'Hello World,' 27 years and 82 victories later, becomes 'Goodbye Nike' for Tiger Woods
One day at the PGA Tour’s stop at Doral, Tiger Woods walked onto the first tee to begin a round. Since the first and 10th holes at Doral are par-5 holes, there was frequently a wait for the fairway to clear of players who were going for the green in two.
To amuse themselves while waiting for Woods to tee off, a group of sportswriters began counting the number of Nike “Swooshes” on Woods’ person.
There was, of course, his hat, with a Swoosh front and back. Then the front of his shirt and one sleeve. The front pocket and back pockets of his slacks. His belt. One swoosh on each sock. Then on either side of his shoes.
“That makes 11,” one of the writers said.
“Wait until he tees off,” another said.
When Woods did and he held his follow-through, there was another Swoosh — on the sole of his right shoe. Assuming another on the sale of his left shoe, the final figure was 13.
Nike paid Woods a lot of money over 27 years, from the day he held a press conference to announce he was turning pro with his wry comment, “Hello, World.” But the shoe and apparel company got its money’s worth with Woods sporting swooshes during 15 major championships, 82 PGA Tour victories and more than 100 victories worldwide.
Woods and Nike have now split. Any announcement concerning Woods can be labeled as a bombshell to some degree but this one reverberated around the sports world since Woods and Nike were synonymous.
“Over 27 years ago, I was fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic brands in the world," Woods said in a statement. “The days since have been filled with so many amazing moments and memories, if I started naming them, I could go on forever.”
Nike signed Woods to what was then an unheard-of $40 million deal in 1996 before he stuck his first professional shot. With finances much less of a problem than for your average PGA Tour rookie, all Woods had to do was show up and win.
He did: twice in the summer and fall of 1996, then four or more victories in nine of the next 12 years to establish himself as a global superstar.
Nike was there every step of the way.
“Amazing run. Great partnership,” Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent at Excel Sports told the Associated Press.
Woods made the partnership work even better in unexpected ways. When filming a commercial in 1999, Woods got bored between takes and started bouncing a golf ball off his driver. An alert producer told a cameraman to start filming, with Woods bouncing the ball between his legs, behind the back and then popping the ball up and belting it down the fairway with a baseball swing.
And Woods’ most famous short game shot, his chip at Augusta National’s 16th hole in the 2005 Masters that rolled slowly to the hole then paused for a full second on the edge of the cup, with the Swoosh in full view, before dropping in the hole.
As they say, you can’t buy that kind of exposure.
McCumber, Cauley launch comebacks
Tyler McCumber and Bud Cauley are returning to touring golf after prolonged time off due to injuries.
McCumber, a Nease and University of Florida graduate, is in the field for this week’s Sony Open at Waialae in Honolulu, while Cauley, from Jacksonville and the University of Alabama, will play in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Greater Exuma Classic.
McCumber last played in the 2022 Honda Classic. After he shot 60 in the final round and tied for fourth in the RSM Classic, he missed his next five cuts.
Cauley hasn’t played since the PGA Tour’s 2020 Safeway Classic, where he tied for 14th.
Seri Pak becomes tournament host
Seri Pak, the first South Korean to win on the LPGA Tour, will join Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie West as tournament hosts.
Pak will host the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship at Palos Verdes Golf Club in suburban Los Angeles.
Pak, who went by Se Ri during her LPGA career, now prefers Seri.
Ruoning Yin won the event last year when it was called the DIO Implant LA Open. It will be March 21-24 with a $2 million purse.
This report included material from the Associated Press and Golfweek.com.
PGA TOUR
Event: Stony Open, Thursday-Sunda, Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii.
At stake: $8.3 million purse ($1,494,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Si Woo Kim.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Saturday, 7-10:30 p.m., Sunday, 6-8 p.m.); NBC (Sunda7, 4-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: Tyson Alexander, Harris English, Lanto Griffin, Brian Harman, Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson, Patton Kizzire, David Lingmerth, Tyler McCumber, Keith Mitchell, J.T. Poston, Greyson Sigg, Davis Thompson, Carl Yuan.
Notable: Kim shot 64-64 on the weekend and beat Hayden Buckley by one shot. ... Heading the field are Justin Rose, Kevin Kisner, Ludvig Aberg, Eric Cole, Tyrrell Hatton and Will Zalatoris. ... Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is making his first start since brain surgery last year.
KORN FERRY TOUR
Event: Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, Jan. 14-17, Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Club, Bahamas.
At stake: $1 million purse ($108,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Chandler Phillips.
TV: None.
Area players entered: Dawson Armstrong, Chris Baker, Fred Biondi, Chandler Blanchet, Jonas Blixt, Bud Cauley, Rick Lamb, Doc Redman, Jared Wolfe.
Notable: Phillips had four rounds in the 60s and beat Cody Blick and Peter Knade by two shots.
ROAD TO THE PLAYERS
Dates: March 14-17.
Site: Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach.
Purse: $25 million ($4.5 million and 750 FedEx Cup points to the winner.
Days until the first round: 63.
Tour events until The Players: 10.
Notable: This will be the 50th Players Championship.
Players trivia: The first international winner of The Players was Sandy Lyle of Scotland in 1987. In the 38 Players Championships since then, 16 international players have won it, representing Scotland, Australia, Korea, Zimbabwe, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, Sweden, Spain and New Zealand.
Tickets: theplayers.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Tiger Woods made memories under the Nike log. The two have now parted
