After another incredible season on the European Tour, FootJoy is proud to have again been confirmed as the overwhelming #1 Shoe and Glove brand among the world’s best players. With more shoes in play than all other brands combined (64.4%), and more than double the number of gloves used than the nearest competitor (40.5%), the performance of the products also helped to consistently product title-winning weekends.
More than a third of all wins throughout the season came from FJ Brand Ambassadors with several notable moments, including Justin Thomas’ first Major victory, back-to-back wins for Tyrrell Hatton, Rafa Cabrera-Bello’s dramatic win at the Scottish Open, and Branden Grace’s historic 62 at Royal Birkdale in the 146th Open Championship. In addition to these stellar performances, the 2017-2018 season saw some life-changing maiden victories for FJ players, with Matt Wallace, Jason Norris, Paul Dunne and Renato Paratore all picking up their first European Tour titles, the latter becoming the youngest winner since 2013 at the age of 20. This trend for first-time winners has already continued into the 2017-2018 schedule with Wade Ormsby picking up his first European Tour title at the UBS Hong Kong Open, the first event of the new season.
The standout shoe of the year was the Pro/SL, designed to deliver unparalleled performance from a spikeless golf shoe. It quickly became a favourite amongst many of FJ’s Brand Ambassadors such as Lee Westwood and Adam Scott. This on-course dominance translated into sales, with the model ending the season as the most sold within the UK; indeed, more than 10% of all shoes sold in 2017 to date has been a Pro/SL.
Of the season, Paul O’Hagan, FJ Marketing Manager, said, “It’s fantastic to see such strong representation for our brands on the European Tour. We know how influential our Brand Ambassadors are, and to be constantly seeing them atop leaderboards throughout the season is a tremendous achievement.
“Particularly notable this year are the maiden victories. It gives us great encouragement to see players that we’ve supported throughout their development reach the very top of the sport. It’s a huge part of our brand and something we’re enormously proud of.”
Data from: SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC. EUROPEAN TOUR COUNT 2016/17 SEASON
For more information on FJ, visit www.FootJoy.co.uk