Els credits Callaway kit and hard work for resurgence in form
March 30, 2010

Former world No. 1 Ernie Els showed that he is the in-form man leading up to the Masters by capturing a two-shot victory at the the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday. That made it two in a row for Ernie, following his WGC win at Doral two weeks earlier, and he is now back up to world number 7.

The Callaway Staff Professional's win at Bay Hill was the 18th PGA title of his career. Playing the final four holes on Monday due to inclement weather on Sunday, Els got up-and-down three times to finish the tournament at 11-under-par. The smooth-swinging Big Easy once again used the FT Tour Driver and the Tour i(s) Ball, which he adopted late last season. It was the fourth consecutive win on the PGA Tour for the FT Tour Driver and fifth PGA win for that driver this season overall. Callaway Tour i Series Balls now have four wins on the PGA Tour in 2010.

Els only put the driver into play two weeks earlier at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral and the results sperak for themselves. He has also credited the Tour i(s) Ball for his improved short-game in 2010. So far this season Els is No. 1 in stroke average, at 68.88, versus his 2009 average of 70.21, 28th on Tour.

"You could see I made hard work of it, but that new Tour i(s) ball really helped me so much with my short game,” Els said. “I was able to get it up-and-down, and that was what won the tournament for me.”

In addition, Els used the Tour 15-degree X Fairway Wood, X 5-wood, X Prototype Irons, X-Forged Wedges and the new White Ice #5 Putter. Using his new White Ice Putter from Odyssey, Els is averaging 28.38 putts per round in 2010, ranking him 21st. In 2009, he averaged 29.30, which was 113th on Tour.

“It feels special. I think if you're a betting man you would have got really good odds anywhere in the world that Ernie Els would win two tournaments in a row,” Els said following the victory. “I know a lot of guys have written me off, and a lot of guys probably said it was a fluke in Miami. It was hard work this week, but two wins is definitely special. I'll just keep working hard. There are still a lot of flaws in my game that I've got to figure out and get right. I know I'm never going to play the game perfectly, but I can improve.”

For further information about the complete Callaway and Odyssey range, visit www.callawaygolf.com