Sponsors Begin Pulling Back from Woods

There had been a few grumblings from sponsors, a few possible signs of things to come, prior to Tiger Woods' announcement on Friday that he plans to take an "indefinite break" from golf. But in the aftermath of that announcement - which included Woods' first explicit admission to marital infidelity - some of Woods' major sponsors have changed their tone from one of support to one of caution.

One, Gillette, said on Saturday that it is ramping down its use of Woods in company advertising, a company spokesman saying Gillette will help Woods "to take a lower profile" by "limiting his role in our marketing programs."

AT&T, which sponsors the July PGA Tour event hosted by Woods, issued a statement offering support for Woods, but also saying, ominously, "We are presently evaluating our ongoing relationship with him."

Nike Golf, on the other hand, remains steadfast in supporting Tiger. He is, after all, the very well-compensated poster child for the company. Tiger Woods had an endorsement deal with Nike before Nike even had golf clubs on the market. Nike Golf issued a statement that can be described as offering the company's full support, and included this: "(Woods) is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf."

Prior to Saturday, Gatorade announced a discontinuation of the Gatorade Tiger Focus line, although that decision apparently pre-dated the outbreak of the Tiger Woods scandals. Tag Heuer pulled in-store Woods displays from its Australian stores. And Accenture removed Woods from the homepage of its Web site.