An Open Letter To The Golf Community From Callaway Golf's George Fellow Company President and CEO thanks Phil for his
courage in bringing this issue to the forefront.
There has been a lot of discussion surrounding Phil
Mickelson's use of one older model Ping wedge during the Farmers Insurance
Open. Normally I would not comment on such matters, but in this instance I
would like to clarify any misunderstandings and help everyone work together
to solve the problems that Phil helped highlight.
I think everyone should know by now that Phil has not
done anything wrong. He did not violate any rule or regulation regarding
equipment, as confirmed by the PGA TOUR. Those who offered misinformed
statements at the start of last week have since issued retractions and
apologies. In addition, Phil did not violate his contract with Callaway,
and he never would. Phil has been our partner and friend for many years,
and we continue to work very closely with him, as we do with all of our
staff professionals. Phil’s love for the game of golf is demonstrated in
the way he conducts himself both on and off the course.
I sincerely hope that any misinformed speculation
about a nonexistent wrongdoing does not detract from the fact that Phil did
something very much right. The stature and respect that Phil has earned
throughout his career allowed him to produce a focused attention on several
problems currently being faced by the Tours, players and others as they
implement an unprecedented rollback in groove specifications.
While Callaway Golf did not support this rollback, we
recognize that we all need to work together regarding its implementation.
In this regard, we applaud the statement by John Solheim of Ping indicating
his willingness to work with Commissioner Finchem to address the Ping wedge
issue specifically. We think this highlights the natural partnership that
exists between the PGA TOUR and the equipment manufacturers who work very
closely with the players. We all recognize the importance of how the game
is portrayed by the best players, and have a shared interest in preserving
that image. Thus, Callaway, like Ping, hopes to be able to work with the
PGA TOUR and all the professional tours to solve the problems created by
this rollback in the Rules of Golf. We thank Phil for his courage in
bringing this issue to the fore.
