Stryker and PGA Tour Sign Marketing Pact

Golf claps can be heard up and down the halls of Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker Corp. The firm’s latest marketing deal is sweeter than an up-and-down bunker shot to save par.

The company’s Mahwah, N.J.-based Orthopaedics Division has signed a marketing agreement with the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) under which Stryker becomes supplies the “official” joint replacement products for the PGA and Champions tours. The PGA is the organizer of the main professional golf tours played primarily by men in the United States and North America. The Champions Tour, which is run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour’s most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.

Stryker’s will feature opportunities for golf fans to learn about Stryker products and how they may help them regain mobility and return to their everyday activities, including teeing it up.

The centerpiece of Stryker’s on-site tournament presence will be a “joint health” destination designed to educate tournament attendees about hip and knee treatment options.This destination, called The Stryker Mobility Zone, will appear across the country at key PGA Tour and Champions Tour events in 2014. It will make its debut at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship March 6-9 in Doral, Fla.

“We are excited to partner with the PGA Tour to educate golf fans about joint health,” said Bill Huffnagle, president of Stryker’s Reconstructive Division. “In the United States, both hip and knee replacement rates have nearly doubled since 2000, and those who choose this option do so with the goal of being able to get back to doing the things they love. At Stryker, we are working to educate joint pain sufferers that leading more satisfying lives is within their reach.”

The Stryker Mobility Zone will feature:

• Orthopedic surgeons who will interact with fans and provide education and joint health assessments.
• A fan engagement area featuring a Putting Challenge and the chance to meet Champions Tour members Fred Funk and Hal Sutton.
• Information about the Fisher House Foundation, a network of homes built on the grounds of major military and Veterans Affairs medical centers where military and veterans’ families can stay for free while a family member receives medical treatment. Fred Funk’s and Hal Sutton’s hats will be available for sale on-site with all proceeds benefiting Fisher House Foundation.

“Stryker is an innovative leader in the field of joint replacements, an area that has impacted members on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour as well as many tour fans,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour’s chief marketing officer. “We are excited to announce this relationship and to work with Stryker to help educate fans through the Stryker Mobility Zone at tournaments.”

Funk and Sutton, who have undergone joint replacement procedures with Stryker products, will serve as ambassadors for this relationship and are working with Stryker to share their experiences.

Sutton, whose 14 PGATour victories include the 1983 PGA Championship and The Players Championship in 1983 and 2000, has been a Stryker brand ambassador since last year. In 2012, at age 54, after speaking with his doctor and learning about the differences in hip replacements, Sutton made the decision to undergo a total hip replacement and received Stryker’s Mobile Bearing Hip.One year later, he received a matching Stryker Mobile Bearing Hip on the right side.

Funk, a Stryker brand ambassador since 2011, is one of the most recognizable names and personalities in professional golf. During his career, which spans more than 20 years, Funk has won eight titles on the PGATour, including The Players Championship 2005, and six titles on the Champions Tour, including the 2009 U.S. Senior Open. Funk underwent total knee replacement in November 2009 and received Stryker’s GetAroundKnee. He won the Regions Tradition the following season, becoming the first player ever to win a PGA Tour-sanctioned event after total knee replacement surgery.

“I could not think of a better partner for the PGA Tour than Stryker,” said Funk. “I thought my career was over due to my knee problems. I’m grateful that’s not the case and I have my career back. I’m working with Stryker to spread the word so more people can regain their mobility just like me and Hal.”