-- Thanks to European Tour reps Jonathan Loosemore and Guy Smith for this latest update!

We're all set for an exciting finish in Dubai as both the Dubai World Championship and the season-long Race to Dubai are far from being decided with two rounds left to play. Lee Westwood, who trails only Rory McIlroy in the Race points, is leading through two rounds but one of his closest chasers is none other than Rory McIlroy! The two FootJoy loyalists appear to be setting the stage for a dramatic weekend.

Our European Tour staff was onsite earlier in the week and snapped some photos from around the course.

After 50 events and 382 days, the European Tour's Race to Dubai culminates this week with the top 58 players competing in the Dubai World Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. At stake is recognition as Europe's number one golfer of 2009 and, of the three players who can win the season-long Race by winning the World Championship, two of those are FootJoy players. Another can triumph with a win and some help.

Leading the way following his runner-up finish last week, is 20-year-old Rory McIlroy (FJ ICON). McIlroy burst on the scene as a Tour rookie this year and sent notice he would be a force to be reckoned with when he finished tied for second in his first professional event at the UBS Hong Kong Open. In fact, he recorded four top 10's in his first six events, none more important than his dramatic wire-to-wire victory at the Dubai Desert Classic. Overall, he's amassed 13 top 10 finishes this year - including six in his last seven events - to claim the top spot in the Race to Dubai with one event remaining. Might McIlroy have the edge considering he is sponsored by the resort where the tournament will be contested?

Rory has been battling another FJ player for the top spot in the Race most of the year and narrowly passed him just last week. However, Lee Westwood's (FJ ICON, PureTouch Limited glove) pursuit of a second Order of Merit title remains firmly in his hands as a victory in Dubai will give him the crown. The 36-year old ended a two-year winless streak just last month with his win at the Portugal Masters and has contended at several other events throughout the year. In fact, after getting off to a fairly slow start, Lee has reeled off an incredible 10 top 10 finishes over his last 12 tournaments, including five consecutive top 10's twice!

Another FJ player, Ross Fisher (FJ ICON) is also in position to win the Race to Dubai if he wins the World Championship and McIlroy and Westwood finish worse than second place. Fisher won the inaugural Volvo World Match Play title a few weeks ago in a grueling 36-hole final to collect the third European Tour win of his career. He has proven himself capable of challenging at the very highest level by leading all four Major Championships at one stage in 2009. 

So after all the dust settles on Sunday, do you think McIlroy, Westwood or Fisher will be standing tall as the 2009 Race to Dubai Champion?

As you can imagine, we have some pretty exceptional golfers who represent both the FootJoy and Titleist brands. When the two teams meet each year for The Tradition Cup, you're guaranteed to see some fantastic golf and plenty of drama. Well, this year, Hurricane Ida provided most of the drama. With the forecast calling for periods of heavy rain and wind gusts up to 30 m.p.h., it was uncertain if the Cup would even be played this year. However, the teams were determined to play so they suited up  and teed off as scheduled. We were about to find out if FootJoy outerwear did, indeed, "Make Every Day Playable!" 

While FootJoy had the advantage in team uniforms, thanks to a partnership with Ian Poulter who provided tartan pants and sweaters from his Ian Poulter Design clothing line, it was Titleist who came out strong to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the morning alternate shot matches. The teams of Colleen Walsh and Kim Kaye, John Screen and Rick Veitch, and Cory Cheesebro and Jordan Crandall all earned full points for Titleist while only Paul O'Reilly and Gene Boyer helped FJ avoid a total shutout. Fortunately for Team FJ, there was a lot of golf still to be played and 12 points still to be earned.

O'Reilly and Boyer led off the afternoon matches which was a simultaneous team best ball and singles format. Boyer continued his hot putting, and nearly aced the par-3 13th, to take control of his match with Tom Luoto despite Tom consistently hitting fairways and greens. Meanwhile, Paul O'Reilly was engaged in a battle with Justin Patrick that came down to the final putt. When Justin's putt lipped out, Boyer and O'Reilly had locked up 2.5 points for FootJoy and kicked off a comeback of epic proportions.

Chris Garrett and Kevin Borges followed and, like the previous match, came to the final tee box with 2.5 points on the line versus Colleen Walsh and Kim Kaye. Colleen and Kim had soundly beaten Garrett and Chris Kerr in the morning and provided very few opportunities for their opponents in the afternoon. However, Garrett secured a 1-up victory after Walsh found trouble off the tee on 18, and Borges blasted out of the greenside bunker to 6 inches to not only earn a dramatic halve with Kaye after being 4-down with four to play, but also a full point in the team best ball. FootJoy had earned five points in two matches.

After the teams of Rick Veitch and Jordan Crandall and Chris Kerr and Jim Ohlsen battled to a draw and earned 1.5 points for their respective teams, the score was 7.5 - 5.5 with four of the best players still on the course. The FJ team of Derek Roach and Whitney Trimble struggled in the alternate shot format but excelled playing their own ball in the afternoon. Even though the wind and rain had picked up, the pair continued to make pars that forced their opponents, John Screen and Cory Cheesebro to take risks. A sweep by Screen and Cheese would have given Titleist the required 8.5 points to win back the Cup, but Trimble and Roach were the anchor team for a reason. They played steady throughout the back nine and it was they who swept both the individual matches and team best ball to complete the FJ comeback and ensure FootJoy would retain the Tradition Cup for another year with a 10.5 - 5.5 final score.

The man of the match for Team FootJoy was Gene Boyer who was a perfect 3-0 on the day! Honorable mention goes to Mike Lowe who braved the elements to come out and photograph the action.

** Special thanks to Allendale Country Club for hosting the Tradition Cup and Ian Poulter Design for providing the FootJoy uniforms.

Thanks to European Tour reps Jonathan Loosemore and Guy Smith for this latest update!

The Hong Kong Open returns to Fanling Golf Club, with plenty of high profile players making the trip as they jostle for position to become the European #1 for the season. The Race to Dubai culminates next week with the Dubai World Championship.

After finishing with a new course record, -9 (63) in China last week, Rory McIlroy has fellow FootJoy wearer, and Race to Dubai leader, Lee Westwood firmly in his sights, but both players will need to look over their shoulders as Ian Poulter, hot off his win in Singapore, looks to overtake both of them at the top of the Order of Merit.

Poulter was looking colourful as always during the Pro-Am. He could be seen sporting a white and red pair of ICON MyJoys to match his red, white and blue outfit. Players have started to see some different coloured ICON's out on the fairways and have begun placing orders for their own shoe designs for the 2010 season.

Westwood and McIlroy were both wearing their ICON's this week in practice, and Rory collected 3 new pairs in time for next weeks Dubai World Championship. He selected each stock style in the new Sport pattern - #52070, #52062, and #52088.

We've been meeting with some of our Tour players over the past several months to take them through the more than 2 million custom combinations available in FootJoy's MyJoys program. Watch the video to hear what they think of the program and to see what custom combinations they chose! Click on COMMENTS to let us know which pair were your favorite.

To view this video on YouTube or a mobile device, click here.

Click on the image to launch the video.

This begins a new series of interviews we'll be conducting with our FJ Ambassadors on a regular basis. You probably know them by their screen names so this gives us an opportunity to go behind the screen name and find out more about these passionate golfers who contribute unparalleled time and resources to the Community. 

This month we introduce you to Eric Kelly, or EMKelly0106 as most of you know him.

1.    At what age did you start playing golf? Who introduced you to the game?

No one in my family golf's or has much of an interest in golf (other than my Mom who watches occasionally to see Tiger win), so I am one of the few who started late in life. I first touched a club my sophomore year of high school, about the age 16.  I had a used set that a friend of mine won at a tournament and I would periodically use them until the end of junior year.  During senior year, about 17 years old, "the bug" bit me and I have been hooked since.

From there, I took some of my graduation money and bought my first set of sticks, Titleist 804.OS irons with a Taylormade r7 driver, two Vokey wedges and an Odyssey putter.  My next move was to start taking lessons, which turns out to be the best choice I've made in my golf "career".  Since then, I have steadily grown as a player and have upgraded all my clubs to my current set.

I would say that the friend of mine who gave me my first set of clubs first introduced me to the game and then my golf instructor perpetuated it.

2.    What's your best score and where was it?
My best score is a 61.  It was at the Pioneers Golf Course in Lincoln, NE.  Did I mention it was a 2-person scramble?! 

3.    Favorite golf moment?
I have many favorite moments in golf, but I think Tiger winning the US Open with 'one leg' is at the top of the list.  That was such an incredible show of determination, strength, and skill that I would be surprised if we ever see anything quite like it again.  To be at less than 100% and still able to win a golf tournament (let alone a major), is something to be remembered.
 
4.    What's your "specialty" on the golf course (driving, approach, short game, putting, etc)?
My specialty would be my short game because that is the part of my game I focus on the most and am most confident with.  I am not the most consistent putter in the world so I rely on my short game to get the ball within my comfort zone.

5.    What are you working on?
Most of my time in the last few months has been spent on the putting green.  I feel that is one area where I need to become better and in my opinion, if you can't putt, you are going to have a hard time going low and making it to the next level in your golf game.  Unfortunately though, I think putting is the hardest thing to work on because it can be very monotonous and nothing is more fun than bombing drives off the back of the range.

6.    What golf-related product can you not live without?
The golf-related product I could not live without (excluding clubs) would have to be my shoes.  Women have high heels; I have golf shoes.  There was a time when I would buy golf shoes over tennis shoes, even though I NEEDED the tennis shoes.  I really like new styles and colors because they keep everything fresh and exciting.  Also, without a solid fitting shoe, your golf will suffer because of the lack of comfort and stability you have.  Your feet play a very active role in the game and it's the one piece of equipment that you always use and should always be there to help you. 

7. Tell us about your most memorable round of golf (why this round, with whom, where, when, score, etc).
My most memorable round of golf would be the first time I played Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln, NE with my girlfriend Sasha's dad, his brother and my best friend.  I don't remember the score of the round but at the time, it wasn't important.  It was something I looked forward to for a long time and the overall experience was great.  We (at least I did) had a great time, had a few drinks and just relaxed.  It was one of those times when the experience was more than what you had anticipated or wished for.  I certainly look forward to the next time we are all able to play together.

8. What are your interests outside of golf?
Outside of golf, my interests would include spending time with my girlfriend Sasha and family/friends, the television program South Park, playing XBOX, fishing and finance.  Something I am interested in, but have not been able to do is go SCUBA diving, I think that looks like a great time and look forward to trying that soon.  I am also a movie buff.

9. How did you learn about the FJ Community?
I learned about the FJC when I visited http://www.FootJoy.com and saw a banner for the community and ambassador program.  I was intrigued by the thought of becoming an ambassador for a company that I already respected and was interested in so the next logical step was to sign up.  I read the forums, wrote some comments and really enjoyed my time in the FJC.  I already liked talking about golf and related subjects and this gave me a good opportunity to not only get a inside look at the company and upcoming releases of FJ products but also communicate with other golf enthusiasts from around the world with similar interests.