FJ Blog

Impressive Wins for Ochoa, Levet

Lorena Ochoa successfully defended her title Sunday at the Safeway International with a convincing seven-stroke victory. The 26-year old fired a final round 6-under 66 to finish at 22-under 266 and claim her second victory in three starts to begin the season. It marked the lowest score, by four shots, in the five years the tournament has been held at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club.

Ochoa, who was supported all week by a large contingent of her Mexican fans, began the day with only a one shot lead. However, she took the lead with a birdie on the par-3 fourth hole and never looked back. She finished the day with eight birdies against two early bogeys for her 16th victory in her last 53 starts. Next up, Ochoa will pursue her second career major when this week's Kraft Nabisco Championship kicks off in Rancho Mirage, CA.

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Elsewhere around the world, Thomas Levet birdied two of his final three holes to force a playoff and made a clutch par on the first extra hole to win the Open de Andalucia Sunday on the European Tour. The 39-year-old Levet closed with a final round 5-under 67 to finish the week with a 16-under 272 total for his fourth career title and first since 2004.

Levet wore the stylish black smooth Classics Dry Premiere (style #50793 ) during the dramatic final round.

Learn More.:
Women's Golf Shoes
Classic Dry Premiere

Shoe Count: 2008 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

FootJoy- 67%
Nearest Competitor- 19%

2008 Year to Date Total- 63.8%

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Kraft wins in Puerto Rico

Relying on FootJoy Classics Tour with BOA Technology , Greg Kraft earned his first "official" PGA TOUR title with a victory at the inaugural Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular.

Kraft fired a 14-under 274 to edge two players by one shot. This was only the third event on the 2008 PGA TOUR for Kraft, whose previous best finish this year was a T19 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, which also came opposite a WGC tournament.

Although Kraft won the Deposit Guaranty Classic in Mississippi 15 years ago, it took place the same weekend as the Masters and did not count as an "official" TOUR win.

Kraft, who began the day one shot behind the overnight leader, shot a final round 2-under 70, and went 29 straight holes without a bogey on the weekend until the 72nd hole.

FootJoy was the most worn shoe (67% vs. 17% nearest competitor) and glove (41% vs. 24% nearest competitor) at the Puerto Rico Open.

Learn More .:
Classics Tour with BOA Technology
FootJoy Gloves

Shoe Count: 2008 Puerto Rico Open

FootJoy- 67%
Nearest Competitor- 17%

2008 Year to Date Total- 63.6%

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Shoe Count: 2008 WGC - CA Championship

FootJoy- 53%
Nearest Competitor- 20%

2008 Year to Date Total- 63.6%

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Watson's Dramatic Win

Zimbabwe's Denis Watson won the AT&T Champions Classic Sunday for his third career Champions Tour title, defeating fellow FootJoy loyalist, Loren Roberts, with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff. Both players wore all-black Classics Tour
(style #51315 ) golf shoes during the dramatic final round.

Watson fired a final round 7-under 65, including a clutch birdie on the par-5 18th hole, to finish regulation tied for the lead with Roberts and one other player. Roberts secured his spot in the playoff about 90 minutes later when he holed out from 43 yards for eagle on the closing hole.

Roberts and Watson continued to battle after going par-birdie on the first two playoff holes but Watson secured the title when his 9-iron approach from 152 yards on the par-4 10th hole stopped 20 inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie and the win.

With unsettled weather forecast for the final round, Denis Watson also relied on the superior performance and comfort of the Short Sleeve Rain Shirt and Performance rain pants during his final round.

Learn More .:
Classics Tour
Performance Outerwear

Shoe Count: 2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational

FootJoy- 63.3%
Nearest Competitor- 20%

2008 Year to Date Total- 63.8%

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FootJoy Performance Outerwear for Spring

Your rain gear is something you shouldn't have to think about. After all, it's supposed to be sunny and warm when we play golf, right? But the days you do need some protective outerwear, you don't want to worry about wind cutting through your jacket, rain dripping down the back of your neck, your legs getting wet or the club slipping out of your hands. Nothing should come between you and the round of your life; certainly not a little weather! That's where the Performance Outerwear from FootJoy comes in. Put it on and forget about it. Just keep playing.

Don't think about the patented DryJoys Sta-Dry Extreme System that provides a 100% waterproof, windproof, quiet and breathable performance. Don't worry about the waterproof stretch panels that allow the garment to move with you while keeping you totally dry or the FootJoy storm collar that's higher in the back and lower near the chin to keep water off your neck and back. We've thought of all these industry-leading features so you don't have to.

So no matter what you encounter on the course this Spring, we've got you covered from top to bottom, from the first layer to the last. Start with the ProDry Pique Golf Shirt or Performance Long Sleeve Golf Mock and top it off with any number of Performance Outerwear options, from the soft microfiber shell of our Windshirts and Vests , versatility of the Zip-Off Jacket and Pants , lightweight performance of the Performance Light Jacket and Pants or complete protection of the Performance Rain Jacket and Pants . Just put it on and forget about it. You've got bigger things to worry about....like that slippery little six-footer for par.

Tour Success Continues

Players who trust FootJoy put their shoes on the same as everyone else...one shoe at a time. It's just, once they have those shoes on, they win tournaments. And 2008 is shaping up to be another stellar year for FootJoy players. More players and more wins than any other shoe brand. And we don't stop there. FootJoy has also been the #1 glove at every full-field PGA Tour tournament this season. It's called momentum people. Check out some of the early-season highlights:

• Daniel Chopra (DryJoys and FJ Golf Athletics , StaSof ) defeated fellow FJ ambassador Steve Stricker in extra holes at the season-opening Mercedes Championship, his second career PGA Tour victory.
• D.J. Trahan (Classics Dry Premiere ) fired a final round 7-under 65 to charge from four shots back and win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
• JB Holmes (DryJoys , RainGrip glove) won the FBR Open for the second time in three years with two birdies on the 18th hole in a matter of minutes, dropping a 13-footer to force the playoff and then pouring in another from 8 feet after a monstrous 359-yard drive on the first extra hole.
• Steve Lowery (Classics Tour ) emerged victorious from an all-FootJoy playoff at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, defeating Vijay Singh with a clutch birdie on the first playoff hole.
• Brian Gay (Classics Dry Premiere ) followed up a career-low 62 in the third round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic with a final round 1-under 69 to capture his first career PGA TOUR title.

The momentum has been just as strong on other worldwide tours. A few notes from several other huge wins:
• James Kingston (Classics Dry Premiere , SciFlex) earned his first career victory at his native country's national championship, the South African Airways Open.
• Martin Kaymer (Classics Dry Premiere ) led wire-to-wire in impressive fashion to raise his first career European Tour trophy at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
• Adam Scott (Classics Dry Premiere ) shot a blistering final round 11-under 61 to take the Qatar Masters title by three shots over fellow FJ loyalist Henrik Stenson.
• Ian Poulter (Pink custom Classics, SciFlex ) fired four rounds in the 60's to go wire-to-wire for a three shot victory at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan, his ninth career victory.

In big off-season news, FootJoy welcomed Lorena Ochoa , the 2007 Rolex Player of the Year, AP Female Athlete of the Year and the world's #1 ranked golfer in the Women's World Rankings. It didn't take Lorena long to regain her form from 2007 and make an early statement, securing her first title in her first start of the season. She went wire-to-wire to secure a convincing 11-stroke victory at the rain-slowed HSBC Women's Champions.

Experience FLEXTABILITY

FLEXTABILITY is FootJoy's way of describing the exciting combination of flexibility and stability featured in the Stability PODS™ outsole of new DryJoys shoes. Already worn by Tour players such as Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson, Charley Hoffman and Luke Donald, the new DryJoys are performance tested and ready to help you achieve mid-season form right out of the gate in 2008.

Click here to visit the microsite.