News
Gainey Rallies On Sunday To Earn First Career PGA Tour Win
In an incredible final round performance, Callaway staffer Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey shot a 10-under 60 on Sunday and came from seven shots off the lead to win the McGladrey Classic. He took control of the tournament after he went birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie on the 13th through 16th holes and then waited for over two hours while the final pairings tried to catch him. Gainey’s 60 was the lowest round on the PGA Tour this year and it helped him secure his first career PGA Tour win.
Gainey used a RAZR Fit Driver (10.5°), HEX Black Tour Ball, RAZR X Forged Irons, Callaway Forged Wedges (50°, 54°, 60°) and an Odyssey Backstryke Blade Putter to earn the victory. He ranked second in the field in putts per round, second in putts per GIR, third in strokes gained – putting, and he needed just 24 putts during the final round. The Callaway staffer also hit 79.2% of greens for the week, including 16 of 18 greens on Sunday.
“Oh, man,” Gainey said after earning the win. “I tell you, you’re out here on the PGA Tour. You’re playing with the best players in the world…Now I can sit here at Sea Island, and I’m very proud to be in this tournament and very proud to win. And wow, it’s been a whirlwind day.” Gainey’s victory on Sunday was the 17th win for Callaway Drivers and the 11th win for HEX Black Tour this year.
Gainey’s New RAZR Fit Loft and Weighting Play Key Role…We Think
The week before the McGladrey Classic, Gainey spent his off-week experimenting with a RAZR Fit Driver and some new weighting. Then he went out with that new driver, threw a little 60 on the scoreboard and picked up his first PGA Tour win. Jackpot! We couldn’t drum up a better story if we tried…staffer works on driver, staffer likes new and improved driver, staffer goes out and wins next tournament with new and improved driver. It’s really a simple process, or at least that’s what we’d have you believe.
Callaway reps built Gainey a RAZR Fit Driver with 1° more loft, and they added 10 grams of weight in the crown toward the heel to raise the center of gravity. This gave “Two Gloves” about 250 rpms more spin. With the updated driver specs and his HEX Black Tour Ball, Gainey was getting about 12-15 more yards of carry distance during testing. Kudos to Tommy and the Callaway Tour Team on working hard and finding the right driver setting. Oh yeah, and kudos to Tommy for shooting 60 and getting the win! Guess that deserves a mention.
Furyk Finishes Third
Jim Furyk added to his strong 2012 campaign with a third place finish at the McGladrey Classic. Furyk earned his eighth top-10 finish of the year with a RAZR Fit Driver (10.5°) and a HEX Black Tour Ball in the bag. He hit 78.6% of fairways for the week and made just two bogeys during the event. Furyk has driven the ball beautifully all year and he ranks fourth on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy and third in scoring average this season.
Grillo Posts T5 On European Tour
On the European Tour, Emiliano Grillo dominated off the tee and finished T5 at the ISPS Handa Perth International. He used a RAZR Fit Driver to rank third in the field in driving distance with a 304.6 yard average. The 20-year-old has found his footing on the European Tour and appears to be ready for a breakout season in 2013. The fact that a 20-year-old can hit it that far, rack up that many birdies and play with such good course management is unreal. We’re excited to see what Emiliano will do in the coming years.
NOTES
Odyssey Presents Gold Putter To Commemorate FedExCup Win
Last week, the Odyssey Tour Team built a gold White Hot XG #1 Belly Putter to commemorate last month’s Tour Championship and FedExCup wins. The XG #1 Putter played a pivotal role in the win at East Lake, which led to the FedExCup title as well.
Odyssey Leads All Putter Brands In Worldwide Tour Brands
With another victory on the Japanese Tour and Gainey’s win on the PGA Tour, Odyssey leads all putter brands with 49 wins across the six major worldwide Tours this year. The #1 Putter in Golf also leads the putter count across the six major worldwide Tours in 2012. So to recap, #1 in wins and #1 in usage among the best players in the world. Those are some pretty strong numbers if we do say so ourselves. To learn more about all of Odyssey’s wins, please visit their wins archive page.
Appleby Adjusts RAZR Fit Driver
Stuart Appleby worked with Callaway Tour Reps last week to adjust his RAZR Fit gamer to have less loft and weight on the toe to help with his new swing path. After switching the weight from 9 grams in the toe and 5 grams in the heel to 5 grams in the toe and 9 grams in the heel, and making a slight adjustment to the COG setting, Appleby played a much higher ball flight that had a draw shape to it. If Gainey’s RAZR Fit story is any indication, Stuart should be a lock to win at Walt Disney World.
ANECDOTES
Gary Player Takes His Stretching Seriously
In the latest edition of our Callaway Office Tips series, Callaway Staff Icon Gary Player demonstrates how to get your body ready for a round when you have just a few minutes before your tee time. “Mr. Fitness” explains the proper stretching techniques that will push your body and get you nice and loose for the first tee. As you’ll see, Mr. Player knows what he’s talking about, and his one-liners are still second to none. You can watch the video here and see more images of Player’s visit to the Callaway Performance Center last week on our Callaway Facebook and Twitter pages. Thanks for the tips, Gary!
