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With the Race To Dubai really heating up, the two highest placed FootJoy shoe wearers, Rory McIlroy and Ross Fisher, positions 3 & 4 respectively, are sitting out the French Open this week in preparation for the Open Championship at Turnberry in two weeks time. This will open the door to the other 10 FootJoy shoe wearers currently in the Race To Dubai top 20 to catch up to them.

Last years winner, Pablo Larrazabal is really looking forward to defending the title he won last year. It is turning into a very special week for the Larrazabal family, as Pablo’s brother, Alex, has joined him in the French Open field after qualifying for the tournament last week. This is exactly what Pablo did last year before storming to an emphatic victory over the Golf National course to claim his first European Tour title and helped him to become the Sir Henry Cotton, Rookie of the Year. Can lightning strike twice!?

Another player who loves this tournament is FootJoy wearer Soren Hansen, he finished in third place last year. He was in fine form this week and looking to improve on last years finish.

The big story of the week has been the launch of the FJ ICON shoes to the European Tour. Players came to visit the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle to collect their new shoes, and only positive responses were heard. The majority of comments included how light the shoes felt and how comfortable they were. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for these on the players this week and the next few weeks. More styles will be released to the players at The Open Championship.

One player already wearing the FJ ICON shoe is Ian Poulter. It was good to see him again in Europe after a long spell across the Pond on the USPGA Tour. Ian will certainly fancy his chances this week as he has been showing some great form and can’t be too far away from a win. He is joined in the field by Angel Cabrera, who will be looking to add to his Masters crown earlier in the season and SYNR-G and FootJoy PureTouch wearer, Padraig Harrington.

Perry has now won five times in just over a year, the most of any player on TOUR, and 14 times in his career. His 258 tied the fourth-best 72-hole score in TOUR history and beat the old tournament record of 259 set in 1982.

The 48-year old Perry, the new leader in the Chase for the FedEx Cup, shot a 32 on the front nine and then birdied the tenth and eleventh holes. He was up by five strokes heading to the par-4 15th and put the tournament away by making birdie on No. 17 after hitting a 164-yard approach to within 8 feet.

“I knew that I had to keep making birdies,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let up. I wasn’t going to play defensive golf. I learned something from that (Augusta) mistake.”

We recently integrated rating and review functionality on all the product pages at FootJoy.com! Now you can share your views on FootJoy products and read what others have to say. Your experiences with FJ gear help other golfers make decisions about the best products for their game and ensure we continue to develop the leading shoes, gloves, outerwear and socks in golf! Click here to get started!

Click on the images below to hear what Ross Fisher (-2), Hunter Mahan (-2) and Bubba Watson (E) had to say following their third rounds. Will you be watching the final round on Monday? Click on COMMENTS to let us know.

Ross Fisher (2-under par)

Hunter Mahan (2-under par)

Bubba Watson (Even par)

Ross Fisher (2-under par)

Ian Poulter (Even par, 70)

Jeff Brehaut (Even par, 70)

Wednesday was the final practice day at Bethpage before the competition really begins on Thursday. And apparently that’s not all that begins on Thursday. Word is rain will be the story this entire week and the course is already completely saturated from a very wet month in the northeast. It’s already pouring here Thursday morning and the wind is whistling, but it was gorgeous on Wednesday so we headed out to take in the action!

What strikes you after you spend some time on the Black course at Bethpage is just how tough of a walk it is. The routing is pretty good with most tees and greens close together, but the elevation changes are what wear you down. It seems like every hole has an elevated tee and green but you’re not only walking up and down all day, most of the time you’re walking on the side of a hill. One upside to all the rain the course has received is everything is very lush and green. One downside, of course, is that includes the rough. It’s not the height that strikes you (it’s probably about 3-4 inches deep) but just how thick it is. From the tee you may think you have some room to land your ball off the fairway before the fescue comes in to play but when the rough swallows your golf ball, you’ll quickly realize how vital it is to be in the fairway.

The players seemed pretty relaxed although it wasn’t very busy in the afternoon as most headed out early to get some rest. Rain or not, this is the U.S. Open and it demands near perfection in every aspect of the game. Get ready for an exciting, grueling week of championship golf.

We want to know, have you ever played Bethpage Black? If so, what was your experience? What do you remember the most and what was your most memorable hole? Click on COMMENT and let us know!

Ian Poulter

David Toms

Ben Crane

Gay led by only a stroke after each of the first three rounds, then shot a third straight 4-under 66 to pull away. He birdied three of the first six holes to take all the suspense out of the final round, and birdied the 18th hole to finish at 18-under 262. He needed only 100 putts to become only the fourth wire-to-wire winner in the tournament’s 52-year history.

Six players finished in the top five and ties and five of them trusted FootJoy golf shoes, including Gay, David Toms (T2), Bryce Molder (T2), John Senden (T4) and Paul Goydos (T4).

Click on the video below to hear Brian’s post round interview.

[by Rob Kelley - Director of Brand Marketing FootJoy]

I had the pleasure of making a return trip to Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC for the AJGA’s 2009 FootJoy Invitational.  Sedgefield CC is also the site of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, held in late August.  Since this is a junior event one might assume that the players play forward tees or get advantageous pin placements – nothing could be further from the truth!  These young players get a great test of golf and play it from the same tees as the PGA Tour players.

The field in this event is once again outstanding – 99 of the top junior players from all over the globe.  Competitors in past FootJoy Invitationals have moved onto elite-level college play and many now earn a living on the PGA Tour, including this year’s FootJoy Invitational Honorary Chairman, Webb Simpson.

The FootJoy Invitational is a four-round competition, including a Junior-Am event that took place on Monday.  Once again, I was fortunate to participate with Sedgefield’s Head Professional, Rocky Brooks.  Rocky is a tremendous golfer and an absolute pleasure to play with — anyone who knows Rocky can relate.  I had Rocky at one under on his round, making his defense of our match last year fairly academic by the turn!  Perhaps more impressive was the play of the Junior in our group, Dallas’ Anthony Paolucci.  Though Anthony just completed his Sophomore year in High School, he has an amazingly polished game and outstanding composure on the golf course.  Anthony is a perfect example of what the AJGA stands for:  Developing Golf’s Next Generation.  This statement means more than simply creating better golfers — the AJGA regards character development to be just as important as improving one’s skill.

The FootJoy brand takes great pride in its association with the AJGA and being the title sponsor of this major event.  You can follow the action of today’s fourth and final round at: http://www.ajga.org/2009FootJoy/index.asp

“FootJoy Sales Representative of the Year represents far more than just outstanding performance,” said Jim Morrison, Vice President of Sales for FootJoy. “It also recognizes the exceptional caliber of work, the personal commitment to customers and the continual pursuit of excellence. Bobby’s continued dedication and leadership have made him an integral part of the success to the FootJoy Brand.”

With his father serving in the military, Bobby was well traveled growing up. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany before his family moved back to the U.S. where they called several southern states home before settling in Austin, TX.

Bobby graduated from Baylor University in 1987 with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. He was an integral member of the Baylor golf team for all four years, including his junior and senior seasons when he served as Team Captain. Following graduation, he worked as the Assistant Golf Professional at Gleneagles Golf Club in Plano, Texas and continued to play competitive golf on the Sunshine Tour, Dakotas Tour and PGT Golf Tour.

Bobby began his sales career in the premium golf apparel sector and it wasn’t long before he combined those successful sales techniques with his passion for golf, joining FootJoy in 1995. While he spent time in other territories, Bobby’s dream was realized when he headed towards home as the FootJoy representative for Oklahoma and Southern Kansas in 2001.

Always humble and gracious, Bobby is quick to credit others for his success. Ultimately, Bobby’s greatest influence has been his father who introduced him to the game of golf at age nine and has supported him throughout his career.

Bobby is a true ambassador for the FootJoy brand, the picture of consistency as a sales representative, very service oriented, organized and dedicated to the company and his family - wife, Marci; daughter Bailey (12) and son Brayden (12). Please join us in congratulating Bobby Rucker on being named the 2008 FootJoy Sales Representative of the Year.

With only one week remaining until the world’s best tee it up at Bethpage Black for the U.S. Open, we read this article in the New York Times about the unique process that allows amateur golfers to play the same course the pros will play. While the rules can be somewhat confusing, ultimately, the best way for you to secure a tee time on the Black course is to spend a night, maybe more, in your car to snag one of the walk-up tee times. You don’t have to “know someone,” you don’t have to empty your bank account…you just have to be dedicated and maybe a little lucky.

So we want to know…would you do it? Would you sleep in your car for the chance to play a U.S Open course? If you have done it, we would love to hear about it. Just click on COMMENTS.

Steve Marino is following up his second place finish last week at the Colonial with another strong showing this week. He sits just three shots back at 4-under.

Lastly, it’s great to see Chris DiMarco near the top of the leaderboard entering the weekend. Following a bogey-free 5-under 67, he’s tied with Marino at 4-under and could be a threat over the next few days.