You are viewing: July 2008

Getting to Know Tour Rookie

He loves skateboarding and fast boats, fired a 60 at the 2007 Nationwide Tour Championship to help earn his first PGA Tour card and recently boarded a private jet to play in his first major, The 2008 Open Championship. He also has three top 10’s this year and appears in good position to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Click here to read more about FootJoy player, and PGA Tour rookie, Michael Letzig.

FootJoy. #1 Glove on Tour for 25 years and counting...

Leaf through the official counts from the world’s major Tours this season, and you’ll find once again that more players have chosen to pull on a FootJoy golf glove than any other brand. Exactly as they have for the past 25 years straight.

What’s most remarkable about that fact is that FootJoy only entered the golf glove business in 1979. The very next year, the StaSof® cabretta leather golf glove was launched and quickly became not only the most popular golf glove on Tour, but also the best selling glove in golf. The rest, as they say, is history.

A quarter of a century later and top players like Steve Stricker, Robert Karlsson and Camilo Villegas still trust a FootJoy StaSof glove. Refined and redesigned for the modern era using Taction® APL™ cabretta leather exclusively tanned by Pittards® of England, the modern StaSof is synonymous with powerful grip performance, exceptional moisture resistance and the finest feel.

Today’s Tour players are fortunate to have a choice as to which FootJoy glove they prefer to provide the grip, comfort and fit they demand. Since its launch in 2003, the SciFlex™ glove has earned many admirers on Tour such as Vijay Singh, Ian Poulter and Davis Love III who appreciate the high tech materials, cool performance and even the splash of colour the glove provides.

StaSof, SciFlex and the other gloves in the FootJoy range are available through every FootJoy retailer. Make a FootJoy your choice and join the company of the world’s best.

Jeev Wins by Two in Japan

Jeev Milkha Singh carded a stunning final round six under par 66 to claim his second title of the season at the Nagashima Shiego Invitational Sega Sammy Cup. Heading into the final round four shots behind, Singh’s impressive final round saw him blow away the field to finish two shot clear of his nearest rivals.

The win comes off the back of fine run for the Team DryJoys Player having finished 10th at the European Open and 9th at the Scottish Open. The style and comfort of the FootJoy DryJoys Golf Shoes have helped Singh to maintain his fine form on Tour.

World Wide Wins for FJ

Lundberg Wins in Russia

FootJoy wearer, Mikael Lundberg won the Inteco Russian Open for the second time after carding a final round 68. The Swede finished on 21 under par at Le Meridien Moscow Country Club, two-shots clear of his nearest rivals. The Swede takes home the first prize of €210,237.
The 31 year strode to victory in a pair of FootJoy Classics, complimented with a FootJoy SciFlex Glove.

Major Breakthrough for Vaughan

FootJoy player Bruce Vaughan holed a 20-foot putt to win the Senior British Open in a playoff, his first tournament victory on either the Champions Tour or PGA Tour.
In a dramatic turnaround at Royal Troon on Sunday, Vaughan stormed back from three down with nine to play to force a playoff. Trailing by one on the 18th green in regulation, Vaughan made par then watched as the leader came up 15 feet short on a putt from off the green. He made the putt for bogey which left both players tied at 6-under 278 and headed back to the 18th tee for the playoff.
Vaughan pitched to the centre of the green and then holed his putt, and the former firefighter from Hutchinson, Kansas, collecting his biggest-ever paycheck of $312,258. Vaughan, who has had six operations on his left knee, celebrated his first tournament triumph and one that gets him into the field for next year’s British Open at Turnberry.

Three Cheers for Chez

Chez Reavie closed out his first PGA Tour win with a 1-under 70 Sunday en route to winning the RBC Canadian Open - Canada’s national championship. Playing for the sixth consecutive week on Tour, Reavie finished the week with a 17-under 267 total for a three shot victory over fellow FootJoy player, and fellow Arizona State alum, Billy Mayfair.
Reavie, wearing a pair of black Classics Tour, came out early on Sunday to finish the last two holes of his third round and ended up regaining the lead with a tap-in birdie on the par 5 18th. Later in the day, after a slow start on his final round, Reavie broke away from the field with back-to-back birdies on 9 and 10 and sealed the win with a 12-foot birdie on 18. Not a long hitter, the 26-year-old Tour rookie relied on accuracy all week, hitting 44 of 56 fairways in regulation and 54 of 72 greens. He earned $900,000 and spots the next two weeks in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship.

Oakland Hills on the horizon for FootJoy

Oakland Hills Country Club has hosted six U.S. Open Championships, two PGA Championships, two U.S. Senior Opens and of course, one Ryder Cup.

At 7,445 yards, the remodelled South Course will ensure a demanding test for the fourth Major of the year. A test that will be eagerly anticipated not only by the players, but also by FootJoy, who have already captured the ‘#1 Shoe’ title at The Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship.

Golf course architect Rees Jones recently described the invitation to guide the renovation programme at Oakland Hills for the 90th PGA Championship “the call I was waiting for my whole life”. Previously remodelled by Robert Trent Jones in 1950, Rees Jones grew up knowing that this famous course was the one that meant the most to his father.

Originally laid out by Donald Ross in 1916, Rees Jones describes the course as “one of those wonderful rolling pieces of property where the holes fit like a glove”. The Championship South Course, which played to a par 70 and 6,974 yards when the U.S. Open was played at the venue in 1996, under Rees Jones’s direction has been extended by 345 yards without moving any of the greens.

15 holes have been lengthened, several fairways narrowed and the depth, size and location of fairway and greenside bunkers have been altered. Additionally, the ponds at the seventh and sixteenth holes have been re-modelled to ensure that the more aggressive drivers will need a well placed tee-shot. Perhaps the most dramatic makeover comes at the par four eleventh hole which played 398 yards in 1996 and is now a 455 yarder featuring a daunting 290 yard carry over a rolling hill.

With the support of so many of the world’s leading players, its #1 position on across the world’s major Tours and Its success at the three 2008 major championships, FootJoy looks forward to another strong count at Oakland Hills. To be trusted by more players in a clean sweep of the 2008 Majors is perhaps the ultimate endorsement of the comfort and performance delivered by the latest generation of FootJoy shoes.

An exciting prospect for the #1 Shoe and Glove in Golf at what Rees Jones and Oakland Hills have ensured will be another supreme test of golf at the highest level.

Tour Insider

Defending champion, Per-Ulrik Johansson, was singing the praises of the ReelFit this week in Moscow. He ordered two more pairs in time for the Scandinavian Masters in his native Stockholm in a couple of weeks.

Danny Willett was seen sporting a new pair of white Classics as he continues his quest to secure his European Tour card from sponsors’ invitations ahead of the Qualifying School this autumn.

Fresh from an excellent showing at last week’s Open Championship, Paul Waring (right) boasted how his FJ Outerwear, RainGrip glove and DryJoys PODS Tech (style #53502) kept him dry and comfortable during the wet weather at Royal Birkdale.

Fashion-conscious Welshman, Jamie Donaldson, was anxiously enquiring about new styles for 2009. There is often some excitement at this time of the year when the new styles are revealed to the tour players.

Sam Walker was enquiring if his exotic Classics had arrived and asked to receive them at the Scandinavian Masters. Anticipating a warm, dry week in Stockholm, he wants to give them a debut at Arlandastad early next month!!

Check out the slideshow from the Russian Open where, once again, FootJoy is the #1 shoe, trusted by 69% of the players, compared to 17% for the nearest competitor.

Click here to begin the slideshow.: <

Knost Knows Victories;

While most of the golf world was focused on Royal Birkdale, Colt Knost was wrapping up his second professional victory by firing a remarkable final round 10-under 62 at Price Cutter Charity Championship. More importantly, he also wrapped up his PGA Tour card for 2009.

After making birdie on three of his first six holes, Knost was 3-under at the turn and then went on a tear, dropping back-to-back eagles on the par four 10th and par five 11th holes en route to a back nine 29. Knost finished the week with a 26-under 262 total to go wire-to-wire  and win by three shots. Colt’s previous victory came in May at the Fort Smith Classic. He wore FootJoy shoes and a SciFlex glove during both his victories.

—————————————————————–

On the LPGA Tour, Ji Young Oh won the LPGA State Farm Classic, making a par on the first playoff hole to claim her first career victory. Oh fired four rounds in the 60’s, including back-to-back 6-under 66’s to start the tournament. She closed with a 69 to finish the week with an 18-under 270 total. Oh wore a SciFlex glove and white MyJoys with the Korean flag logo during her maiden triumph.

Oh bogeyed the 17th hole but after making par on 18 in regulation she watched from behind the green as the leader bogeyed 18 to force a playoff. The two returned to the 18th for sudden death where Oh chipped from the rough within 6 inches of the pin and then tapped in for victory at Panther Creek Country Club.

Fantastic First for Richard S. Johnson

“I’m like every other person, I got a mortgage to pay off as well, so that probably will happen a little bit. It’s just such a neat feeling now I can play the rest of the year and — you know, my mom’s biggest dream has always been to go to Hawaii, and she’s turning 60 in December so I guess we’re going to Hawaii.”

That was Richard S. Johnson on how his life will change after winning the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee on Sunday. Johnson wrapped up his first PGA Tour victory in dramatic fashion, dropping birdies on three of his last four holes to shoot 6-under par 64 and win by one shot. He finished 16-under par on the 6,759-yard Brown Deer Park Golf Course to win the $720,000 first prize.

Johnson, who had a hole-in-one on Thursday, got the birdies when he needed them the most, first sinking a birdie putt of about 12 feet on the par-4 17th-hole to break away from a tie. However, with the title still up for grabs, he then birdied the par-5 18th after hitting a spectacular 3-wood approach to 20 feet and two-putting for birdie for the one shot win. Johnson wore DryJoys PODS Traditional (style #53597) during the victory.

Johnson, the sixth golfer from Sweden to win on TOUR and seventh first-time winner this season, had to go through q-school last fall to get his TOUR card back…something he won’t have to endure for at least a few years now.

Tour Insider:

They say winning The Open Championship often depends no the tee times you draw…and that pretty much sums up the first day at this year’s championship when a drastic turn in the weather almost made it seem like two different days. For those that went out first, they were greeted by 30 mph winds and sideways rain, leading to a scoring average that was three shots higher (77.4 vs, 74.4) than the afternoon wave of players. In fact, 19 of the 78 players who teed off in the morning shot 80 or higher. Not one player in the afternoon shot 80 or above. Not a great day for golf, but a perfect day for Footjoy Performance Outerwear!

Might be time to send a box of chocolates or a set of car keys to the guy who makes those tee times…

Check out these images from Thursday at The Open Championship.

Click here to begin the slideshow.: <
‘Hey, I got an extra ticket to The Open on Thursday. You wanna go?’

Tour Insider:

What a difference a day makes. While yesterday the story was the weather (or lack thereof for the afternoon guys), today it was players making leaps up the leaderboard. With conditions relatively docile compared to the previous day, several FJ players seized the opportunity to post a low round, led by Camilo Villegas who posted a 5-under 65 this morning. After a 6-over 76 in yesterday’s driving rain, Villegas posted the sixth lowest score ever at Royal Birkdale and will now enter the weekend just two shots off the lead. Of course, tomorrow’s forecast is for a “STRONG WIND HAZARD” so anything can happen from here on in…

Check out these images from Friday at The Open Championship.

Click here to begin the slideshow.: <
Camilo sits just two shots off the lead entering the weekend

Tour Insider:

Products for the 2008 Open Championship

We’re back with a sneak peek at some products you’ll see only at this year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. We’ll be bringing you all sorts of material from the season’s third major, including inside-the-ropes photos and video so check back throughout the week for the latest.

Click here to begin the slideshow.:

Perry Wins in a Playoff at John Deere

Zach Johnson Puts Heart Into Flood Relief…and Game

As the Midwest continues to recover from massive flooding that hit the area in June, residents and volunteers across the country are pulling together to raise funds that will help rebuild the communities. Cedar Rapids, Iowa resident Zach Johnson, whose family lives and owns businesses in the areas that were severely damaged, has worked with the PGA Tour and other players, including fellow FootJoy player Jeffy Kelly, to establish the PGA Tour Flood Relief Fund which will assist people and businesses in the area.

Click here to read the full story on pgatour.com.

To view the PGA Tour Public Service Announcement, make donations, or get more information about the PGA TOUR Flood Relief Fund, visit pgatour.com/floodrelief.

Fantastic Fisher

Ross Fisher capped off a terrific week by winning The European Open in emphatic style Sunday at The London Golf Club. Just days after going through qualifying to earn a spot in The Open Championship, the 27 year old Englishman, who began the tournament with a course-record 63, completed a majestic seven stroke win by holing a bunker shot on the last to close with a 4-under 68. Beginning the final round with a three shot lead, Fisher all but put the tournament out of reach with a 50 foot eagle putt on the fifth hole and finished the week with a 20-under 268 total.

As outlined in our European “Tour Insider,” below, Fisher played 36 holes Monday to qualify for The Open Championship in two weeks. He considered pulling out of this week’s tournament due to exhaustion but can rest peacefully now knowing he defeated many former, and possibly future, Ryder Cup veterans en route to victory…something he may add to his resume later this year after moving from 21st to 11th in the Ryder Cup points standings.

Fisher relied on Clasics Tour style #51315 shoes, FootJoy Performance Outerwear and ProDry Extreme Crew socks to overcome adverse weather conditions and a world-class field en route to his second European Tour victory.

“They say the second win is harder. I might have made it look easy, but it certainly wasn’t.”

Shoe Count: 2008 AT&T National

More players wore FootJoy shoes than any other shoe brand at the 2008 AT&T National.