Bill Haas had experienced playoff heartbreak twice this season but in his third attempt at this year's Tour Championship, with so much at stake, Haas would prove his metal as a clutch performer.

Beginning the day three strokes off of the 54 hole lead Haas shot a two under par 68 to force an all-FJ ICON playoff with Hunter Mahan. Haas wore a traditional all black FJ ICON shield tip (#52271) while Mahan opted for the latest FJ ICON pyramid saddle pattern in all white (#52114).

On the first sudden death playoff hole Haas would miss the par three 18th green wide right.  Now with little green to work and a fluffy lie Haas hit a high flop shot to the tucked pin leaving him a tricky downhill ten footer for par.  Haas gently rolled the difficult putt right into the center of the cup.  Mahan, not to be outdone also got up and down for par from the right green-side bunker.  

Moving on to the par four 17th hole, Haas drove his ball into a fairway bunker on the right side of the fairway.  He then followed with a slightly pulled approach shot that trickled into the green-side hazard.  With the ball sitting half submerged in water, ten plus feet below the green, Haas chose to play it.  His result was spectacular, hitting a high, spinning shot that stopped no more then three feet from the hole.  After Mahan narrowly missed his birdie bid, both players headed back to the 18th for the third time on Sunday.

Haas rifled a four iron directly at the center of the green leaving him a slick downhill putt from the back fringe.  Mahan hit his tee shot into the same bunker from earlier in the playoff, only this time he failed to get up and down for par.  This left Haas with a four foot putt to win THE TOUR Championship and the season-long FedEx Cup crown. Haas stuck to his routine and rolled the putt in center cut for this third career PGA Tour victory.  The combined victory's earned Haas a a five year Tour exemption and a $11.4 million dollar pay day. 

You too can wear what the pros wear. Click here to for a chance to win a pair of FJ ICON. 

D.A. Points (SYNR-G #53918 and SciFlex #68115) won the AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a 5-under par 67.  This is D.A.'s first career victory, earning him a spot in The Masters along with a 2 year PGA Tour exemption.  Standing in the fairway on the hardest hole Pebble has to offer, the par 5 14th, Points holed his third shot for eagle giving him a 1 shot lead with 4 to play.  Points then holed a 30 foot birdie putt on the par 4 15th to all but assure him the victory.  "Pebble Beach may be the most iconic place in America to play golf, and to win here, it's just a dream come true," said Points.

Hunter Mahan (FJ Icon) shot a 66 to finish solo second.

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Hunter Mahan won for the second time this year, coming from four shots back to start the day to win the World Golf Championship - Bridgestone Invitational. Mahan ran off five birdies on the front nine to take the lead, then had three clutch par saves down the stretch to finish off a 6-under 64 and a two-shot victory over fellow FJ player, Ryan Palmer (FJ ICON style #52005). While both players wore FJ ICON golf shoes, Hunter went with a custom design through the MyJoys program. Hunter also wore a StaSof glove while Palmer opted for SciFlex.

Mahan's victory locked up a spot on the United States Ryder Cup team as he is now No. 2 in points with only this week's PGA Championship remaining before the top eight Americans qualify. Hunter has played on the last three U.S. teams as a Captains Pick.

"That was my goal at the beginning of the year, to make the team on my own," Mahan said.

Hunter shot a final round 6-under 64 to finish with a 12-under 268 total. He became the third American with multiple victories on the PGA TOUR this year, and likely will move to a career-best No. 12 in the world.

Turning Stone Resort Championship

Meanwhile at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, it was a major accomplishment of a different sort for FJ player Bill Lunde (FJ ICON). Less than five years after he quit competitive golf, he earned a spot in next week's PGA Championship by winning the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Lunde shot a final round 6-under 66 to rally for a come-from-behind victory with a 17-under 271 total.

"All these guys out here, you're never far from playing good. You can sit here and say, 'I'm playing awful, I don't know how I'm going to break 80 today,' but you're never that far off."

Lunde made the weekend cut by one stroke and but trailed by only four heading into the final round following a 64 on Saturday. Lunde climbed to the top of Sunday's leaderboard with six birdies and a 30 on the front side.

None of the success seemed possible to Lunde in 2005 when he stopped playing after a tough year on the Nationwide Tour. He went to the PGA TOUR's Q-School in November and didn't qualify for the second stage so found a job in real estate in Las Vegas. He returned to the Nationwide Tour in 2008 and took advantage of his second chance. He won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational that year and finished fifth on the money list, which earned him a spot on the PGA TOUR in 2009.

"I tried to make an agreement with myself when I started playing again to ... if I could just have a better attitude right off the bat, I'd become a better player than I ever was before," he said. "And that was kind of my goal. Obviously it doesn't happen every day, but it's definitely better than it was and something I'll probably battle for the rest of my life. I'm just so competitive. I can't handle not playing well or bad breaks. It gets me down."

Hunter Mahan won the Waste Management Phoenix Open for his second PGA TOUR title Sunday, closing with a second consecutive bogey-free 6-under 65 to come from four strokes down. He becomes the seventh player in the season's first nine events to win wearing FootJoy golf shoes and the second consecutive to win wearing FJ ICON MyJoys. Hunter also relied on a StaSof glove.

The 27-year-old Mahan had an eagle and a pair of birdies in a late four-hole span Sunday to finish at 16-under 268. Since winning the 2007 Travelers Championship, Mahan has continued to improve each year. He played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team and had six top-10s in 2009, including a runner-up finish at the AT&T National.

"It's just finding a way to win. I just haven't been able to do it," he said. "So obviously it feels great to get off the year on my fifth tournament to win. It gives me a lot of confidence in myself that I'm doing the right things in my game, and it feels great, it really does."

The shot of the tournament for Mahan came at the par-5 13th when he hit his second shot from 250 yards to within seven feet and made the eagle putt to reach 14-under par. His 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th moved him into the lead and then the clincher came at the notorious 16th, the par 3 surrounded by bleachers filled with noisy, irreverent fans who cheer and boo with equal enthusiasm.

Mahan's tee shot caught the edge of the green and he made the subsequent 14-foot putt to regain the lead at 16 under and he would never look back.

** During the 2010 PGA Tour season, when FJ WINS, YOU WIN. Enter now for your chance to win a pair of FJ ICON golf shoes and a StaSof glove just like Hunter wore during the final round Sunday.

The launch of the new FJ ICON category will be supported by an extensive online and print communication plan, including ads in some of the most popular golf magazines. Recently we took an opportunity to travel to Firestone Country Club during the WGC Bridgestone Invitational to photograph the players who will appear in the ads, under the slogan “Put Yourself in Their Shoes.” We utilized four, world-class players who represent very different styles: Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter & Hunter Mahan.

If you’ve never been to Firestone C.C., the facility offers 3 great golf courses – The North, The South & The West.  Our photo shoot actually took place on the back of the 10th tee box on the North course, which provided fantastic backdrops for the photos.  One very entertaining twist on the day was the fact that there was a tournament taking place on the North course while we were shooting.  Picture yourself trying to putt on the 18th green for birdie and WHAM!!!! Camilo Villegas just launched a high powerful drive right over your head into a surrounding lake.  Or how about teeing off on the 10th hole and, instead of watching your teammates’ tee shot, you watch Hunter Mahan launch another drive into the distant lake! Most groups would take time to stop and stare, take a quick photo or even ask Hunter, Camilo, Ian or Rory to hit their tee shot for them!

One exciting, unique feature of FJ ICON is the opportunity to customize our new flagship product in the MyJoys program. With literally millions of ways to personalize and color coordinate your shoes with whatever you’re wearing, FJ ICON is especially ideal for fashion icons such as Ian Poulter. Ian was ecstatic when he arrived on set and noticed all the custom shoes we brought to the photo shoot – pinks, and oranges, and blues and purples.  Since many players, including Ian, have only seen the stock shoes to this point, the four players on set were very impressed with all the custom options that lie ahead.

Of course, Ian came equipped with multiple wardrobe options, so it was interesting to watch him change from outfit to outfit in between shots.  Ian’s only problem was prying the outfits from my hands as I was trying to see how his outfits would look on me!  Ian and I had a nice conversation regarding FJ ICON, the MyJoys program and his extensive clothing label. Known as the “ Ian Poulter” in the FootJoy office, I took full advantage of this time together and learned a lot from this fashion icon.  My boss and I were actually walking from the clubhouse to the driving range when an older gentleman approached me for my autograph.  It must have been my pink pants, custom shoes & my FJ shirt with the pink FJ logo on the collar!
Ian, Rory, Camilo & Hunter were all great...great players and great individuals. It was also interesting to get their direct feedback on FJ ICON. Across the board, each of them raved about the styling, stability and comfort of the new shoe. Ian said after one tournament round he actually wore the shoes all the way back to his hotel, forgetting he still had his golf shoes on because they were so comfortable. We love to hear that!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy some of the photos I took behind the scenes.  Keep your eyes open for the new FJ ICON ads in your favorite golf magazine.

Enjoy,
CK