) Tour Golf Ball, an Odyssey(R) White Hot(R) 2-Ball Blade Putter and Callaway Golf Footwear.
"Obviously, I'm very happy to finish it up the way I did," said Sorenstam. "I kept my distance and played very solid all day long. I finished the way I started, and to make this my 60th, it's a great Sunday. What else can I tell you? It's wonderful."
Sorenstam's brilliant performance began with 39 bogey-free holes and included 22 birdies and a pair of eagles against only three bogeys for the week. She averaged 290 yards off the tee to lead the field and played the par 5s at 15-under-par. Her 10-shot margin of victory is topped only by the 11-stroke win she recorded at the 2002 Kellogg-Keebler Classic.
After an opening round 67, Sorenstam took control with a 64 in the second round to build a six-shot lead. Her third-round 67 increased her lead to 10, matching the largest 54-hole lead of her career. Sorenstam never let up, birdieing the final hole Sunday and becoming the Chick-fil-A's first repeat winner. She has won 17 LPGA tournaments at least twice.
On the PGA European Tour, Staff Pro Thomas Bjorn used his Big Bertha Titanium 454 Driver and prototype HX Tour Golf Ball to win the The Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters. Bjorn eagled the 17th hole of regulation play to finish at 4-under-par 68 and put himself in a three-man playoff. He won on the second extra hole, marking his eighth win on the PGA European Tour and his first since the 2002 BMW International.
On the Champions Tour, Callaway Golf Staff Professional Jim Thorpe won the Blue Angels Classic, his second straight victory using a prototype Fusion Driver, prototype HX Tour Golf Ball and Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade Putter. Thorpe won when he sank a five foot birdie putt on the third hole of a Monday playoff after firing rounds of 63, 64 and 67 to finish Sunday's round tied at 194, 16-under par. Thorpe led the field in birdies for the week with 20 and in putts per round, averaging just 26.
CARLSBAD, Calif., May 16, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Callaway Golf (NYSE:ELY) Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam yesterday won her fourth tournament in five starts, dominating the field at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship at the Eagles Landing Country Club in Atlanta with a 10-stroke victory. The spectacular win moved her into a tie for third place on the LPGA Career Victories list with Patty Berg at 60. Sorenstam posted all four tournament rounds in the 60s (67-64-67-67) to finish at 23-under-par 265 for a runaway victory that was her eighth in her last 11 outings.
As she has throughout the 12 years of her Hall of Fame career, Sorenstam used and endorsed Callaway Golf(R) equipment, which this week included a prototype 460cc Fusion(R) Driver, a Big Bertha(R) strong 4-wood, Big Bertha 7-wood, Callaway Golf X-18(TM) Irons, a HX(R) Tour Golf Ball, an Odyssey(R) White Hot(R) 2-Ball Blade Putter and Callaway Golf Footwear.
"Obviously, I'm very happy to finish it up the way I did," said Sorenstam. "I kept my distance and played very solid all day long. I finished the way I started, and to make this my 60th, it's a great Sunday. What else can I tell you? It's wonderful."
Sorenstam's brilliant performance began with 39 bogey-free holes and included 22 birdies and a pair of eagles against only three bogeys for the week. She averaged 290 yards off the tee to lead the field and played the par 5s at 15-under-par. Her 10-shot margin of victory is topped only by the 11-stroke win she recorded at the 2002 Kellogg-Keebler Classic.
After an opening round 67, Sorenstam took control with a 64 in the second round to build a six-shot lead. Her third-round 67 increased her lead to 10, matching the largest 54-hole lead of her career. Sorenstam never let up, birdieing the final hole Sunday and becoming the Chick-fil-A's first repeat winner. She has won 17 LPGA tournaments at least twice.
On the PGA European Tour, Staff Pro Thomas Bjorn used his Big Bertha Titanium 454 Driver and prototype HX Tour Golf Ball to win the The Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters. Bjorn eagled the 17th hole of regulation play to finish at 4-under-par 68 and put himself in a three-man playoff. He won on the second extra hole, marking his eighth win on the PGA European Tour and his first since the 2002 BMW International.
On the Champions Tour, Callaway Golf Staff Professional Jim Thorpe won the Blue Angels Classic, his second straight victory using a prototype Fusion Driver, prototype HX Tour Golf Ball and Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade Putter. Thorpe won when he sank a five foot birdie putt on the third hole of a Monday playoff after firing rounds of 63, 64 and 67 to finish Sunday's round tied at 194, 16-under par. Thorpe led the field in birdies for the week with 20 and in putts per round, averaging just 26.
