Callaway announces strongest ever Team

Callaway has today revealed arguably its strongest ever line up of PGA European Tour Staff Professionals for 2019.

This comes hot on the heels of the announcement that Callaway is now an Official Partner of the European Tour for the next five years.

New signings joining #TeamCallaway, alongside Major-winning stars like Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Danny Willett are:

Jordan Smith
His maiden European Tour victory, the 2017 Porsche European Open, gave him access to his first Major, the US PGA Championship, where he tied 9th, the highest placed European player. In 2018, he was 3rd at the British Masters, and 43rd in the Race to Dubai rankings.

Tom Lewis
Won the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The 140th Open after posting the lowest score by an amateur in Open Championship history in the first round at Royal St. George’s. Has gone on to win the Portugal Open twice as a professional. Named after Callaway Icon, Tom Watson.

Mike Lorenzo-Vera
Finished a career-best 35th in the 2017 Race to Dubai rankings and represented France, who were finalists at GolfSixes 2018.

Maximilian Kieffer
A consistent performer, completing a remarkable run of making 22 consecutive cuts in 2015, en-route to finishing a career-best 55th in the Race to Dubai. Last season saw him finish 3rd in the Nordea Masters.

Nacho Elvira
Had his best European Tour season in 2016, finishing 44th in the Race to Dubai and crowned Challenge Tour Graduate of that Year.

Steven Brown
2018 was his rookie season on the European Tour after finishing inside the top 15 in the 2017 Challenge Tour Rankings. Was runner-up in the 2018 Made in Denmark tournament.

Bernd Ritthammer
First played on the European Tour in 2011, before returning after finishing second in the Challenge Tour rankings in 2016. Regained playing privileges in 2018 through Qualifying School Final Stage.

Erik van Rooyen
Played on the European Tour in 2018 and posted five top 10 finishes to win the ‘Graduate of the Year’ award. Won twice in 2017: once on the Sunshine Tour at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship and once on the Challenge Tour at the Hainan Open.

Thomas Aiken
Dedicated maiden European Tour victory, the 2011 Open de España, to Seve Ballesteros who died on tournament weekend. Won two more titles, the 2013 Avantha Masters and the 2014 Africa Open.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Finished runner-up at the BMW SA Open in 2016 and the following year earned a European Tour card after finishing inside the top 25 at Qualifying School Final Stage.

Peter Harrison, Callaway’s EMEA Director of Tour Relations, said: “Our new signings join some of the biggest names in the game, multiple winners on Tour, Major winners and Ryder Cup stars, to create one of the strongest line-ups of Staff Professionals we have ever had.

“Aligned with a host of important product launches for the new season, including Epic Flash Drivers, featuring Flash Face Technology, and our revolutionary Odyssey Stroke Lab Putters, players are excited to be putting our new hardware into competitive play after hugely positive testing sessions.”

Neil Howie, Managing Director of Callaway Golf EMEA, concluded: “The PGA European Tour represents the perfect platform from which to showcase our family of brands. By increasing our team of Callaway Staff Professionals for the 2019 season and beyond, and simultaneously announcing a new strategic partnership with the Tour, we are now well-positioned to further amplify our market-leading innovations and standout product performance.”

The company is now the official driver, golf ball, shoe and golf bag brand; Odyssey and OGIO are the official putter and luggage brands respectively; and Travis Mathew and Callaway Apparel are the official on-course apparel of European Tour staff.

At the time of writing, the full 2019 line-up of Staff Professionals using Callaway and Odyssey products on the PGA European Tour reads:

Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Nino Bertasio, Thomas Bjørn, Nicolas Colsaerts, Thomas Detry, Sergio Garcia, Branden Grace, David Horsey, Rikard Karlberg, Chase Koepka, Pablo Larrazábal, Matteo Manassero, James Morrison, Alex Noren, Chris Paisley, Renato Paratore, Andrea Pavan, Thomas Pieters, Haydn Porteous, Tapio Pulkkanen, Alvaro Quiros, Callum Shinkwin, Henrik Stenson, Jeunghun Wang, Marc Warren, Danny Willett, Fabrizio Zanotti, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Steven Brown, Luca Cianchetti, Nacho Elvira, Matthew Jordan, Tom Lewis, Eduardo Lipparelli, Michael Lorenzo-Vera, Marcel Siem, Jordan Smith, Erik van Rooyen, Dylan Frittelli, Lorenzo Scalise, Julian Suri, Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Maximilian Kieffer, Ben Stow and Stuart Manley.

And whilst we're at it:

Patrick Reed becomes Lifetime Member of European Tour