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After a U.S. Open victory that was perhaps the most thrilling of his entire career, Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the season to undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee.
Obviously this is bad news for his main sponsor, Nike (NYSE: NKE). They pay him handsomely to hit their clubs and wear their hat (although his bag bears the logo for Buick), and watching a close-up of his 18th hole birdie was priceless marketing: as the ball rolled, the Nike swoosh was in plain view.
And in a larger sense, this is bad news for anyone who's marketing on the PGA Tour. It's a well-known fact that golf's ratings plummet for any event Tiger isn't playing in. I mean, who really cares about Justin Leonard and Geoff Ogilvy? There's Tiger and then there's everyone else. Wake me when it's over -- maybe I'll go watch some arena football.
Without Tiger, all the other companies with players on the PGA Tour -- TaylorMade, Callaway (NYSE: ELY), Ping, etc. -- will get less exposure for their marketing money. And then there's KPMG, which pays Phil Mickelson to wear its hat. But then again, if a company you own shares in chooses its auditor based on Phil's hat, you have a lot more to worry about than Tiger's left knee.
But maybe there's a bright side here for the golf industry: perhaps a less exciting PGA Tour will inspire duffers to go out to the links and play some actual golf.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-19-2008 @ 1:58AM
Kent said...
From articles about repairing damaged ACL's, it might take Tiger about 9 months to fully recover after the operation. This means he might be out on the course next year in time for the Masters. Obviously, his name recognition will remain intact when he returns, and his sponsors (Nike) I wouldn't think would be taking that big a hit on their sales from their golf balls and clubs. We already know that Tiger uses Nike. The only loss would probably be that Nike can't take credit for the remaining majors and Ryder Cup matches that Tiger might win for the remainder of this season. It's interesting to note that Bridgestone is an indirect benefactor from all of this since they are the manufacturer of Nike golf balls made in China. The real losers will be the PGA and TV networks that will see a dip in their viewership ratings.