You are viewing: October 2008

Final Day at the Ginn sur Mer

With all the players onsite getting used to a new, very long and difficult golf course and the pro-am teeing off in two waves, Wednesday was a busy day at the Ginn sur Mer. JB Holmes was one player we spoke with on Wednesday who could have a huge advantage this week with his length. As we said previously, this is the longest course on Tour this season and with a wind that is expected to stick around through the weekend, he’s one of few players who might be able to reach the lengthy par fives in two. Check out the slideshow to see what surprised us about JB’s footwear, what Florida fan was wearing these SYNR-Gs and to see some of the other key holes at The Conservatory.

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Monday at the Ginn sur Mer Classic

Pretty quiet Monday as players slowly arrived from around the country, with many coming cross-country from last week’s Frys.com Open. With only two weeks left in the season, players have a lot to play for this week, whether it’s their Tour card for next year or invites to the majors and some of the limited-field tournaments. This Tom Watson-designed course is located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach on Flordia’s east coast and, with cool temperatures and gusty winds expected the remainder of the week, will give the players all they can handle at over 7,600 yards. Keep an eye on the blog for more throughout the week and let us know if you have any questions for us or for the players!

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Tuesday at the Ginn sur Mer

The same weather that’s causing havoc with the World Series, is also bringing record cold temperatures to the Ginn sur Mer Classic in Florida. Temps in the 50’s and north-west wind gusts up to 25 mph had players and fans scrambling for ski hats and extra layers. However, with so much to play for this week, and with players facing the longest course this year on the PGA Tour, it was time to get to work. We saw some interesting sites on Tuesday, including more SYNR-G sightings, caddies getting advice from players and some interesting adjustments at the Titleist tour truck.

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FootJoy Diary - Castello Masters

Check out this update from our Tour reps on the European Tour…

Approaching the end of the season, there is plenty of interest in the new styles for the 2009 season. We are fielding lots of questions about SYNR-G and the new styles of Classics for next year. Over the course of the next month or so, all the FootJoy players will get the chance to order shoes for next season.

This week at the Castello Masters near Valencia, world no.7 Camilo Villegas is making a rare appearance. He turned out in todays pro am wearing a gleaming white pair of shield-tip Classics (style 50666).

Henrik Stenson, no.10 in the world rankings, collected two new pairs of Classic Tour BOA. He is a regular wearer of orthotics and wears ReelFits exclusively. This week he picked up a few custom pairs - a black shoe with a dark brown saddle, and white with a black saddle.

Young staffer Rory McIlroy is planning his wardrobe for 2009 and inquired about some retro custom Classics in suede leather. Watch out for him in some funky styles next year!!

Following a packing error, Peter O’Malley needed a pair of shoes in an emergency for this week and was delighted with a new pair of white ReelFit (style 53843). He put them on straight out of the box and went to the tee to play his practice round.

Young English professional, Chris Wood, has been working with the European Tour physiotherapy team on a problem with his heel. We are going to arrange a laser fitting for him so we can try to help with a change of style and size. The physio team also think that his feet are different sizes so we are likely to be ordering customs for him in future.

That’s all for this week from Spain… the next stop is Valderrama for the season-ending Volvo Masters!!

Davis Loves Them, Too…

“I have worn the SYNR-G every week since I got them. I love them. I feel closer to the ground and more stable. There’s absolutely no rolling over the shoe with these, very stable and comfortable.” – Davis Love III

We hope to get more with Davis, and other Tour players, next week when we’re onsite at the Ginn sur Mer.

Vegas Baby! Turnesa Wins First.

Marc Turnesa completed a wire-to-wire victory for his first PGA TOUR title, closing with a 4-under 68 on Sunday to win the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open by one shot. He earned a career-best $738,000 to jump from 138th to 75th on the money list.

The fourth rookie to win on the PGA TOUR this season, Turnesa opened with rounds of 62, 64 and 69 at TPC Summerlin en route to a tournament-record 24-under 263 total. Turnesa birdied Nos. 9, 11, 12 and 14 to reach 25 under on the mostly sunny, breezy day. He also birdied the par-3 17th, but dropped a stroke on the par-4 18th.

“I only won by a shot, so obviously every birdie I made was important,” said Turnesa, the 30-year-old former North Carolina State star who broke the event mark of 23-under 264 set last year by fellow FootJoy player George McNeill.

Turnesa, who also won last year on the Nationwide Tour, is part of a famous golf family. His great-uncle, Jim, won the 1952 PGA Championship, and his grandfather, Mike, was a six-time winner on the PGA TOUR who finished second to Ben Hogan in the 1948 PGA Championship.

Mike was one of seven brothers, six of whom played on PGA TOUR. One of those, Joe, was a 15-time PGA TOUR winner. The only brother who didn’t turn professional was Willie, the 1938 and 1948 U.S. Amateur champion and 1947 British Amateur winner..

Marc prefers the slick looks and stable platform of FJ Classics Dry Premiere.  His Sunday shoe of choice was style 50730.

Arron Oberholser Wearing SYNR-G

As more and more Tour players have the opportunity to try SYNR-G, we’re seeing more and more pairs show up on Tour. While some players have packed their bags for the offseason, the majority still have a lot to play for over the next few weeks. These are the lucky few that get first crack at the latest from FootJoy. Arron Oberholser is one such player, having missed a large portion of the season due to injury, OB is hoping for a strong finish to the year. And do we have just the shoes to help him do that! Arron’s first reaction was how the memory foam collar and tongue helped keep his foot locked in throughout the swing. Check out the slideshow for images of Arron in SYNR-G and check out the SYNR-G microsite to win a pair if your very own, as well as a SkyCaddie SG5 rangefinder!

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Zach’s Back on Top With Win in San Antonio

Zach Johnson (DryJoys Tech style #53502, StaSof glove) won the Texas Open on Sunday for his fourth PGA Tour title, following his third-round 62 with a 6-under 64 for a two-stroke victory.

Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion who entered the week with only one top-10 finish this year, had a 19-under 261 total on the La Cantera Golf Club’s Resort Course. He had only two bogies over his final 54 holes.

The victory, capped with a 5-foot birdie putt on 18, was his first on the tour outside Georgia. In addition to the Masters, he won the 2004 BellSouth Classic and 2007 AT&T Classic.

First SYNR-G Sighting on Tour

The first pairs of SYNR-G have made their way to Tour players around the world and the early feedback has been phenomenal! Guys are putting them in play right from the start and raving about the stability and comfort. Click on the image below to see a few of the very first images from the European Tour. We’ll obviously keep you updated as more and more players have a chance to try SYNR-G and will be onsite at one of the remaining PGA Tour events to get some feedback firsthand.

Don’t forget to register for the SYNR-G Prepare to Launch Sweepstakes where you can win a pair of SYNR-G of your very own as well as a top-of-the-line SkyCaddie SG5.

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Karlsson Wins All-Classics Playoff at Dunhill Links Championship

Robert Karlsson (Classics style #50990, StaSof glove) of Sweden won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with a birdie on the first hole of an all-Classics playoff on Sunday. He finished regulation tied at 10-under 278 with Ross Fisher (Classics style #51265) and overnight leader Martin Kaymer (Classics style #50672).

In the playoff, Fisher drove into the Swilcan Burn, the stream that fronts the first hole on The Old Course, and made a bogey. Kaymer then missed a 10-foot birdie putt before Karlsson made a three-footer for the victory.

The Swede earned $800,000 for his second win of the year and took the lead in the European Tour’s Order of Merit. Karlsson won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Germany the week before last month’s Ryder Cup, and finished second twice and third three times earlier this season.

There are four events remaining on the European schedule. Karlsson will play the Portugal Masters in two weeks and the Volvo Masters in Valderrama, Spain, two weeks after that, hoping to secure his firs Order of Merit title. Although, according to Karlsson, that would just be icing on the cake.

“I’ve already exceeded my expectations for the season. I’ve made the Ryder Cup team, won twice, had five other top-threes,” he said. “What more can I expect?”

Tour Insider: Dunhill Links Championship

The European Tour headed back to the Home of Golf this week for the Alfred Dunhill Championship at St Andrews.

This unique event is played over three fantastic golf courses. The Old Course at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. A Pro-AM format is adopted with professional golfers from all over the globe being paired with amateur golfers from the world of business, sport, television, cinema and music. Each pair will play the three golf courses with a cut after Saturdays play. The final pairings and leading professionals will then battle it out for the title over the famous Old Course at St Andrews on the Sunday.

Famous faces to keep an eye out for this week include Samuel L Jackson (Movie star), Shane Warne (Australian cricketer), Michael Vaughan (ex-England cricket Captain), Jamie Redknapp (Ex England, Tottenham & Liverpool footballer), Ruud Gullit (ex footballer for Holland, Chelsea and AC Milan), Sir Steve Redgrave (Olympic Gold Medalist, Rowing), Sir Bobby Charlton (England World Cup Winner), Dougray Scott (Movie Star), Huey Lewis (Musician) & Wladimir Klitschko (Boxer).

Johnnie Walker Champion, Gregory Havret, came to visit the Titleist Tour truck this week to collect a nice new pair of Classics (style #50687). It didn’t take long for fellow Frenchman, Greg Bourdy, to spot these on Havret’s feet before he came to visit us to place an order for a pair of his own!

Henrik Stenson placed his shoe order for 2009. This has been taken in advance as he is an orthotic wearer and the FootJoy team need additional time to make his Classic Tour shoes with removable fit-beds. Be sure to look out for some more colourful designs on his feet in the ‘09 season.

Jeev Milkha Singh has requested a couple of extra pairs of shoes to see him through to the end of the year, choosing to stay with his favorite DryJoys Tech, style #53523.

That’s all from a Sunny, yet rather chilly, St Andrews.

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