TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff Professional Matt Bettencourt Wins Nationwide Tour Championship to Finish atop 2008 Money List and Earn His 2009 PGA Tour Card
CARLSBAD, Calif. (November 10, 2008) In a busy weekend that witnessed the start of the European Tour’s 2009 season and the close of the Nationwide Tour’s 2008 season, TaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) played a significant part in both. TMaG Tour Staff professionals Sergio Garcia and Matt Bettencourt each used a Rossa® putter to roll in a TaylorMade TP Red™ LDP golf ball to birdie the final hole to win their respective events.
Garcia’s victory at the $5 million HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China moved him to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Bettencourt finished No. 1 on the 2008 Nationwide Tour money list via his victory in the Nationwide Tour Championship in McKinney, Texas.
Fresh off a three-stroke victory at the Castello Masters less than two weeks ago, Garcia began the Race to Dubai by sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat a field that included six of the top 10 players in the world. He forced the playoff by birdying the par-five 18th hole for the third time in four days.
“I’m just so proud to win, and well, No. 2 in the world,” said Garcia. “So I’m very happy. It’s a great week. The last seven months have been very, very positive since my win at The Players.”
Garcia has won two of his last three events – the Castello Masters and HSBC – since switching to the new the new TaylorMade r7® Limited driver. Featuring a modern head shape, the r7 Limited incorporates Movable Weight Technology™ (MWT®) to promote 35 yards of side-to-side trajectory change – the most of any r7 driver. The shape, feel and sound of the r7 Limited have made it immediately popular, while its highly effective application of MWT appeals widely to players who prefer the ability to adjust their equipment to promote increased distance and accuracy. Learn More.
Garcia also played TaylorMade’s new Tour Preferred® irons and a custom-made Rossa Daytona putter, which he put in his bag at the PGA TOUR Championship and finished runner-up. Engineered to blend modern technology with classic design, the Tour Preferred irons’ tour-configured sole was shaped with the help of in-depth feedback from TaylorMade Tour Staff professionals. It features a softened leading and trailing edge that work together to minimize resistance and discourage digging, which helps the sole to power smoothly through the turf to promote purer ball-striking. Learn more. His putter was created by Rossa’s resident master putter craftsman Kia Ma, who worked with Garcia to create a special grinding of the topline, toe and face.
Bettencourt Earns 2009 PGA Tour Card
Bettencourt left no doubt that he’ll be teeing it up on the PGA TOUR in 2009 by winning the Nationwide Tour Championship. He used a Rossa Itsy Bitsy Monza® Spider to drain a six-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to lock up the victory, finish No. 1 on the money list and secure his playing privileges on the PGA TOUR for next year. The victory was his second on the Nationwide Tour victory in seven weeks – he captured the Oregon Classic on September 21.
Playing TaylorMade’s Tour Burner® driver, Bettencourt finished eighth in driving distance at 305.6 yards, including a 318.5 average in the final round, and was No. 1 in the field in putting.
“When the (2009 PGA TOUR) schedule is released, I can look at it and make my own schedule,” said Bettencourt. “Every event that I want to be in. It just makes it so much easier and stressless. It’s just a dream. It’s an absolute dream.”
Bettencourt is one of eight TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour staff professionals who earned their 2009 PGA Tour cards by virtue of their strong play this year on the Nationwide Tour, including Scott Piercy, Greg Owen, Peter Tomasulo, Rick Price, Casey Wittenberg, Arjun Atwal and Spencer Levin.
In Garcia’s winning bag:
* r7 Limited driver 9.5°
* Burner TP 3-wood 14.5°
* r7 5-wood 17.5°
* Tour Preferred irons (3-PW)
* Rossa Daytona putter
* TP Red with LDP Technology
* adidas Golf TOUR360 LTD footwear
* adidas Golf ClimaCool® apparel
* Targa Tour glove
In Bettencourt’s winning bag:
* Tour Burner driver 8.5°
* Burner 3-wood 14.5° and 5-wood 17.0°
* r7 3-6 irons and rac™ forged MB 7-9 irons
* ZTP Wedge: 48°, 54°, 60°
* Rossa Itsy Bitsy Monza Spider
* TP Red with LDP Technology
* adidas Golf TOUR360 LTD footwear
* adidas Golf ClimaCool® apparel
* Targa Tour glove
About Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. dba TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company
TaylorMade Golf 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 and www.taylormadegolfpreowned.com.
About the adidas Group
The adidas Group is one of the global leaders within the sporting goods industry, offering a broad range of products around three core segments such as adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has more than 33,000 employees and sales of ?10.3 billion.
Contact:
TaylorMade-adidas Golf
Public Relations Department
Scott Leightman
Tel: 760.476.5748
email: scott.leightman@tmag.com
John Steinbach
email: john.steinbach@tmag.com
