Unique Format Developed By Callaway Pits Defending NCAA Champions
Stanford Cardinal Against Illinois Fighting Illini
CARLSBAD, Calif., March 4, 2020 – Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY), an industry leader in distance-enhancing technologies in golf clubs and balls, today announced the inaugural Callaway Golf Next-Gen 2020 Challenge, scheduled for Saturday, March 21st at Rolling Hills Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. Callaway developed the concept and will produce the live stream broadcast for this one-of-a kind competition, which pits the defending NCAA champion Stanford Cardinal against the Illinois Fighting Illini in a unique format. Both teams will bring seven players. Five head-to-head matches will be played, and the remaining two players on each team will be available to come off the bench in certain situations to hit a shot for a teammate.
An additional wrinkle is the Coach’s Challenge: Each coach – Stanford’s Conrad Ray and Illinois’
Mike Small – can at any point during a match toss out a challenge flag, thereby challenging the
opposing coach to step in and hit the shot his player is about to play.
All five matches will be live-streamed on callawaygolf.com and amateurgolf.com; the opening
match will also be live streamed by golfweek.com. Each match will be captured by a single
walking camera. Both coaches will accompany the opening match, and all players and coaches
will be mic’ed throughout the stream.
“We’re big supporters of college golf, and this is an opportunity to try something new with two
of the best collegiate teams in the nation,” said Jeff Neubarth, Callaway Director of Content &
Production. “That’s why we created this challenge to give fans complete inside-the-ropes
access from start to finish, and to do it in a way that is authentic, engaging, and fun for the fans
who live stream it.”
Established in 1965, Rolling Hills Country Club features a championship golf course designed by
world-renowned golf course architect David McClay Kidd, best known for designing Bandon
Dunes, the first course opened at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort; and a 70,000 sq. ft. clubhouse
designed by celebrated clubhouse architect Robert Altevers. Rolling Hills hosted the 2018 Men’s
PAC-12 Men’s Golf Championships.
For more information and to follow both participating schools, please visit their official
websites at GoStanford.com and FightingIllini.com. You can follow Stanford Men’s Golf on
Twitter and Instagram at @StanfordMGolf, and follow Illinois Men’s Golf at @IlliniMGolf.
About Callaway Golf Company
Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) is a premium golf equipment and active lifestyle company
with a portfolio of global brands, including Callaway Golf, Odyssey, OGIO, TravisMathew and
Jack Wolfskin. Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway manufactures and
sells premium golf clubs, golf balls, golf and lifestyle bags, golf and lifestyle apparel and other
accessories.
