Callaway becomes official partner to European Tour

By Rahul Banerji

The European Tour has announced that leading golf brand Callaway will be their official partner for the next five years.

Within an agreement across the range of brands, Callaway becomes the official driver, golf ball, shoe and golf bag brand of the Europe Tour; Odyssey and OGIO become the official putter and luggage brands respectively; and Callaway Apparel, plus the ‘new to Europe’ Travis Mathew brand, will be the official on-course apparel of the Tour.

Callaway will also supply the Chrome Soft balls to driving ranges at European Tour events. Callaway will also push awareness of Odyssey, the number one putter in golf, through a ‘putting leaderboard’ on TV broadcasts, which will showcase a new range of performance statistics at each European Tour event.

Fresh content

As part of the partnership, Callaway will collaborate with the European Tour’s digital channels to create new content strands featuring the Callaway brands, products and their staff professionals.

Established in 1982 by the late Ely Callaway, the brand has a heritage of investing in European golf, and boasts major-winning staff professionals at the pinnacle of the sport, including Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Danny Willett.

The official partnership began at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA – the first of eight Rolex Series event on the 2019 Race to Dubai.

Said Neil Howie, president and managing director of Callaway Golf Europe, “Securing this important position with such a forward-thinking organisation as the European Tour aligns with our own business goals of making the game more enjoyable and accessible through market-leading innovation and superior product performance.

‘Loyal following’

“Callaway continues to enjoy a very strong and loyal following among players on the European Tour, Odyssey has been the number one brand for more than ten years and Rogue Drivers were the number one model in play across 2018, and we are excited about the impact of our recently launched Epic Flash family.

“We also look forward to the many tournament, broadcast and content opportunities that this new partnership will bring.”

Added Keith Pelley, the Tour’s chief executive: “We are delighted to have Callaway on board as an official partner for the next five years. It is really exciting to form a new relationship with a brand dedicated to producing not only high-performance golf products but also delivering unique and engaging content to golfers across the globe.”

Bhullar records 27^th place finish at Abu Dhabi

Gaganjeet Bhullar made a solid start to his year with a tied 27th place finish in the $7 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first Rolex Series event of the season on the European Tour.

The 30-year-old from Kapurthala shot an even-par 72 in his final round to tally seven-under par 281 for the tournament, eventually won by Ireland’s Shane Lowry (71) after an epic battle with Richard Sterne of South Africa.

Sterne (69) started three shots behind Lowry, but birdied four of his first five holes to grab the lead for a while. He led by four shots after 12 holes, but closed with two bogeys while Lowry made three birdies on his way in. The 31-year-old Irishman finished on 18-under par 270 and is expected to rise to no. 40 in the world ranking.

Happy with finish

Bhullar, who played in the lead group of this tournament with Phil Mickelson back in 2014, was delighted with his efforts over the demanding National course of Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

“I have not played any competitive golf for more than a month now, so to come out here – on a very tough golf course – and play solid golf all four rounds was very pleasing,” said Bhullar, who dropped two shots.

“I hit the ball really well on all four days and the only disappointment was that I made a couple of loose putts today on the back nine.

“This is a big prize-money Rolex Series event and there is some pressure to make sure we play well in these. I have two more events in Dubai and Saudi Arabia after that and this start is going to be a good confidence boost ahead of them.”

The most successful Indian on the Asian Tour with nine titles, Bhullar regained his European Tour card last year by winning the co-sanctioned Fiji International.

Also read: Callaway returns to Big Bertha iron and hybrid series, out next month