Masters champion Sergio Garcia has confirmed that Callaway at the front of the queue to replace TaylorMade as his new equipment sponsor but it’s not a done deal yet.
Garcia will put a Epic driver in play this week at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai where he attempts to knock Tommy Fleetwood off top spot.
‘Obviously it’s [Callaway], at the moment, the company that is in front of the other ones,’ Garcia said, according to bunkered.
‘Obviously I’m trying some Callaway stuff, and what I’ve been trying feels great. It’s a great company. So it’s not like I’m going to a company that is unknown or anything like that.’
The Spaniard is a free agent after splitting with TaylorMade, shortly after they were sold to KPS Capital Partners.
‘I guess all companies change, and the politics with TaylorMade have changed now after leaving adidas,” he continued. “We couldn’t come to an agreement. So I understand that it’s also difficult when you have so many top players, to keep all of them. You know, unfortunately we were in that package.’
Garcia, who spent 15 years in TaylorMade’s stable, is also testing a Callaway ball.
‘What we’ve been testing, the numbers have been really good with the balls that Callaway has brought to me,’ he said. ‘Now it’s just a matter of trying it on the golf course and trying it on tournament play, and seeing how it reacts and seeing how it feels.
‘Then, if there are any changes that need to be made, we have time in the off-season to get it sorted out. Hopefully we won’t have to.’
Garcia is grouped with his younger countryman Jon Rahm for the first round (10:30) on Thursday.
Garcia is more than one million points behind Fleetwood with 72 holes of the 2017 season remaining but still mathematically has a chance of being crowned Race to Dubai champion, while Dubai Duty Free Irish Open victor Rahm has long been on a seemingly unstoppable trajectory towards the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award at fourth in the money-list.
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