CARLSBAD, Calif. – Oct. 12, 2004 – Armed with new golf ball technology from Callaway Golf, Australian Andre Stolz stunned the field at the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas on Monday, shooting a bogey-free final round of 67 to close out his first PGA Tour victory.
After leaping into contention with a third-round 65 to come from four strokes behind the halfway leader to one stroke behind starting Sunday's final round, Stolz played near-flawless golf on the final 18 holes to earn $720,000 and a two-year exemption from qualifying on the PGA Tour.
In an amazing display of both precision and power under pressure, Stolz, 34, bogeyed just one hole in the final three rounds and played the last 30 holes in 10-under par. He led the field in overall driving and finished fourth in driving distance with a 316-yard average for the week. In the final round, he hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. He repeatedly drove Callaway Golf's HX Tour Prototype Golf Ball prodigious distances, including one drive of more than 350 yards to set up a crucial birdie on the 16th hole at the TPC at Summerlin course during the final round.
"I had remarkable control over the golf ball all week," Stolz said. "The distance I was driving it, the consistently tight ball flight and the ideal trajectory were all really right on the money. It was a big, big factor in getting my first win."
The HX Tour Prototype Golf Ball used by Stolz – and 15 other Callaway Golf Staff Professionals this past week -- is a softer version of the highly successful original HX Tour Golf Ball. The highly-evolved golf ball technology is not expected to be available to
the market until some time next year.
In addition to the HX Tour Prototype Golf Ball, Stolz used Callaway Golf Irons, the Great Big Bertha II Pro Series Titanium Driver, a Steelhead Plus 4 Fairway Wood and Odyssey White Hot Mid Putter.
Elsewhere on the six major professional tours, Steven Gallacher won the European PGA Tour's dunhill links Championship in a one-hole playoff on the Old Course at St. Andrews with the Callaway Golf CTU 30 Golf Ball. The victor, who ended up at 19-under-par 269, also used the Company's Great Big Bertha II 415 Driver, a Steelhead III
Fairway Wood, X-16 Pro Series Irons, and the Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Mid Putter. And the winner of the LPGA's Asahi Ryokuken International Championship used three Callaway Golf fairway woods and an Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Putter to post four rounds in the 60s and earn her 13th career LPGA title with a 15-under par 273 total.
For more information about Callaway Golf Company, please visit our websites at
www.callawaygolf.com, www.topflite.com, www.odysseygolf.com and www.tradeintradeup.com.
Contact: Callaway Golf Company
Larry Dorman, Mike Galeski
760-931-1771
