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For the fifth consecutive week, a FootJoy player claimed victory on the PGA TOUR as Steve Stricker (SYNR-G style #53883, PureTouch Limited glove) closed with a 1-under 70 Sunday for a two-shot victory over fellow FJ player Luke Donald (FJ ICON MyJoys) at the Northern Trust Open.

Stricker finished with a 16-under 268 total and won for the eighth time in his career and the fourth time in his last 15 starts. He also moved up to No. 2 in the world golf rankings for the second time in his career.

Stricker didn’t make it easy on himself, having to grind for pars as Donald kept pouring in birdies. But after Donald missed two short birdie attempts, Stricker fired off two straight birdies to restore a comfortable margin.

“It was hard today,” Stricker said. “I aged a lot out there. It was a grind from the get-go.”

Stricker seemed to struggle all day, missing several greens to the left but he had five consecutive one-putt greens and continued to get himself out of minor jams.

Half of Stricker’s eight career victories have come in the last eight months dating to his playoff win at Colonial. He turns 43 later this month, and shows no sign of letting up.

FootJoy, the #1 Shoe in Golf and #1 Shoe on every Tour Worldwide, announced today that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Geoff Ogilvy.

Geoff is an international star who excels under the toughest conditions. A six-time champion on the PGA Tour, Geoff has topped some of the best fields in golf throughout his career. He famously won the 2006 United States Open with a chip-in par on the 17th hole and a clutch up-and-down par on the final hole. The victory was Geoff's first major championship and he became just the second Australian to win the tournament. He has also won three World Golf Championship events, which feature only the top ranked players in the world, including the Accenture Match Play Championship twice.

In 2009, Geoff was the first multiple winner of the season. He led wire-to-wire to win the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, then claimed the second of his two Match Play Championship titles in Arizona where he resides. Geoff is one of only two players to win the event twice.

"Like many Tour players, I grew up wearing FootJoy golf shoes and gloves so putting them on again is a bit of a home-coming for me, said Ogilvy. “I’ve been using the new products and they’re fantastic. I'm really excited to start the season in FootJoy product."

Geoff joins the industry leader at a time when the brand has significant momentum with tremendous new product. The ultra-stable SYNR-G® shoe category continues to be the shoes of choice for many of the game's best players such as Padraig Harrington, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson. In addition, the new flagship shoe category, FJ ICON, delivers the perfect blend of performance and stylish elegance. FJ ICON has quickly attracted a loyal following from elite players like Ian Poulter, Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy, Hunter Mahan and hundreds more. As the worldwide leader in golf gloves, Ogilvy will rely on the incredible feel and performance of the legendary StaSof® glove.

"Geoff is a fantastic addition to our staff as he embodies many of the qualities that define the FootJoy brand," said Rob Kelley, Director of Brand Marketing for FootJoy. "He is a global icon who plays the game with passion and integrity and has a proven record of success."

FootJoy®. The #1 Shoe and Glove in Golf

FootJoy ended 2009 just how it began...as the #1 Shoe and Glove at retail and on professional Tours around the world. Our Tour success featured memorable performances from some of the Tour's biggest stars. We recently caught up with a few FJ players to talk about the year that was and look ahead to 2010.

What was your favorite golf memory this year, either from the professional Tours or in your own game? Click on COMMENTS to share your thoughts.

Steve Stricker (SYNR-G, PureTouch Limited) made a run at Player of the Year honors on the heels of three strong wins throughout the year. After beginning the year with five top 10 finishes, Stricker captured his first win of the year in a playoff at Colonial when he stuck his approach to 3 feet on the second hole of sudden death. He was back for more at the John Deere Classic and set the course record with a 61 in round two before closing with a final round 64 to notch his second win in four starts. Strick then notched arguably the biggest victory of his career when he birdied the final two holes to win the Deutsche Bank Championship during the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Lee Westwood (FJ ICON, PureTouch Limited) finishes the year as the highest placed European in the Official World Golf Rankings having won the inaugural Race to Dubai on the European Tour. He last won the Harry Vardon trophy in 2000, reaching Number Four in the World in the process, and equaled that feat in a momentous 2009 campaign. His superb season, capped by victories in the Portugal Masters and the Dubai World Championship, was one of the many highlights of an outstanding year.

Padraig Harrington (SYNR-G, PureTouch Limited) continued to work on some major swing changes and saw the fruits of his labor towards the end of the season. Beginning with the WGC-Bridgestone Invitaitonal, Harrington reeled off an incredible string of six consecutive top ten finishes, including all four FedEx Cup Playoff events which feature some of the strongest fields of the year.

Zach Johnson (SYNR-G, StaSof) got the year started off right by defeating fellow FJ players Adam Scott and David Toms in the first full field event of the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii then successfully defended his title at the Valero Texas Open.

"Team Wisconsin," Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, won the Shark Shootout this past weekend, posting a final round 13-under 59 for one shot victory after several teams made a late charge in the Scramble format. The duo, who both wear FootJoy gloves and SYNR-G shoes, began the day with a one shot lead and battled with another FootJoy team, Kenny Perry (SciFlex glove) and JB Holmes (SYNR-G shoes, RainGrip glove) until Perry and Holmes failed to convert birdie putts at the last that would have forced a playoff.

Perry and Holmes came out firing and quickly took the lead on the final day. They eagled the par-5 first hole, and birdied 11 of the next 13 to get to 25 under but Stricker and Kelly rallied coming up the back. They birdied 14, 15 and 16 but didn't actually take the lead again until Stricker made an eagle on the par-5 17th -- hitting the second shot and the putt.

The Kelly/Stricker combination was the only team in this week's field with both players posting victories on the PGA TOUR this season. Kelly won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Stricker posted three victories at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, John Deere Classic and Deutsche Bank Championship.

"It's another feather in our cap," said Stricker, the world's No. 3 player who won three times on the PGA TOUR this year. "This is a lot of fun. We came here to have fun and to play well at the same time, and we did that."

"We were a very good team," Kelly said. "It didn't seem like we were consistently in there with two really good birdie chances, but one of us always seemed to step up."

Conditions at East Lake kept scores low once again during round two. More than half the field will begin the weekend within five shots of the lead and, with Saturday's third round pushed up due to inclement weather forecasted for the afternoon, you can be sure there's plenty of drama to come. Click on the image below to hear from Padraig Harrington (SYNR-G style #53918) who compared the atmosphere and course conditions to a major championship and sits just one shot off the lead following a second round 1-under 69.