Posted By: Chris Garrett ·
* Special thanks to our European Tour Reps for this entry
This weeks diary entry comes from Penha Longa G.C, Portugal.
Monday was an unusually quiet day for the FootJoy Tour team, due to Open Qualifying at Sunningdale Golf Course, taking place. With only 10 spots available for this years Open Championship, competition was fierce. 5 out of the 10 qualifiers (Jose Manuel Lara, Tano Goya, Ignacio Garrido) trusted FJ shoes to deliver the performance they required to join the illustrious field at the Old Course, St Andrews, including the overall winner.
This week provided a great opportunity for some of the players who the FJ Team do not get to see on a regular basis, catch up with the team and make use of the TTSV. A lot of the players were coming on board to have their spikes changed and re-new the laces in their FJ's, to keep them performing at their best.
Aussie, Scott Hend, took the opportunity to order a couple of new pairs of Icons, choosing 52138 and 52054. Scott has unusually wide feet, so the 52138 Icons will need to be ordered via the MyJoys programme, to accommodate the XW fit.
Home grown, FJ Icon wearer, Jose-Filipe Lima, will be looking to make use of his local knowledge, as they manoeuvre their way around the tight, Robert Trent Jones Jnr designed course. Lima, also stated that the wind can really blow around certain areas of the course, and the players will be putting their trust in their FootJoy's, to keep them securely in contact with the ground.
With FootJoy accounting for 63% of the field, some 40% more than the nearest competitor, it is clear to see FJ is still the number one choice of the professionals.
-- Thanks to European Tour reps Jonathan Loosemore and Guy Smith for this latest update!
The Desert Swing is under way, with the first stop in sunny Abu Dhabi.
5 of the Worlds Top 10 players are in action this week in a stellar field, including FootJoy loyalists Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, SBS Championship winner Geoff Ogilvy and the colourful Swede, Henrik Stenson who has just agreed a multi-year deal to wear FootJoy shoes again. All 4 players will be gracing the fairways in the new FootJoy ICON shoe.
Camillo Villegas and Ian Poulter have also flown over from the US, as they look to grab some early points in the 2010 Race to Dubai.
The new FJ Sport is also catching a few players eyes. Pablo Larrazabal and Peter Lawrie were both wearing the shoe in practice this week. With it's colourful and athletic styling, it is sure to be a hit with the players on Tour.
We welcome a new line-up for 2010 to our FJ collar programme, some of the latest additions include last season Rookie-of-the year, Chris Wood, Robert Rock and Irishman Peter Lawrie. Steve Webster and Ricardo Gonzalez continue with the FJ collar for another season.
Players are placing shoe orders at a rapid pace with the FootJoy tour reps, and there are certainly going to be some funky looking shoes gracing the Tournaments across Europe this season thanks to the fantastic MyJoys offering from FootJoy.
Posted By: Chris Garrett ·
We've got more photos from our FJ folks onsite at Turnberry! Pretty busy few days for everyone at the Open Championship, especially the players as they make final preparations for tomorrow's opening round. One of my favorite sayings is that you can't win a major on Thursday, but you can certainly lose one! Can't wait to see how this event unfolds, starting tomorrow morning.
Click here to begin the slideshow.:
Posted By: Chris Garrett ·
Click here to begin the slideshow.:
[by Guy Smith, Acushnet Company European Tour Rep]
With the Race To Dubai really heating up, the two highest placed FootJoy shoe wearers, Rory McIlroy and Ross Fisher, positions 3 & 4 respectively, are sitting out the French Open this week in preparation for the Open Championship at Turnberry in two weeks time. This will open the door to the other 10 FootJoy shoe wearers currently in the Race To Dubai top 20 to catch up to them.
Last year's winner, Pablo Larrazabal is really looking forward to defending the title he won last year. It is turning into a very special week for the Larrazabal family, as Pablo's brother, Alex, has joined him in the French Open field after qualifying for the tournament last week. This is exactly what Pablo did last year before storming to an emphatic victory over the Golf National course to claim his first European Tour title and helped him to become the Sir Henry Cotton, Rookie of the Year. Can lightning strike twice!?
Another player who loves this tournament is FootJoy wearer Soren Hansen, he finished in third place last year. He was in fine form this week and looking to improve on last years finish.
The big story of the week has been the launch of the FJ ICON shoes to the European Tour. Players came to visit the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle to collect their new shoes, and only positive responses were heard. The majority of comments included how light the shoes felt and how comfortable they were. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for these on the players this week and the next few weeks. More styles will be released to the players at The Open Championship.
One player already wearing the FJ ICON shoe is Ian Poulter. It was good to see him again in Europe after a long spell across the Pond on the USPGA Tour. Ian will certainly fancy his chances this week as he has been showing some great form and can't be too far away from a win. He is joined in the field by Angel Cabrera, who will be looking to add to his Masters crown earlier in the season and SYNR-G and FootJoy PureTouch wearer, Padraig Harrington.