Textron's Jacobsen Unit Grooms PGA Tour; Sixty Percent of Tour Stops Use Jacobsen Equipment

    PROVIDENCE, R.I.--May 22, 2003--The PGA Tour is in full swing today with the start of the Colonial, where golfing legend Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to tee off on the PGA Tour in over 60 years. As is the case at 60 percent of the Tour courses, Jacobsen professional turf care equipment was there to groom the way.
    Earlier this month, the Tour stopped at the inaugural Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C., corporate headquarters of Jacobsen, a unit of Textron Inc. .
    "The PGA Tour professionals who played in the Wachovia Championship commented all week that this was the best conditioned golf course that they'd played on all year," said Kym Hougham, Wachovia Championship Tournament Director. "We are doubly pleased with Jacobsen for supplying the Tournament's turf care equipment and for its participation as a Premier Sponsor and Founding Partner of the Wachovia Championship."
    Jacobsen manufactures and markets a broad line of precision turf care equipment to golf courses around the world under the brand names of Jacobsen, Cushman and Ryan. This equipment is used to maintain the golf courses at 29 PGA Tour Stops, including the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, the Bay Hill Invitational, the Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club and the Memorial at Muirfield Village Golf Club. In addition, Jacobsen equipment is maintaining golf courses where the USGA Men's, Senior's and Women's Opens and Mid-Amateur Championship, the PGA Championship, the British Open and the LPGA Championship are played.
    "We're proud that Tour organizers and the world's top players recognize the superior performance of our equipment. With more than 500 million rounds of golf played each year in the US, it is rewarding to know that we contribute to the golf experience for professionals and amateurs alike," said Jon Carlson, president of Jacobsen.
    Highlighting its commitment to the environment and addressing customer demand for quieter products, Jacobsen is producing golf and turf care equipment and vehicles that run on alternative power and reduce noise pollution. In addition, unlike traditional models, this equipment uses little or no environmentally damaging fluids. The first-ever all electric riding greens mower, the Jacobsen E-Plex II, is already in use at Scotland's world-renowned St. Andrews, known as the Home of Golf.
    Jacobsen's professional turf care equipment includes mowers, tractors, aerators, overseeders, dethatchers, sod cutters, power rakes and haulers. The company manufactures a full range of vehicles and turf maintenance equipment for golf, turf, professional lawn care, sports field, municipal and industrial applications. The company markets Bob-Cat(R), Brouwer(R), Bunton(R), Cushman(R), Jacobsen(R), Ryan(R) and Steiner(TM) brand products internationally through an extensive distribution network Jacobsen is a Textron company. Additional information is available at www.jacobsen.com.
    Textron Inc. is an $11 billion multi-industry company with 49,000 employees in 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services in industries such as aircraft, fastening systems, industrial products and components and finance. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. More information is available at www.textron.com.