FJ Blog

Rock Closes Out Strong Field in Abu Dhabi

Wilson's Early Season Magic Continues

On his third start to the 2012 PGA Tour season, Mark Wilson, with memories of his two wins early last year, wrapped up a two stroke victory by holding off a slew of contenders at the Humana Challenge.  

Wilson, at 21 under par, began the final round with a three stroke lead over fellow FJ Ambassadors Zach Johnson, Robert Garrigus and Ben Crane.  Garrigus gave Wilson the biggest challenge on Sunday as Garrigus took the lead from Wilson on the par four tenth hole with a birdie. 

Wilson wearing FJ ICON and SciFlex, responded with an up-and-down birdie from over the green on the par five eleventh hole to regain a share of the lead at the top of the leaderboard.  On the next, Wilson hit his approach shot into a greenside bunker, only to hole out the 49 foot bunker shot for another birdie to retake the lead.  He added two more birdies on his way in, including a birdie on the last to seal the deal on the victory.

This is Wilson's fifth career PGA Tour victory.   

Wagner Wins at Waialae

This weekend Johnson Wagner emerged from a crowded leaderboard to win the Sony Open in Hawaii.  Wagner wearing FJ ICON and SciFlex, started the day two strokes off of the 54 hole lead and with many players in the hunt, Wagner would need to play steady - level headed golf to give himself a chance for the win.  Playing his last 12 holes in four under par, Wagner closed with a three under 67 to finish the tournament at 13 under par.  The 13 under par total gave him a two shot victory over fellow FJ player Harrison Frazar.

Despite playing the front nine in one over par for the week, Johnson relied heavily on his back nine play to carry himself to victory.  Wagner did not make a single bogey on the back nine over the four rounds. He also made two eagles the par-5 18th to contribute to his 14-under par back nine total. 

This is Wagner's third PGA Tour victory and the win also earned him an invitation to the 2012 Masters.

Stricker Opens with a Victory at the Tournament of Champions

The affable Wisconsin native, Steve Stricker won the season opening Tournament of Champions at Kapalua with a final round of a four under par 69 to finish the tournament at 23 under par, four strokes clear of fellow FJ Staffers Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd.   

Stricker was in style all week wearing the new FJ Performance Apparel and split saddle DryJoys Tour's.  He was, also, in total control of his golf game, attacking the golf course in Saturday's second round.  Stricker made eight birdies and an eagle to finish off the round with a ten under par 63.  The blistering pace gave him a five shot lead over Webb Simpson and the field heading into the third round. 

During the third round, Stricker struggled to make birdies early but did not give up any ground as he birdied the final four holes to retain the five stroke lead he had at the beginning of the day.  Now heading into the final round with a comfortable lead, Stricker kept his head down and continued his steady play to close out the field for the victory.  Stricker lead the field in overall putting, scrambling, bogey avoidance (making only 4 bogeys all week on the rugged Kapalua golf course), and one putt percentage. 

This is Stricker's 8th PGA Tour win in the past 3 years, which is the most amongst any player on the PGA Tour. 

Westwood Dominates in Thailand

Lee Westwood cruised to a seven-shot victory on Sunday in the Thailand Golf Championship.  Westwood wearing FJ Sport and SciFlex set the pace early, opening the tournament with a 12 under par 60 on the Amata Springs course.  He then followed the stellar round with an impressive eight-under par 64 to open a 11 shot lead through two rounds of play. 

"I've amazed myself really...It's been staggering, it all came together well. It's probably the best I've ever played." Westwood said of his blistering start to the tourney.

Despite his massive lead, Westwood felt the pressure of holding onto it, "I've never had an 11-shot lead before and it was difficult to come out and refocus and reset goals...it's yours to lose really with an 11-shot lead. There was pressure involved. Yesterday, I didn't know how to approach it or handle it."  Westwood handled the pressure just closing with a three under par 69 to win by seven shots.  The win moves Westwood to number two on the official world golf rankings.  

Introducing the All-New MyJoys Website

We are very excited to announce the launch of the new MyJoys website. The new site features a streamlined look and feel.  Updated performance allowing for faster customization.  Furthermore, the new MyJoys site is now compatible with most tablets and smart phones.

Other enhancements included with this re-design:

- Larger homepage images and customization images to show the intricate detail and craftsmanship that goes into each and every pair.
- Size charts on the product pages
- Tabbed leather and logo palettes to allow you to more readily see the personalization options available
- The ability to go straight to a previous design with Jump to Custom ID

We hope you enjoy all of these enhancements and look forward to your feedback!

Kennedy Wins NZ Open

Brad Kennedy (FJ DryJoys, FJ StaSof) has this afternoon won the New Zealand Open in a playoff from Craig Parry. Both players had tied on 7 under par after 72 holes before Kennedy birdied the first playoff hole to claim victory.

The victory is Kennedy's second win on the PGA of Australasia Tour.

It caps off a great year for Kennedy who successfully retained his tour card in Japan.

XPS-1 Press Release

FootJoy, the #1 Shoe in Golf, announces the introduction of the most stable golf shoe in the world, XPS-1™ (Xtreme Platform Stability). Designed and developed following more than two years of extensive testing and research, XPS-1 has been engineered to deliver unparalleled levels of platform stability and improved balance for players of all abilities.

What captures your attention with XPS-1 is also what separates this category from other shoes on the market – the high-performance outsole. The Xtreme Outsole encourages golfers of all abilities to “GET XPLOS1VE” in optimizing their overall performance by establishing a stable platform under foot. The design features TPU lateral outriggers that extend beyond the upper to create an ultra-wide platform under foot for maximum ground contact. In addition, a Lightweight Fiberglass Support Structure provides a medial and lateral wrap for total mid-foot support.

“XPS-1 is a breakthrough product for our shoe team,” said Doug Robinson, FootJoy Vice President of Design & Development Worldwide. “Every detail in the design and engineering is geared to deliver the ultimate platform stability for golf. Like a sprinter using starting blocks for explosive thrust, XPS-1 provides an extremely stable base for a golfer to transition from backswing to downswing and drive the lower body. And best of all, we’ve been able to accomplish this while enhancing comfort.”

Born from golfer feedback at all levels, XPS-1 has already received strong feedback from the professional ranks around the world. PGA Tour player Gary Woodland, who boasts a ball speed in excess of 200 miles per hour, is an early fan of the product, stating: “XPS-1 is the most stable golf shoe I have ever worn in my life.  Having proper footwork is critical to the game of golf.  For me, balance is everything.  With XPS-1, I can get explosive and fire off my right side.”

Padraig Harrington, who has been wearing the shoe exclusively since he first received it back in March, agrees: “The golf shoe is crucial. It is the only thing keeping you in contact with the ground. If you want to create power in your swing, you better be wearing the best shoe. XPS-1 is the best shoe I have ever worn.”

XPS-1 introduces a unique and fresh look to the FJ line of performance golf shoes. In addition to the stable platform and aggressive, athletic-inspired styling, XPS-1 continues the FootJoy heritage of offering unmatched levels of comfort and fit. Innovative 3D Viscoelastic GelCollar™ technology provides custom fit and comfort around the collar whilst a LaserPlus Last is contoured to precisely match the shape of the foot. A high-performance Multi-Density Fit-Bed® with EVA support and HeelLoc™ technology further enhances stability, cushioning and shock absorption.

Utilising striking patterns with accents of color, XPS-1 fuses proven performance attributes with premium materials such as the finest full-grain leather uppers.

“The launch of XPS-1 is of great significance to the Australian golf market being the first market in the golfing world to launch the most stable golf shoe, XPS-1” said Andrew Reed, Golf Ball and FootJoy Brand Manager.

XPS-1 will be available in Australian golf shops Mid-November, 2011 in three style options, including one featuring the BOA® Closure System™. Boa is a registered trademark of Boa Technology, Inc.

FJ Adds to Worldwide Win Total

With the world's best players in Asia this week for the Shanghai Masters and the Asia Pacific Classic, the worldwide season is far from over. 

This week's Shanghai Masters featured an elite 30-man field playing for the richest prize of the year. Rory McIlroy was included in this field and returned to his winning ways in a playoff to claim the $2 million first prize.  The Northern Irishman wearing the lightweight performance of FJ Sport, began the day 3 strokes ahead of the loaded field and showed some gritty play despite not having his "A" game.  After a bogey on the first and ninth holes, McIlroy made the turn one stroke ahead of the field.  A bogey on eleven, dropped McIlroy from the lead for the first time of the day.  Rory responded by converting his birdie on the 15th to pull ahead at the top.  McIlroy narrowly missed birdie on the next and, again, on the 18th to set the playoff.  On the first playoff hole, both players hit their approach shots into a greenside trap and would both splash out their shots to inside four feet.  McIlroy's competitor would miss his short par putt giving Rory an opportunity to win with a tap-in and he would do just that to close out the tournament for the win.

Later McIlroy stated the importance of his gritty win, "Even if it's scrappy golf where you grind it out, you're going to win a lot more tournaments by doing that rather than playing your best golf the whole week. I was very happy I was able to pull this one out."

In Malaysia, Bo Van Pelt completed a record setting scoring week en route to his victory.  Van Pelt trusting DryJoys Tour and StaSof, completed rounds of 66-64-67-64 to finish the tournament at 23 under par, six ahead of fellow Indiana native Jeff Overton (FJ Sport).  Van Pelt made seven birdies and no bogeys en route to his final round 64.  After the round, second place finisher Overton stated, " That was one of the best rounds of golf I've seen," of Van Pelt's record setting performance.  

On the Ladies European Tour Yani Tseng wrapped up her 11th worldwide win of the season by closing out competition in the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open.  Beginning the day with a three stroke lead, Yani wearing women's DryJoys, fired a bogey free six under par 66 to win the tournament by seven strokes.  Tseng has won 3 of her last 4 starts. When asked of her dominance, she responded simply, "I just play one shot at a time and be patient and keep learning. I just learn from mistakes."  

Luke Donald Season Long Money Race

The world's number one player, Luke Donald was a late entrant into the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.  He announced his entry via Twitter proposing his goal to win the season long PGA Tour money title.  Already leading the European Tour Money list by $1.8 million over Rory McIlroy, Donald aimed to become the first player ever to win both money titles in the same calender year.

Luke's chances looked slim entering the final round five strokes off the 54-hole lead in 13th place.  At the turn, he was still two strokes behind the current money leader Webb Simpson, but Donald (in FJ ICON MyJoys) pieced together a brilliant back nine to charge up the leaderboard.  He ran in 6 straight birdies on the back nine, including a holed 45 foot putt on the par-3 15th to give himself a two stroke lead.  With pars on his last three holes, Donald finished the tournament at 17 under. He was two strokes clear of the field with several players still on the course, including the man he was trying to beat in the season long race.  Simpson, however, could not match the brilliant back nine of Donald and finished tied for 6th. 

The win gave Donald his second PGA Tour victory of the year, his 14th top ten of the year, and the season long money race on the PGA Tour.  Donald has five possible starts left on the European Tour for a chance to become the first player ever to win both money titles.