FootJoy has introduced a new performance spikeless golf shoe category: DryJoys Casual.

An extension of the DryJoys footwear line, DryJoys Casual shoes feature soft, premium full grain waterproof leather and lightweight traction elements that provide great on-course traction and the versatility of off-course wear.

A new proprietary polymer outsole material called Fine-Tuned Foam (FTF) was developed for the DryJoys Casual outsole unit. The foam is 10% lighter than conventional foams providing enhanced cushioning and shock absorption for added comfort.

DryJoys Casual’s innovative design features two distinct layers of varying densities of FTF, each with specific characteristics. The top layer of FTF is softer to provide the golfer with all day comfort. The lower/outer portion of FTF is firmer and ensures the player perimeter stability around the foot for maximum support. Finally, skeletal traction strips are embedded within the FTF outsole material to provide the golfer with enhanced traction and lateral stability during the golf swing.  These layers are fused together to deliver maximum comfort and create the most performance-driven spikeless midsole/outsole component offered from FootJoy.

“Years of research have gone into the development of the FTF material,” says Mike Foley, Director of Product Management, FJ Footwear. “The result is a category of shoes that are luxuriously soft and comfortable, but perform like nimble, high-end athletic footwear.  It was this combination of comfort and performance that attracted Hunter Mahan who was the first player to wear DryJoys Casual shoes on Tour, unveiling an early prototype at the Open Championship.”

DryJoys Casual shoes feature Extreme Comfort Leather, developed in conjunction with Pittards of England.  This super-soft premium leather contains a proprietary membrane-free waterproofing system and is 30% softer than previous generations of FJ performance leather.

DryJoys Casual will be initially available in three different color options: white, black and dark brown. They retail for approximately $170 CDN are are now available for pre-order at retailers.

AUGUSTA, Ga – Augusta National added 14 players to the field for the Masters when the final world ranking of the year was published Monday.

That brings the field to 90 players who are expected to compete April 10-13, and again raises the possibility of the Masters exceeding 100 players for the first time in nearly 50 years. Augusta National has the smallest field of the four majors and prefers to keep it under 100 to enhance the overall experience at its tournament.

This is the third time in the last four years the field was at least 90 players going into a new calendar year. There were 99 players for the 2011 Masters, the most since 103 players competed in 1966.

Those who qualified by being in the top 50 of the final ranking were Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Bjorn, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Francesco Molinari, Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero, David Lynn, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Hanson, Joost Luiten and Branden Grace.

Players can still qualify by winning a PGA Tour event (except for the Puerto Rico Open) or being in the top 50 on March 30, a full week before the Masters.

Matsuyama qualified at No. 23. It will be his third appearance at the Masters, and his first as a pro. Matsuyama was a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, which awards an exemption to the Masters. He made the cut both times as an amateur.

“I’m ecstatic I qualified for the Masters through my play for this year,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter in October, when it was clear he would be in the top 50.

He won four times this year on the Japan Golf Tour and had a pair of top 10s in the majors.

Fowler was the only American of the 14 from the world ranking, though two other players (Peter Hanson, David Lynn) were PGA Tour members, who have more options available to them during the year.

The Masters changed the criteria for the 2014 tournament, though that appears to have little bearing on the number of qualified players. Because the PGA Tour went to a wraparound season (October through September), the Masters awarded spots to the winners of tournaments held in the fall. Jimmy Walker, Ryan Moore and Chris Kirk qualified by winning those events. The other winners of fall events – Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson and Harris English – previously were eligible for the Masters.

Augusta National eliminated the category for top 30 on the money list, though that didn’t keep out any player who qualified.

The club now takes the top 12 and ties from the previous Masters (instead of the top 16) and the top four and ties from the U.S. Open (instead of the top eight). That eliminated only one player – David Toms – who would have been eligible under the previous category. The others would have made it through other criteria.

When the FedEx Cup was created in 2007, Augusta National returned to its practice of inviting PGA Tour winners (at events that offered full FedEx Cup points). Since then, the largest increase in the field from January until the Masters was the addition of 11 players for this year’s tournament.

Players who have qualified for The Masters are below, listed in only the first category for which they are eligible.

MASTERS CHAMPIONS:
Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson, Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Jose Maria Olazabal, Mark O’Meara, Ben Crenshaw, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Craig Stadler, Tom Watson.

U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONS (five years):
Justin Rose, Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Lucas Glover.

BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONS (five years):
Ernie Els, Darren Clarke, Louis Oosthuizen, Stewart Cink.

PGA CHAMPIONS (five years):
Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer, Y.E. Yang.

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONS (three years):
Matt Kuchar, K.J. Choi.

U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPION AND RUNNER-UP:
a-Matt Fitzpatrick, a-Oliver Goss.

BRITISH AMATEUR CHAMPION:
a-Garrick Porteous.

U.S. AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPION:
a-Jordan Niebrugge.

U.S. MID-AMATEUR CHAMPION:
a-Michael McCoy.

ASIAN AMATEUR CHAMPION:
a-Lee Chang-woo.

TOP 12 AND TIES-2013 MASTERS:
Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Thorbjorn Olesen, Brandt Snedeker, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Tim Clark, John Huh.

TOP FOUR AND TIES-2013 U.S. OPEN:
Billy Horschel, Hunter Mahan.

TOP FOUR AND TIES-2013 BRITISH OPEN:
Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter.

TOP FOUR AND TIES-2013 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP:
Jim Furyk, Jonas Blixt.

PGA TOUR EVENT WINNERS SINCE 2013 MASTERS (FULL FEDEX CUP POINTS AWARDED):
Derek Ernst, Sang-Moon Bae, Boo Weekley, Harris English, Ken Duke, Bill Haas, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker, Ryan Moore, Chris Kirk.

FIELD FROM THE 2013 TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP:
Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Roberto Castro, Nick Watney, Brendon de Jonge, Luke Donald, Gary Woodland, Kevin Streelman, D.A. Points, Graham DeLaet.

TOP 50 FROM FINAL WORLD RANKING IN 2013:
Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Bjorn, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Francesco Molinari, Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero, David Lynn, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Hanson, Joost Luiten, Branden Grace.

TOP 50 FROM WORLD RANKING ON MARCH 30:
TBD.

SPECIAL FOREIGN INVITATIONS:
TBD.

NAPLES, Fla. – Matt Kuchar and Harris English set a tournament course record by finishing at 34 under at the Franklin Templeton Shootout on Sunday.

Kuchar and English beat the duo of Retief Goosen and Freddie Jacobson at the Tiburon Golf Resort’s Gold course. The winners shot 25 under in their last 28 holes.

Playing Sunday under a scramble format, they shot a 14-under 58. Goosen and Jacobson cut their deficit to three shots after three holes before Kuchar and English warmed up. They were 11-under 61 for the day and 27-under for the tournament.

Finishing third were Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who had a 13-under 59 and went 26 under overall. Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel were in fourth at 24 under.

Host Greg Norman and partner Jonas Blixt tied Steve Stricker/Jerry Kelly and Canada’s Graham DeLaet/Mike Weir at 19 under. They finished tied for 8th, earning (US) $80,000 each.

CHONBURI, Thailand – Sergio Garcia shot a final-round 68 to beat Henrik Stenson by four strokes and win the Thailand Golf Championship at the Amata Spring Country Club on Sunday.

The 33-year-old Spaniard, who held the lead since the second round, turned in a solid final round that featured six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22-under 266.

The victory is Garcia’s first this year with his last win coming at the Johor Open, an Asian Tour event in Malaysia last December.

“It was great, an amazing week,” said Garcia, who has now won four Asian Tour titles in his career. “I’m very, very happy and I can’t wait to go back home to Switzerland and kind of sleep on it a little bit.

“I knew Henrik was going to make it difficult for me. He’s been playing so amazingly great, and he did. I started well, but he also did. He kept hitting good shot after good shot,” Garcia added.

Garcia raised some eyebrows by playing with his girlfriend, Katharina Boehm, as his caddie this week, but the partnership has proved to be effective.

Sweden’s Stenson, who recently made history when he became the first player to win the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup, matched Garcia’s 68 in his final round for an 18-under 270 total.

“It was a good week. Especially (because) I’ve had a great year but coming here really on the fumes left in the tank, not too much going for me to perform this week in that sense. But … I was hanging in there and I was just coming up a couple short,” Stenson said.

“I needed something really, really good to happen there. I had a couple of chances to get a little bit close around 8 and 9 but I didn’t make those two birdie putts and Sergio was hanging in there, made one or two good saves and then he made three birdies in a row, and then he pulled away, and then really I would need something spectacular to happen the last four or five holes.”

Alexander Levy of France shot a 69 to finish another four shots back for a 274 total and third place. Last year’s winner, Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, with a second straight 67, was joint fourth on 275 along with Yuki Kono of Japan, US Open champion Justin Rose, and Anirban Lahiri of India.

American Rickie Fowler endured an up and down round that featured six birdies and four bogeys for a 70 and an 11-under 277 to finish in a share of eighth place with Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat.

NAPLES, Fla. – Keyed by a blazing back nine, Matt Kuchar and Harris English took a four-shot lead after better ball play Saturday in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.

Thanks to a 27 on the back nine and 60 overall, Kuchar and English are at 20-under at Tiburon Golf Resort’s Gold course. Their better-ball effort is one shot off the tournament record, set by John Daly and Frank Lickliter in 2001.

Retief Goosen andFreddie Jacobson are four shots back at 16-under.

The format will change to a scramble Sunday.

English and Kuchar had six pars in their seven holes before taking off. From Nos. 8-17, they had nine birdies and an eagle.

Canadians Graham DeLaet and Mike Weir are tied for 10th with Jason Dufner & Dustin Johnson at 7-under heading into the final round on Sunday.

DURBAN, South Africa – Dawie van der Walt shot a 4-under 66 Saturday to win the Nelson Mandela Championship by two shots, giving the tournament a South African victory in a week when the country bids farewell to its former president.

Van der Walt finished with a three-round total of 15-under 195 as the sun eventually shone on the final day of the rain-shortened event. It was his second European Tour victory. England’s Matthew Baldwin (68) and Spain’s Jorge Campillo (68) were tied for second.

Even before the rain disrupted the first two days, organizers had changed the schedule ensure the tournament didn’t run over into Sunday out of respect for the state funeral of Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid leader who died last week.

“It’s making you kind of part of history, winning the Nelson Mandela at this time when it’s sad for everyone and everyone’s mourning and tomorrow’s the big day,” Van der Walt said, wearing a black ribbon on his cap. “It obviously means a lot and can be something that I can keep close to my heart forever.”

Van der Walt lifted a trophy that depicts an image of Mandela surrounded by children and also won a painting bearing the signature of South Africa’s most famous figure. The tournament donated money to one of Mandela’s charities, a children’s hospital that bears his name.

Englishman Daniel Brooks had held a three-shot lead after the second round in Durban, which was only completed earlier Saturday because of the weather delays. But he struggled with five bogeys and a double bogey in his final-round 76.

Van der Walt, who was tied for second heading to the final 18 holes, made five birdies and an eagle to go with three bogeys on the Mount Edgecombe course. He recovered from his third bogey at No. 11 by making eagle at No. 12 and birdie at No. 13. The South African also caught a break on the par-5 No. 14 when a shot heading toward the rough took a favorable bounce.

Neither Baldwin nor Campillo could apply enough pressure in the final stretch, with Baldwin making just one birdie in his last 11 and Campillo dropping a crucial shot at No. 15. Campillo and Colin Nel on Friday became the first players to shoot 59s in a European Tour event, although their scores don’t count as records because players were given preferred lies on the rain-soaked course.

France’s Romain Wattel was alone in fourth at 12 under and South Africa’s Oliver Bekker fifth. American John Hahn finished in a four-way tie for sixth alongside four-time European Tour winner Branden Grace.

LA QUINTA, Calif. – There was a lot of movement today for the Canadians taking part in Web.com Final Qualifying in La Quinta, Calif. – some good, some bad.

Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C. was the opening-round leader heading into second-round action Friday, but shot a 2-over par 74 to fall into a tie for 25th at 6-under with a slew of players including fellow Canadians Derek Gillespie and Roger Sloan.

Gillespie, from Oshawa, Ont., improved on his opening-round of 71 by following it up with a 5-under par 67 today. The 67 included eight birdies, three bogeys and was the lowest number on a Canadian scorecard on the day.

Sloan, from Merritt, B.C., tallied four birdies and a single double bogey en route to his round of 70 Friday.

Chris Epperson of Savannah, GA is leading the 152 player field at -16. He has a four shot lead over Nathan Tyler and Steve Saunders.

Full scores for the 11 Canadians in the field this week are below. The Canucks will look to finish inside the top-45 after 108 holes of play, which will give them exempt status until the Web.Com Tour’s second periodic re-order of the 2014 season. To see more on the qualifying breakdown, click here.

Canadian Scores after Round 2 of Web.com Final Qualifying

T25. Justin Shin, Maple Ridge, B.C. (-6) 64-74–138
T25. Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, Ont. (-6) 71-67–138
T25. Roger Sloan, Merritt, B.C. (-6) 68-70–138
T36. Cam Burke, New Hamburg, Ont. (-5) 67-72–139
T36. Devin Carrey, Surrey, B.C. (-5) 68-71–139
T30. Nick Taylor, Abbottsford, B.C. (-5) 69-70–139
T48. Albin Choi, Toronto, Ont. (-4) 69-71–140
T77. Eugene Wong, North Vancouver, B.C. (+1) 73-70–147
T105. Riley Wheeldon, Comox, B.C. (+2) 74-71–147
T127. Yohann Benson, Montreal, Que. (+3) 73-74–147
T127. Max Gilbert, St-Georges, Que. (+3)  73-74–147

For complete scoring from Web.com Tour Final Qualifying, click here.

NAPLES, Fla. – Defending champions Kenny Perry and Sean O’Hair shot an 8-under 64 in modified alternate-shot play Friday for a share of the first-round lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.

The teams of Matt Kuchar-Harris English and Charles Howell III-Justin Leonard also shot 64 on the Ritz Carlton Resort’s Tiburon course. The 24 teams will play better ball Saturday and finish with a scramble Sunday.

After playing the front nine in 3 under, Perry and O’Hair birdied Nos. 13-16.

“It was a fun day for me,” said Perry, the Champions Tour player of the year and Charles Schwab Cup points champion. “When (O’Hair) poured it in from about 15 feet on the first hole I knew it was going to be a good day for us. We were never in any trouble.

“We had a great chance to really go low today and better than 8 under, but that’s OK. I mean, alternate shot is a tough format. To me it’s my favourite format. I love it more than any format of all the three. So, you know, you can lose it. If we get off to a crummy start it’s hard to catch up with best ball and scramble coming up.”

Kuchar and English birdied Nos. 12-14 and eagled No. 17.

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun playing with Harris,” Kuchar said. “I knew he was on some pretty good form and knew I had a good horse for a partner.”

English replaced the injured Brandt Snedeker in the field

“This is a tournament that I’ve always watched on TV growing up and it seemed like such a great format and such a good competition,” English said.

English hit a 6-iron shot from 192 yards to 6 feet to set up the eagle.

“When you start hitting some good shots and start getting some momentum, you keep rolling and we did a good job of keeping that momentum going on the back nine and making a bunch of birdies and making eagle on 17,” English said.

Howell and Leonard birdied the final three holes on the front nine and added birdies at Nos. 10, 12, 13, 17 and 18.

“Today we chose Justin to hit first and that was great for me because he drove it in the fairway every time and I could swing away at it.” Howell said.

Retief Goosen and Fredik Jacobson shot 67, and Jason Dufner and Dustin Johnson matched Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel at 68. Tournament host Norman and Jonas Blixt had a 72.

Canada’s Mike Weir and Graham Delaet are 12th at 1-over (73).

LEVIS, Que. –  The Champions Tour event that was played in Montreal the past four years will be moving to the Quebec City area next summer.

Promoter Synchro Sports announced Friday the US$1.6-million tournament will be held Sept. 5-7 at the La Tempete Golf Club.

It is the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in the area since Billy Casper won the 1956 Labatt Open.

The Quebec Remparts junior hockey team will join Synchro Sports as marketing partners for the event, which will be called the Quebec City Championship.

The event was called The Montreal Championship the last four years and was won by Larry Mize in 2010, John Cook in 2011, Mark Calcavecchia in 2012 and Esteban Toledo in 2013.

The move is taking place because the 2014 RBC Canadian Open will be conducted in Montreal July 21-27 at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Ile Bizard, Que.

NAPLES, Fla. – In the late 1980s, Greg Norman wanted to put together a golf tournament with a relaxed atmosphere and unique team format to benefit children’s charities.

This is the 25th year Norman’s event has been on the PGA Tour calendar. It has gone by seven names, and is now called the Franklin Templeton Shootout. It has gone from California to Florida, with the last 13 years at the Norman-designed Tiburon Golf Course at Ritz Carlton Resort. New features include a 5K run.

“Quite honestly, I never expected to go 25 years, especially in the circle silly season we slotted ourselves into,” Norman said. “Back in ’89 starting off with four players and here we are 24 players, that’s a testament to the tournament itself. … I never anticipated making 25 years, never in my wildest dreams.”

The idea is the same. To have a fun, low-pressure event where players can bring their wives, bond with their teammates and can take part in pre-tourney festivities just before the holidays. Meanwhile, more than $12 million has been raised for children’s charities.

The Shootout will start Friday with the 12, two-man teams playing modified alternate shot. The format changes to better ball on Saturday and a scramble on Sunday.

Norman is teaming with Jonas Blixt.

“He’s young enough, he’s strong enough, he can carry me around,” Norman said. “I’m always a big believer in seeing what the young talent is doing in the world.”

Nine of the top 50 players in the world ranking will compete, including No. 7 Matt Kuchar, No. 8 Steve Stricker, No. 13 Jason Dufner, No. 14 Ian Poulter, No. 15 Dustin Johnson and No. 24 Lee Westwood.

Also in the field is Kenny Perry, the Champions Tour Player of the Year and Charles Schwab Cup winner. He’s the co-defending champ with Sean O’Hair – a former RBC Canadian Open champion.

With the purse at $3.1 million, every player is guaranteed at least $70,000 and the winners will each get $385,000.

Dufner is teaming with Johnson, and Poulter is paired with fellow English star Westwood.

Dufner won the PGA Championship this year for his first major title.

“I’ve been asked about (reflecting) a lot but I’m not sure what reflecting means,” he said. “When you live what you’re doing, especially as golfers, you’re trying to stay in the moment. I’m proud of what I did and how hard I worked to get there.”

Poulter, a four-time Ryder Cup player, has four, top-10 finishes this season.

Westwood has been in eight Ryder Cups. He’s considered one of the best players on the tour not to have won a major and that was magnified in the 2013 British Open when he had a two-shot lead heading into the final round, only to shoot a 75 and lose to Phil Mickelson.

The label irks him.

“Every time I heard, ‘I think, really?”’ Westwood said. “It’s always nice to be the best player to have done something or not done it. I’ll hit the next person that says it.

“Those are some amazing stats they keep putting up on the Golf Channel. Sixteen top 10s without winning a major, most majors ever played without winning a major, most top threes without winning a major. I’ve got all those categories completely.”

Westwood smiled.

But he made his point. No one asked him a follow-up question.

“He’s got more than enough game, he knows it, and I’m sure he gets frustrated with all you guys saying he hasn’t won one yet,” Poulter said.