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SYNR-G Stars, Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, Pair Up to Win Shark Shootout
14/12/2009
"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."
Westwood Named European Tour Player of the Year
10/12/2009
FJ player Lee Westwood has been named European Tour Golfer of the Year following a momentous season which culminated in him winning the inaugural Race to Dubai and being crowned Europe’s Number One golfer for the second time in his career.
Westwood, who relied on the new FJ ICON golf shoes and new PureTouch Limited glove since both were introduced earlier this year, won twice on the European Tour, at the Portugal Masters and the Dubai World Championship and climbed to a career-best number four in the Official World Golf Ranking. His final round 8-under 64 in Dubai is considered by some to be one of the greatest final rounds in European Tour history.
Westwood's level of consistency, particularly over the second half of the season, was also something to behold as he recorded 11 top ten finishes from his 13 events after the US Open. His victory in the Portugal Masters was his 30th title worldwide.
The 36 year old Englishman has been named The European Tour Golfer of the Year on two previous occasions, in 1998 and 2000, and becomes only the fourth three-time winner.
Westwood said: “It is a fantastic honour to win The European Tour Golfer of the Year and cap a wonderful season for me and all those who have helped me get to this position.
“I have won this award twice before but this probably means more to me in recognising how I have fought my way back to the top. When I last finished Number One in 2000 it was special as I won six events and the World Match Play that year. But to then drop completely into obscurity and come back from that, get back into the World’s top five and crown it all by winning the Dubai World Championship and the first Race to Dubai means a lot."
