TaylorMade Tour Staff Professional Rory Sabbatini Wields R9 Driver to Win HP Byron Nelson Championship

TaylorMade Tour Staff Professional Rory Sabbatini Wields R9 Driver to Win HP Byron Nelson Championship

Top Six Finishers all Play R9 Drivers

Seventh Worldwide Win for TaylorMade’s Revolutionary R9 Driver

Carlsbad, Calif. (May 26, 2009) – Rory Sabbatini, one of the newest members of the TaylorMade Tour Staff, put his new equipment to excellent use last week by winning the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

Using TaylorMade's new R9™ driver with Flight Control Technology (FCT), Sabbatini continually put himself in position to attack the pins on par-fours and get home in two on par-fives. The result was a tournament-leading 26 birdies, including eight in his final-round 64, which allowed him to break the tournament record of 19-under by a shot.

Converting birdies also means making putts, and Sabbatini was equally successful in that regard. Using a Rossa TP by Kia Ma, Daytona model, he ranked No. 1 in putts per green in regulation (1.531) and tied for No. 1 in putts per round (25.8).

Since switching to TaylorMade equipment Sabbatini, now ranked No. 27 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has made six of eight cuts and notched three top-10 finishes including his latest win.

"Since I've started with my new family at TaylorMade, it's really been a great relationship," Sabbatini said last week. "Obviously, I'm loving my new equipment; the new driver is working great. I just couldn't hope for anything more."

Sabbatini, who played the original R9, was one of 35 players who played an R9, eight of whom used the just-introduced R9 460.* The top six finishers, including Sabbatini, D.A. Points, Scott McCarron, Dustin Johnson and John Mallinger, all played the R9 driver.

In Sabbatini's winning bag:

Driver: R9™ 9.5°
Fairway wood: Tour Burner® 14.5° 3-wood
Irons: Tour Preferred® 4-PW
Wedge: rac™ TP 56
Putter: Rossa® TP by Kia Ma Daytona

* Darrell Survey model count at HP Byron Nelson Championship