The famous Nike swoosh was seen by millions of golf fans around the world as Rory McIlroy lifted the Open championship.
Final day pairing playing partner, Rickie Fowler, gave Puma a massive brand presence too with live TV coverage focusing hard on the young guns.
And with adidas-endorsed Sergio Garcia also gaining mega exposure for his sponsors, it looked like the three golf footwear giants – relative upstarts when compared with the longevity of more established golfing brands – struck a significant blow.
But FootJoy still extended its record as the overwhelming brand of choice in the Majors, with 54 per cent of the field at this year’s Open Championship selecting models from its extensive footwear family.
A total of 84 players teed it up at Royal Liverpool in golf’s oldest Major wearing FJ shoes, further enhancing the brand’s dominance in the category.
The Mark of a Player logo was also prominent in the glove category, outperforming all other brands. In fact, with 31 per cent opting for FJ gloves, it achieved a count more than twice that of its closest competitor.
“Both FootJoy shoes and gloves offer unbeatable performance, so it really is no surprise that the majority of golfers competing for the year’s most important titles choose to sport our products,” said FootJoy Marketing Manager, Russell Lawes.
“Whether they are looking for additional stability, improved comfort, better fit or simply a great looking and top performing golf shoe, there is no question that they will find exactly what they are looking for within our comprehensive footwear family.
“It is also clear that FJ gloves continue to find favour among the game’s best players, with close to a third of the field at Hoylake taking to the course wearing this essential and performance-driven piece of equipment.
“We are delighted by the popularity of both our shoes and gloves in this year’s Open Championship, which further demonstrates FJ’s status as the market-leading brand in both categories worldwide.”
As well as regularly dominating the tour counts in shoe and glove categories in Majors, as well as PGA and European Tour events in recent years, including at last month’s US Open Championship, FootJoy remains the overwhelming favourite in the elite amateur game.
FJ reaffirmed that status at The Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush, where 196 of an international field of 288 (68%) golfers took to the Northern Irish links wearing FJ shoes.
Whether it is the superior comfort and performance of its advanced footwear family, the advanced feel and fit of its market-leading golf gloves or the contemporary styling of its Performance Apparel Collection, FootJoy remains the overwhelming favourite among golfers of all abilities around the world.
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