AMEX Boosts Tiger, Nike
Monday October 6, 2003
The WGC American Express Championship provided a big boost to Tiger Woods over the weekend - but perhaps an even bigger boost to Nike Golf.
First, Tiger: He won. Pretty simple, and not surprising. But many of the players who vote for the Player of the Year Award are looking for reasons not to vote for Woods. The same guy winning every year gets old after a while.
Tiger not winning a major this year is that reason for some of his fellow players (Aside: There are two Player of the Year Awards, one given by the PGA of America and based on a points formula [which Tiger is now leading], the other given by the PGA Tour and voted on by players). But Woods must now be considered the clear favorite. He leads the Tour in wins, in money and in scoring average.
The big news for Nike Golf is that Woods won his first event playing the Nike Ignite driver. What Tiger used in the AMEX was a prototype of the club that will hit the marketplace next spring.
After Woods' driver problems of earlier this year - when he temporarily gave up on his old Nike driver to return to a Titleist model - Nike officials must be jumping through hoops today. Not only did Woods win with the Ignite, but his driving average for the tournament (312 yards) was a significant jump over his yearlong average (299 yards).
At 335cc, the Ignite is the largest driver Tiger has used (the Titleist he temporarily switched to earlier this year was a mere 265cc). Woods works every shot - his problem in finding a larger-headed driver is that the bigger the head, the less responsive the clubhead is to attempts to work a shot. But Woods says the Ignite is long while still allowing him to work his drives.
"I hit it great. It was nice to hit some of those nice high draws out there again," said Woods in an interview early last week after his first practice round. "First hole, hit a high one out there, second one, same thing, third hole, fourth -- fifth hole, I drove it well over the green. It's nice to be able to hit that type of shot again and still have the ability to be able to carve one left to right."
Following the AMEX, Woods elaborated: "Well, any time you can shape a drive, for me...I can step up there with a left-to-right wind and know that I can hit that ball and hold it. That to me is huge. That's how I play. This driver enables me to do that. It kind of frees you up to go ahead."
Also in Tiger's bag for the first time was a 56-degree Nike wedge. And, to top it off, Woods was playing the Nike One TW, a version of the Nike One ball specially designed for Tiger.
One more thing about Woods: With his win at the AMEX, he became the first player in history to win at least five Tour events in at least five consecutive years. Not a bad week for Tiger.
First, Tiger: He won. Pretty simple, and not surprising. But many of the players who vote for the Player of the Year Award are looking for reasons not to vote for Woods. The same guy winning every year gets old after a while.
Tiger not winning a major this year is that reason for some of his fellow players (Aside: There are two Player of the Year Awards, one given by the PGA of America and based on a points formula [which Tiger is now leading], the other given by the PGA Tour and voted on by players). But Woods must now be considered the clear favorite. He leads the Tour in wins, in money and in scoring average.
The big news for Nike Golf is that Woods won his first event playing the Nike Ignite driver. What Tiger used in the AMEX was a prototype of the club that will hit the marketplace next spring.
After Woods' driver problems of earlier this year - when he temporarily gave up on his old Nike driver to return to a Titleist model - Nike officials must be jumping through hoops today. Not only did Woods win with the Ignite, but his driving average for the tournament (312 yards) was a significant jump over his yearlong average (299 yards).
At 335cc, the Ignite is the largest driver Tiger has used (the Titleist he temporarily switched to earlier this year was a mere 265cc). Woods works every shot - his problem in finding a larger-headed driver is that the bigger the head, the less responsive the clubhead is to attempts to work a shot. But Woods says the Ignite is long while still allowing him to work his drives.
"I hit it great. It was nice to hit some of those nice high draws out there again," said Woods in an interview early last week after his first practice round. "First hole, hit a high one out there, second one, same thing, third hole, fourth -- fifth hole, I drove it well over the green. It's nice to be able to hit that type of shot again and still have the ability to be able to carve one left to right."
Following the AMEX, Woods elaborated: "Well, any time you can shape a drive, for me...I can step up there with a left-to-right wind and know that I can hit that ball and hold it. That to me is huge. That's how I play. This driver enables me to do that. It kind of frees you up to go ahead."
Also in Tiger's bag for the first time was a 56-degree Nike wedge. And, to top it off, Woods was playing the Nike One TW, a version of the Nike One ball specially designed for Tiger.
One more thing about Woods: With his win at the AMEX, he became the first player in history to win at least five Tour events in at least five consecutive years. Not a bad week for Tiger.
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