Leading shaft brand is proud to have been a partner of the UNDERRATED Golf Tour during the 2025 season following its culmination at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey – with the brand helping to support the Curry Cup boys’ winner Jayden Lizama.
California native Lizama, along with Arizona’s Julia Herzberg, were crowned Curry Cup Champions in New Jersey, winning the boys’ and girls’ titles respectively after securing their places in the finals along with the other winners and top performers during the UNDERRATED Golf Tour’s regular season.
It has been a year where Fujikura has been an ever-present at UNDERRATED Golf Tour events – from the season-opening tournament at Eisenhower Golf Club in Colorado Springs, followed by further showdowns at French Lick Resort, Indianna; PGA West, Palm Springs; and TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
The partnership has seen Fujikura offering on-site driver fittings to UNDERRATED’s junior competitors, with the same level of service, opportunity and professionalism that is given to Tour players in the world’s most prestigious events.
Boys Curry Cup champion Jayden Limaza benefited from having a Fujikura VENTUS Black 6-X shaft in his driver for the duration of the Underrated Golf Tour season
Lizama’s Curry Cup victory proved one of the sweetest wins after the Gonzaga University player – who was playing his last junior event before heading to college – carded a final round 67 to win at Liberty National by one shot. The 18-year-old had been fitted into a VENTUS Black 6-X shaft in his driver during the first Tour event of the season in Colorado Springs. By the time of the third event at PGA West, Lizama was enjoying the power and consistency of VENTUS to full effect, and he would take the honors with a play-off victory to seal his spot in the end-of-season Championship.
Speaking before last weekend’s showdown, Lizama said: “Switching into the VENTUS black 6-X helped drop my ball flight down and reduce my spin rate. As a result I am hitting it a lot straighter and further. I was fitted in Colorado and my shaft came in at French Lick [French Lick Resort, Indianna, at the Tour’s second event of the season]. I put it in play at the IMG Junior Worlds and played really well there, and then fast forward a couple of weeks at Palm Springs, where I had the shaft in play and had got really used to it and ended up winning that tournament.”
However, Lizama was not the only UNDERRATED Golf player to taste victory after being fitted into a VENTUS shaft, with Gabriel Holtz – from Boca Raton, Florida – claiming a thrilling win at the iconic Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
Holtz was fitted into a VENTUS Red+ 7x in his driver at Palm Springs, and reaped the rewards in the Tour’s next event, shooting a final-round 66 to claim a memorable victory at the home of the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
Eric Recher, Director of Marketing at Fujikura, said: “It has been an honor to be present and support these young golfers throughout the season on the Underrated Golf Tour. Our goal is to support them on their journey to the next level of their game and their career. Whether they’re competing on Tour or striving for personal bests, we’re committed to providing the support and game-enhancing performance shafts they need to get there.”
“Jayden’s victory in New Jersey was a demonstration of fantastic ball-striking; he displayed such confidence in his closing round and we are delighted that Fujikura could help and support him this season by fitting him into a VENTUS Black 6-X shaft, and like Gabriel, whose winning performance at TPC Sawgrass was one of the highlights of the year.
“This is a partnership we are proud of and we hope it continues for many years to come. While Fujikura has built a name for itself helping the game’s top players, we pride ourselves on being a brand that is here to help golfers of all levels.”
The UNDERRATED Golf Tour was formed in 2022 by two-time MVP and four-time NBA Champion Stephen Curry, with a commitment to providing equity, access and opportunity for junior golfers.
Diverse communities remain significantly underrepresented in golf, but UNDERRATED’s vision is to open up more opportunities, while also trying to close the gender gap by providing girls and young women the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
Herzberg’s victory on the girls’ Tour came after she found herself in a two-horse race against Catherine Andino, only to pull away in the final round to win by four shots. Her victory was just one of many highlights in a season that got off to an explosive start at Eisenhower Golf Club, with Gianna Singh setting the early pace with victory for the girls, while Morgan Riley – who is now playing college golf at Harvard – claimed the win in the boys’ half.
Roman Solomon and Hazel Hooper were triumphant at French Lick in Indiana, before Lizama and Ashley Shaw tasted glory at PGA West in California. Shaw would go on to register back-to-back victories by claiming the final event of the regular season at TPC Sawgrass, with Holtz taking the boys’ title.
With the UNDERRATED Golf Tour also hosting events in the UK and a pathway to New Jersey, Evan Pena and Myla Robinson booked their Curry Cup ticket with victories at Foxhills in Surrey. They were joined by Aayan Dadabhoy and 15-year-old England international, Arianna Virrik, who both won at Fairmont St Andrews in Scotland.
