TaylorMade® Drivers Again Easily No. 1 on the World’s Major Tours, Capturing 52 Wins Across Seven Tours Worldwide
CARLSBAD, Calif. (December 19, 2008) From Sergio Garcia’s victory at THE PLAYERS Championship and ascension to No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings to Kenny Perry’s Ryder Cup victories in his native state of Kentucky, to Paula Creamer’s continued dominance on the LPGA Tour to the acquisition of Ashworth Golf, TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company continued to strengthen its leadership position in 2008.
“Once again, it’s been a banner year for TaylorMade-adidas Golf with all that we accomplished on tour and in the retail marketplace,” said Mark King, president and CEO of TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. “By engineering breakthrough products validated by the game’s greatest players, we’ve been able to grow our marketshares to their highest levels ever in several categories, including metalwoods, putters and golf balls.”
TaylorMade, the world’s leading metalwood brand, continues to be the most-played and winningest driver brand in golf, with 52 events won across seven tours worldwide by players using TaylorMade drivers. The No. 1 driver on the PGA Tour for eight straight years, TaylorMade was the No. 1 driver brand at every PGA Tour event in 2008, earning 11 wins by nine different players. On the European Tour, TaylorMade drivers were used to win 15 tournaments, as well as eight on the Champions, eight on the LPGA, seven on the Nationwide, two on the JPGA and one on the JLPGA.
With the introduction of the Tour Burner® and the Tour Preferred® irons, TMaG also netted 34 iron wins. The Tour Preferred irons alone were used in six victories since August, including a win by Fred Funk at the Jeld-Wen Tradition event on the Champions Tour and two victories by Garcia.
The company also turned heads on tours globally with the introduction of the Rossa® Monza® Spider putter franchise, which enabled Rossa to accumulate 19 wins. The TP Red™ and TP Black™ golf balls with LDP technology continue to be in high demand, as the company saw more than a 50% year-over-last increase, making TaylorMade the fastest growing ball company in the industry.*
Following are some of the memorable moments for TaylorMade-adidas Golf in 2008:
• In arguably his best career season, Sergio Garcia finished 2008 with three wins, 13 top-10 finishes and climbed to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He also won the Vardon Trophy for posting the year’s lowest stroke average. Garcia’s first win came at THE PLAYERS Championship where he played the TaylorMade Tour Burner driver and TP Red golf ball to turn in a performance one veteran NBC on-course analyst called “the best driving round of golf I have ever seen.” Garcia’s final two wins of the season came in a sizzling three-week stretch where he used the r7® Limited driver, Tour Preferred irons and a custom Rossa Daytona putter at the Castello Masters and the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, vaulting him to No. 2 in the world rankings.
• Kenny Perry capped the best season of his 22-year PGA Tour career by winning three events with his Tour Burner driver, in addition to notching seven top-10 finishes and finishing fifth on the PGA Tour’s money list with earnings of more than $4.6 million. Best of all, he achieved his season-long goal of playing on the 2008 Ryder Cup team at Valhalla Golf Club, located just 90 miles from his hometown of Franklin, Ky. As a member of the U.S. team, Perry posted a 2-1-1 record and earned 2.5 points to help the Americans prevail over Europe for the first time since 1999.
• Andres Romero was named 2008 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year after a successful season in which he captured his first PGA Tour victory at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans in March, which earned him a position in the Masters for the first time. The 26-year old Argentinean placed in the top-10 in The Masters and PGA Championship and qualified for the Tour Championship after finishing 28th in the FedExCup standings. He earned more than $2 million and finished 35th on the money list – better than any other PGA Tour rookie.
• Paula Creamer notched four wins and 15 top-10 finishes, elevating her to No. 2 on the LPGA Money List and further solidifying her position as the Solheim Cup Points leader. Creamer won the Fields Open in Hawaii, the SEM Group Championship, the Jamie Farr Owens Classic and the season-ending Samsung World Championship, increasing her career Tour victory total to eight. Creamer also shot a career-low 60 during the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
• TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff professional Corey Pavin was named captain of the United States team for the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales.
• PGA Tour rookie Dustin Johnson notched his first professional victory with a clutch performance at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, where he used TaylorMade’s new Burner driver to lead the field in driving distance. Johnson’s $1.08 million winner’s check vaulted him from 128th to 41st on the PGA Tour money list, and provided a two-year exemption, ensuring his playing privileges through the end of 2010. Johnson finished the season ranked fourth in driving distance.
• TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff professional Fred Funk won his first Champions Tour major championship, the Jeld-Wen Tradition, as well as the season-opening MasterCard Championship. He finished third on the Champions Tour money list and credited his MasterCard victory to TaylorMade’s TP Red Golf Ball with Low Drag Performance (LDP) Technology.
• On the Nationwide Tour, TMaG staff professional Matt Bettencourt won the Nationwide Tour Championship to finish atop the 2008 money list and earn his 2009 PGA Tour card. Bettencourt was one of nine 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.
TaylorMade-adidas Golf Continues to Build Breakthrough Products
Thanks to the introduction of the Tour Burner driver, which was used to win 15 events in 2008, and the new r7 Limited which debuted at the end of the year, TaylorMade Golf once again dominated key equipment categories on the PGA Tour, ranking as the No.1 brand of driver and fairway wood according to the Darrell Survey, the golf industry’s official equipment authority.
Used by players like Garcia, Perry, Romero, Darren Clarke, Ryan Palmer and Bettencourt to win key tournaments, the Tour Burner driver was played 642 times on the PGA Tour. The next closest competitive driver was put in play on 432 occasions.
The new Burner driver also debuted later in the year. Johnson saw and tried the new Burner driver and new Tour Preferred irons the week preceding the Turning Stone Resort Championship at an extensive shoot for future TMaG television and print advertising and immediately put the clubs in his bag. Garcia also won with the r7 Limited Driver the first time he put it in play at his home course in Castellon, Spain. As soon as Garcia switched to the r7 Limited, he won two of three events – the Castello Masters and HSBC Champions.
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 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.
TaylorMade metalwoods also established all-time highs in U.S. metalwood share for 2008 at 27.3% and set an all-time monthly market share record in the months of October at 32.3% and in November at 30.9% respectively.** TaylorMade products also represented four of the top eight metalwood sellers in 2008: Burner driver, Burner fairway, Burner Rescue® hybrid and Tour Burner driver.
TaylorMade Irons Continue to Impress
More than a metalwood company, TaylorMade has in the past four years made remarkable marketshare strides in irons, growing an average of 7% on a year-to-date annual basis.
From the r7® iron to the Tour Burner (currently a top 5 best seller) iron, which was used by TaylorMade Tour Staff pro Dean Wilson to ace the 174-yard fifth hole (8-iron) in the opening round of the Byron Nelson Championship, to the new Tour preferred irons, TaylorMade was the most-played iron in 15 of the first 20 PGA Tour events.
One of the most exciting products launched by TaylorMade are the new Tour Preferred irons which have received instant validation on tour having been used to win by Garcia, Funk and Dustin Johnson. Since being launched on tour in late July, Tour Preferred irons have been instrumental in six worldwide tour victories.
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.
TP Red and TP Black Golf Balls with LDP Technology
The momentum of TaylorMade’s golf ball division continued this year with a significant rise (50% year-over-last) in marketshare, making TaylorMade the fastest growing ball company in the industry. To date more than 150 tour players around the world rely on the feel, spin, distance, and accuracy of TaylorMade TP balls, including: Garcia, Funk, Clarke, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Retief Goosen, Sean O’Hair and Natalie Gulbis.
At the collegiate level, TaylorMade made company history when every member of the Coastal Carolina Division 1 college golf team played a TaylorMade golf ball en route to winning the Bank of Tennessee.
Rossa Putters
The putter business has never been healthier than it is now at TaylorMade as the Rossa business doubled compared to 2007. Boosted by the introduction of the Rossa Monza Spider, the Rossa brand has secured 19 worldwide wins across six major tours. Both the Monza Spider and the Itsy Bitsy Spider remain top sellers at retail. Since its launch in March, the Rossa Monza Spider’s marketshare has grown seven out of eight months dating back to its launch. The Monza Spider franchise is the No. 1 best selling mallet putter in the U.S. and has been used to win on every major tour globally with 14 worldwide wins.
adidas Golf Apparel and Footwear
With sales growing 11% and 12% in the footwear and apparel businesses respectively, 2008 was another stellar season for adidas Golf.
After the acquisition of Ashworth, TMaG is the new No. 1 manufacturer of golf apparel in the world today.
The Tour 360 and POWERBAND families of footwear products continue to be among the most popular golf shoes in the world, representing the third and fourth best selling products in the U.S. market, respectively.
* = Growth claim based on Golf Datatech’s on/off course combined dollar share reports: YTD-August 2007 vs. YTD-August 2008
**= Golf Datatech sell thru reports on and off course combined
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
