Bjorn Wins in Qatar

Thomas Bjorn held off the challenge of fellow Callaway Staff Player Alvaro Quiros in Qatar to notch his first win of the season, and ensure a first victory for the new Callaway RAZR Hawk driver. 

It is the second win since staring to work with Pete Cowen and Mike Walker and signifies Bjorns return to the world stage as he propelled himself in to the top 65 in the world rankings.

It was the 11th European Tour title of Bjorn’s illustrious career and came just a matter of weeks before his 40th birthday. The win not only took the Dane back into the Top-60 in the world rankings, and in contention for a place in the forthcoming WGC Accenture Matchplay event, but it also secured a place in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and the WGC HSBC Champions event.

Bjorn shot rounds of 74-65-66-69, going bogey-free over the weekend to edge out the long-hitting Quiros. The Spaniard was also using the new RAZR Hawk driver, and once again led the field in driving distance with an average of 323 yards – a massive 19 yards longer than his nearest rival.

After turning in one-under on Sunday, Quiros moved to within a shot of Bjorn on the back nine to set up a head-to-head with his Callaway stablemate. But his challenge was derailed by a missed short putt on the 15th, and when Bjorn put a 6-iron to four feet and holed for birdie just minutes later at the same hole it was all over.

“I put Callaway’s new RAZR Hawk driver in play this week,” said Bjorn, who himself averaged almost 290 yards off the tee in difficult conditions. “It’s been great for me. I’ve picked up a good 10 yards and I feel more confident than ever standing on the tee.

“I’m delighted with the week. I played solid golf. I made one bogey in the last 54 holes. On this golf course and in these conditions, that's good going. So it's not just that I played well, but all parts of the game worked well this week. I fought when I needed to and kept it together. I'm delighted with that.”

With the third-placed finisher playing Diablo Octane Black Tour, it was a 1-2-3 for Callaway’s new Forged Composite drivers. Earlier in the season, Ernie Els won both the PGA Grand Slam of Golf and the South African Open using the Diablo Octane Tour. In addition to Bjorn, Quiros and Els, Forged Composite drivers have already been played by Staff Players such as Phil Mickelson, Danny Willett, Trevor Immelman, Thongchai Jaidee, Niclas Fasth, David Drysdale, Michael Campbell, Nick Dougherty, Fredrik Jacobson, Shiv Kapur, Ross McGowan, Alex Noren and Marcel Siem.

Bjorn In The Bag
Driver: Callaway RAZR Hawk 9.5° (NEW FOR 2011)
3-Wood: Callaway Diablo Octane Tour 15° (NEW FOR 2011)
Hybrids: Callaway Heavenwood 20° & Callaway Diablo Edge Tour 21°
Irons: Callaway Prototype, 3-9; Wedges: X-Forged Vintage, 48°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Odyssey Backstryke Marxman; Ball: Callaway Tour iZ

For further information about Callaway’s Forged Composite drivers, visit www.callawaygolf.com