FJ Blog

Noh Problems for Seung-yul!

Noh Seung-yul demonstrated nerves of steel to edge out compatriot, K J Choi (FJ ICON & StaSof glove), to win the Maybank Malaysian Open by one shot at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. The South Korean teenager looked to be faltering on the 18th when he pulled his drive left, and then hit his second shot onto a path next to the hospitality marquee. But from there he showed his brilliance, floating a superb pitch shot to within three feet of the flag leaving a simple putt for birdie to claim his first European Tour win. Choi, who had also birdie the 18th to be the clubhouse leader had nothing but praise for the 18-year-old, stating “Noh is a star in the making”.

The former 2008 Asian Tour Rookie of the Year enjoyed success in the style and comfort FJ shoes, opting for a pair of all white FJ ICON MyJoys (shield tips). 

FootJoy was the shoe of choice at the Maybank Malaysian Open, with 61% of the field putting their faith and feet in the # 1 Shoe in Golf.

Camilo Claims Crown at Honda Classic

Camilo Villegas (FJ golf shoes, StaSof glove) shot a final-round 68 to win the Honda Classic by five shots Sunday, his third PGA Tour victory and a perfect way to cap a week that featured a lot of travel and a lot of celebration. The win also win marks the eighth win for FootJoy players in the first 10 PGA Tour events this season.

Camilo, who became just the fourth player under the age of 30 with at least three Tour wins, finished at 13-under 267, the lowest 72-hole score since the Honda moved to PGA National in 2007. And Villegas made it look easy most of the way, too. He led by only two after four holes, but three straight birdies – starting with a 25-footer on No. 8 – sent Villegas to 15 under and six shots clear of the field. He capped the day in style with a 20-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole, then raised both hands skyward.

Villegas didn’t even play a practice round at PGA National this week. After finishing tied for eighth at the Phoenix Open, Villegas headed back to his native Colombia on Monday to help open the Nationwide Tour’s Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open, the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in South America. After landing in South Florida on Wednesday, he teed it up Thursday morning on short rest and following two stellar rounds of 66, he had a share of the lead going into the weekend and was en route to his third career PGA Tour title.

“Tournaments are four rounds and I played three pretty good ones,” Villegas said. “I was lucky in one. It’s never as easy as you think. I played great the front nine, then I made a couple hiccups and missed some putts, but I stayed patient.”

Tour Update - 2010 Maybank Malaysian Open

The PGA European Tour makes its first stop of the season in the Far East for the Asian Tour co-sanctioned Maybank Malaysian Open. With temperatures in the mid 30s, near 100% humidity, and fierce grain on the greens, the newly restructured Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club will present a stern test for the European visitors. The FootJoy Tour Team found a more suitable taxi to that found in India at the Avantha Masters! (Bottom Right)

The conditions will be no match for the new FJ ICON shoes, however, since all FJ ICON wearers are singing the praises of the light yet stable ride offered by FJ's new premium golf shoe.

A number of Asian Tour players collected new ICON shoes from us this week and they, like the European Tour players, are enjoying the new styles and the new and improved feel.

One such Asian player is new FJ ambassador KJ Choi (Pictured Right) who stepped out for Tuesday's pro-am in a new pair of all-white ICON with asymmetric saddle.

The ever-consistent Soren Hansen is another regular ICON wearer and he could and should be one to watch over the weekend in KL.

Danish rookie Mark Haastrup was a regular ReelFit wearer on the Challenge Tour and he placed an order for 6 pairs of FJ ICON incorporating the same BOA technology he enjoyed with ReelFit.

Other players to place their season shoe orders this week included fellow rookie Benjamin Hebert, veteran staffer Peter O'Malley, and FJ collar wearer Chris Wood who, having found the perfect size to accommodate his very narrow feet, ordered 6 pairs of ICON shoes for the coming season.

61% of the field, that's 95 players, are wearing FJs in Kuala Lumpur this week... a sure sign that when the going gets hot, the hot choose FootJoy!

Mahan Magic Seals Waste Management Phoenix Open

Hunter Mahan won the Waste Management Phoenix Open for his second PGA TOUR title Sunday, closing with a second consecutive bogey-free 6-under 65 to come from four strokes down. He becomes the seventh player in the season's first nine events to win wearing FootJoy golf shoes and the second consecutive to win wearing FJ ICON MyJoys. Hunter also relied on a StaSof glove.

The 27-year-old Mahan had an eagle and a pair of birdies in a late four-hole span Sunday to finish at 16-under 268. Since winning the 2007 Travelers Championship, Mahan has continued to improve each year. He played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team and had six top-10s in 2009, including a runner-up finish at the AT&T National.

"It's just finding a way to win. I just haven't been able to do it," he said. "So obviously it feels great to get off the year on my fifth tournament to win. It gives me a lot of confidence in myself that I'm doing the right things in my game, and it feels great, it really does."

The shot of the tournament for Mahan came at the par-5 13th when he hit his second shot from 250 yards to within seven feet and made the eagle putt to reach 14-under par. His 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th moved him into the lead and then the clincher came at the notorious 16th, the par 3 surrounded by bleachers filled with noisy, irreverent fans who cheer and boo with equal enthusiasm.

Mahan's tee shot caught the edge of the green and he made the subsequent 14-foot putt to regain the lead at 16 under and he would never look back.

Poulter Dominant in the Desert

Ian Poulter (FJ ICON MyJoys; SciFlex glove) captured the biggest victory of his career on Sunday by leading the final 28 holes of the championship match to win the all-England final, 4 and 2, at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. 

Along with winning his first World Golf Championship, the 34-year-old Poulter won for the first time on American soil. It was his ninth European Tour title and moved him to a career-best No. 5 in the world rankings.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Poulter said, after closing out the match with a par on the 34th hole. “I knew I was in great form. I felt comfortable all day on the golf course.”

A veteran of two Ryder Cup teams (2004, 2008), Poulter is gaining a strong reputation for his prowess in match play, especially after this week. He improved his overall record in the Match Play Championship to 18-7, and was so dominant over the weekend that he trailed for only one hole over the final 50 holes of the tournament. That came early Sunday morning, when his opponent put his approach shot to 7 feet on the second hole for an eagle that was conceded. Poulter answered immediately with a tee shot into 8 feet on the third, then took the lead for good at No. 7.

In fact, five times after his opponent won a hole, Poulter won the next one. Late in the match as he was clinging to a 2-up lead, Poulter flew the green on the par-3 12th, leaving him a tough chip up the slope. He came within inches of holing it, keeping his cushion, until he effectively put the match away at the 15th with another tough pitch, with mud on his ball, up a steep slope to the green.

“I would say my short game, certainly this week, has been as good as it’s ever been,” Poulter said. “The last 12 months, it’s been up there with the best of them.”

The timing couldn’t have been better. A short time later, Poulter was beaming as he posed with the “Walter Hagen Cup,” the name of this WGC trophy. Hagen, along with his 11 majors, was known for his eye-catching attire.

G'Day for Dodt Delhi

FJ ICON (Style 52005) wearer Andrew Dodt claimed his maiden European Tour victory at the Avantha Masters in Delhi. The Australian had to come through a tough field on the final day, which saw seven players enter the day level at the top of the leaderboard. The 24 year old, who is a regular on the Asian Tour, came to DLF Golf and Country Club in fine form, having two runners up finishes in Australia and New Zealand, and this fine form did not desert him when he needed it the most. Dodt held his nerve on 16 with a birdie which kept in him contention. Going down the last the Aussie showed his pedigree, with an impressive birdie which saw him claim the first place prize of €250,000.

The Avanatha Masters is the first event of a new joint venture between the European and Asian Tours to be known as EurAsia Golf.

Dodt victory was enjoyed in the style and comfort of the #1 Shoe in Golf – a choice which was also made by 65% of the field in India.

Tour Update - 2010 Avatha Masters

The DLF Country Club plays host to this week's European Tour event, The Avantha Masters.

Firstly, a big welcome to Lee Slattery (Pictured Left) who is one of the latest players to make the switch to FJ. The Englishman was sporting a brand new pair of FJ ICON in India, and will be hoping they will provide the stable platform on which to kick start his season. Lee has also turned shoe designer, creating a couple of pairs of funky MyJoys which are currently in build, so keep your eyes peeled in coming week’s as they are worth a view!

There was an array of different styles of FJ Icon on show, James Kamte wore the flamboyant white and brown caiman asymmetric pattern (52146), Seung-Yul Noh (Pictured Below Left), from Korea, opted for the stylish all black FJ Icon (52203), with Jose-Felipe Lima complimenting the FJ Icon line up.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (Pictured Below Centre) arrives at the DLF Country Club in a rich vain of form after winning the Asian Tour International Trophy last week in Thailand. Gaganjeet trusted FJ Icon to shoot a course record 64 on the final day to see him clinch victory by 1 shot! The 21 year old will surely be looking to put his local knowledge to good use, (he has won twice around the DLF Country Club before!) to try and claim back to back victories.

The European Tour has a one week break next week, due to the WGC at the Ritz Carlton GC on the USPGA Tour, so we will be back in the swing of things in early March where we head for The Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpar (hopefully on more sturdier transport than was on offer in India! Pictured below right).

Stricker Strikes Again

For the fifth consecutive week, a FootJoy player claimed victory on the PGA TOUR as Steve Stricker (SYNR-G, PureTouch glove) closed with a 1-under 70 Sunday for a two-shot victory over fellow FJ player Luke Donald (FJ ICON MyJoys) at the Northern Trust Open.

Stricker finished with a 16-under 268 total and won for the eighth time in his career and the fourth time in his last 15 starts. He also moved up to No. 2 in the world golf rankings for the second time in his career.

Stricker didn’t make it easy on himself, having to grind for pars as Donald kept pouring in birdies. But after Donald missed two short birdie attempts, Stricker fired off two straight birdies to restore a comfortable margin.

“It was hard today,” Stricker said. “I aged a lot out there. It was a grind from the get-go.”

Stricker seemed to struggle all day, missing several greens to the left but he had five consecutive one-putt greens and continued to get himself out of minor jams.

Half of Stricker’s eight career victories have come in the last eight months dating to his playoff win at Colonial. He turns 43 later this month, and shows no sign of letting up.

Tour Update - 2010 Dubai Desert Classic

The Omega Dubai Desert Classic marks the third and final event of the Desert Swing, with the players competing over the Majelis Course at The Emirates Golf Club.

FootJoy ICON wearer, Rory McIlroy was in great form last year and managed to claim his maiden title on the European Tour. He will be looking for the same result this time around and he has already made a fast start and looks like he means business.

Hot on his heels will be fellow FootJoy ambassador Robert Karlsson, who claimed last week's title at the Qatar Masters, and fellow FootJoy ICON wearer Lee Westwood, who faltered on the final 9 holes in Qatar as he looked to chase Robert down the stretch.

Argentinian, Ariel Canete, collected his first pair of custom MyJoy ICON shoes from us this week, in the colours of his home nations flag. Ariel has so far made a solid start to the 2010 season, after missing most of last year with a shoulder injury which required him to go under the knife.

Desert specialist, Henrik Stenson collected some new ICON shoes this week, (styles 52203 & 52013) along with the FootJoy Pure Touch glove. This is the first week Henrik has worn the glove and loved it from the moment he tried it on. He joins fellow Europeans Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington, who have been wearing Pure Touch since it initial launch towards the end of 2009.

FJ collar wearer, Peter Lawrie received a pair of FJ ICON (style 52070) along with young Englishman, David Horsey, who picked up a pair of all black  FJ ICON, style 52054.

King Karlsson Conquers Qatar

FootJoy ambassador Robert Karlsson (FJ ICON 52054 & StaSof glove) showed the golfing world that he is back to his best after a career threatening eye injury, by winning his 10th career title at the Qatar Masters. The former European No 1 started the day two shots behind, but produced the round of the week to win with a stylish bogey-free final round seven-under par. Karlsson’s toughest competition came from his playing partner, the current European No 1, Lee Westwood (FJ ICON & Pure Touch glove), who with four holes to play only trailed Karlsson by one shot. However, it was the tall Swede who finished the strongest with back-to-back birdies on seventeen and eighteen to claim an impressive three shot victory and the first place prize of €294,584.

FJ continues to be the No 1 choice for players on the European Tour with 57% of the field at the Qatar Masters choosing to put the faith in FootJoy shoes.