Callaway Golf Staff Pro Annika Sorenstam Wins Second Leg of Grand Slam; Uses Big Bertha Fusion FT-3 Driver to Average 286 Yards off Tee in Win at McDonald's LPGA Championship

Press Release

Posted 2005-06-16

Callaway Golf (NYSE:ELY) Staff Professional Annika Sorenstam reached the halfway point in her quest for golf immortality yesterday. Sorenstam moved a step closer to becoming the first woman to win the Grand Slam with her 3-stroke victory in the McDonald's LPGA Championship to capture the second of the four 2005 major championship titles.

Sorenstam, 34, finished the day with a round of 73 for a 72-hole total of 11-under-par 277 and a 3-stroke win over 15-year-old amateur sensation Michelle Wie. Just as she has ever since joining the LPGA Tour in 1993, Sorenstam used and endorsed Callaway Golf(R) equipment, this week playing the new Big Bertha(R) Fusion(R) FT-3(TM) Driver -- which will be officially launched next week -- the Big Bertha Strong 4-wood, Big Bertha 7-wood, X-18(R) Irons, Odyssey(R) White Hot(R) 2-Ball Blade Putter, HX(R) Tour Golf Ball and wearing Callaway Golf Footwear. The victory added more milestones to Sorenstam's ever-growing list of accomplishments, as she:

-- Became the first player to win the same major championship three consecutive times.

-- Won her sixth event in eight starts this year and the eighth in her last 10 events dating back to 2004.

-- Notched her 62nd career victory and her ninth major championship win.

-- Is the first woman since Pat Bradley in 1986 to win the year's first two majors.

"This is a wonderful dream I'm living," Sorenstam said.

The dream began in April with Sorenstam's 10-stroke win in the Nabisco Championship, the season's first major. It continued yesterday throughout her convincing victory on the difficult Bulle Rock Golf Club layout in Havre de Grace, Md., where Sorenstam was never really challenged after starting the fourth round with a 5-stroke lead.

To keep the dream of the "Sorenslam(TM)" alive, Sorenstam will have to win the next two major championships -- the United States Women's Open in two weeks at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver and the Women's British Open in July at Royal Birkdale. Given her current form, the possibility that she will become the first woman to win the Grand Slam -- and the first player to win it since Bobby Jones did so 75 years ago in 1930 -- becomes more plausible. Sorenstam is well aware of the magnitude of what she is on the verge of accomplishing.

"I know it's going to be a lot of pressure," Sorenstam said after her victory yesterday. "That's a goal I set and if I want to achieve my goal, that's what I'm going to have to accept. Right now, I want to absorb this. I'm just very proud of what I've done, and I want to let it settle into my heart as well."

Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf creates products and services designed to make every golfer a better golfer. 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