CARLSBAD, Calif. -- In another dominating weekend for TaylorMade, three TaylorMade Tour Staff professionals notched victories yesterday: Brian Bateman on the PGA Tour, Graeme Storm on the European Tour and Lonnie Nielsen on the Champions Tour.
Bateman, who ranked 408th in the world at the start of the tournament, won in dramatic fashion by sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Buick Open at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan -- his first PGA Tour victory. Using a TaylorMade Burner driver, he averaged 319 yards per drive during his final-round 69, and ranked overall in driving distance with a four-round average of 309.6 yards. His victory earned him a berth in the 2008 Masters and a two-year PGA Tour exemption.
Storm, an Englishman, fired a final-round 66 to make up a five-stroke deficit and win by a shot at the Open de France ALSTOM, held at Le Golf National in Paris. It was an amazing turn of events for Storm, who lost his tour privileges in 2003 and went to work in a cake factory washing baking trays. Yesterday's victory, his first on the European Tour, not only vaulted him to ninth place on the European Tour Order of Merit but also earned him a place in this year's upcoming Open Championship. Likewise, fellow TaylorMade Tour Staff professional Bradley Dredge claimed a spot in the Open field by finishing 10th.
Nielsen staked himself a comfortable lead at the Champions Tour's Commerce Bank Championship at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, New York, and was never threatened in the final round. Runner-up was fellow TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff professional Loren Roberts. Nielsen became the third Champions Tour professional this season, along with Fred Funk and Hale Irwin, to win using a TaylorMade Tour Preferred golf ball.
TaylorMade ranked as the No. 1 driver all three of the above-mentioned events. At the Buick Open, 21 players used the Burner driver, making it the most-played driver model at the event. – the highest number of the 2007 season. Burner. #1 driver on Tour. 1 driver sold in the U.S.
All three new winners spoke emotionally about the impact of their first victories:
“It's a life-changing week. When I got to 18, I really felt like it was my time,” Bateman said. “It's very gratifying, when you've come up short so many times, to finally pull through. I teared up in the fairway on 18, knowing I was finally giving myself a chance.”
“Working in a cake factory was a bit of a come-down for me,” Storm said. “But in a way it helped me because it showed me the other side of life and how hard you have to work. This win has now changed my life. I can’t believe it’s true. It’s like a dream.”
“When you work as hard I have, and everybody out here has, to come out on top is pretty special,” Nielsen said. “I worked my whole life for this. I don't know how it can be more special than that.”
In Bateman’s Bag*: In Nielsen’s Bag*: In Storm's Bag*
TaylorMade Burner driver TaylorMade r7 460 driver TaylorMade r7 425 driver
TaylorMade Burner 3-wood TaylorMade Burner 3-wood TaylorMade r7 3-wood
TaylorMade Rescue® Dual TaylorMade Rescue TP 17° and 19° hybrids TaylorMade rac TP irons (3-PW)
TaylorMade rac LT irons (5-PW) adidas Golf footwear
TaylorMade rac 54° and rac 58° wedges
TaylorMade Tour Preferred (TP) Black ball
adidas Golf footwear
About Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. dba TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company
Taylor Made Golf Company has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly owned subsidiary of the adidas Group. adidas Golf footwear and apparel is the choice of hundreds of professional golfers around the world. Learn more about TaylorMade-adidas Golf and its brands at (800) 888-CLUB or www.tmag.com , www.taylormadegolf.com , www.adidasgolf.com , www.maxfli.com.
The adidas Group is one of the global leaders in the sporting goods industry offering a wide range of products around the three core segments adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has approximately 25,000 employees worldwide and generates sales of about €9.5 billion (2005).
For more information contact:
TaylorMade-adidas Golf
John Steinbach
john.steinbach@tmag.com
760-918-6330
