Tiger Woods announces that he will use TaylorMade equipment!

Today it was announced that Tiger Woods has signed on with TaylorMade to use their golf equipment. Late last year Nike announced that they will no longer be making golf equipment, which meant that Tiger Woods, (one of the most sought after names in professional sports history in terms of advertising) would have to find a new company to endorse. 

This in itself doesn't sound like that big of news, but Tiger had been using Nike Golf equipment since he turned pro in 1996. This will be his first major equipment change since he has been a professional. Combine that with the fact he is still one of the most polarizing athletes on the planet and it becomes headline news. 

The announcement was made via a tweet from Tiger Woods earlier this morning:

"After several months of testing and all brands to choose from, the choice is clearly @TaylorMadeGolf. Proud to join the family!" 

https://twitter.com/TigerWoods/status/824246900895252481/photo/1

The news is somewhat surprising as Tiger has had strong ties to Titleist over the years. From all his years of using Scotty Cameron putters many were thinking he would sign with Titleist. However, in a move that was also surprising he just recently signed an endorsement deal to play Bridgestone (a strong competitor to Titleist) golf balls instead of Titleist ProV1 golf balls, which are by far the most widely used golf ball in all of golf. 

Tiger stated that he had spent the last several months testing all types of different equipment and getting acquainted with management teams, and his conclusion was that it really wasn't even close. TaylorMade clearly has the best equipment and the best team in all of golf. 

Tiger will still be wearing his trademark "Nike swoosh" on his clothing as they are are still sponsoring him from the apparel side. 

TaylorMade also released a statement saying that this deal with Tiger is strictly for the endorsement of equipment, and that there is no equity being given up in the TaylorMade company. This is important to clear up because Tiger had stated several months prior that the next company he signed with, he would likely seek an equity portion in the company itself as well. 

This announcement comes at an interesting time for Tiger as he is set to embark on a 4 tournament stretch over the next 5 weeks. That is significant considering Tiger has only played in one golf tournament (The Hero World Challenge) over the last 16 months. This will be his first major test since returning from two significant back surgeries dating back to September of 2014.

It seems likely that he will be sporting the new TaylorMade golf equipment when he tees it up on Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open. The endorsement deal included all equipment outside of the putter and golf balls. For the putter Tiger will be sticking with his trusty Scotty Cameron. 

On Thursday and Friday, he will be teeing it up with fellow TaylorMade stars Dustin Johnson and Jason Day. Both have been long time TaylorMade users. The tournament is being played at Torrey Pines, a course that Tiger has won at 8 times (9 times if you count junior golf), including his last major championship, the US Open in 2008. 

When asked about the golf course, Tiger responded with a smile and something along the lines of, 

"yea, you could say I feel pretty comfortable there".

The name "Tiger Woods" usually elicits some pretty strong emotions these days, but whether you love the guy or hate him, his story is intriguing to say the least. I can't wait to watch it all unfold over the next several days and weeks ahead. Everybody loves a comeback story right?! Or, was it that they love to watch a train-wreck?! Either way, we will find out which one it is soon enough. :)

It all begins tomorrow...

Live well my friends!

Sources:

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/18550546/after-long-run-nike-tiger-woods-signs-taylormade

http://golfweek.com/2017/01/23/tiger-woods-addresses-reporters-at-genesis-open-media-day/

Image Sources:

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/01/nike-tiger-woods-taylormade-equipment-deal

http://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-woods-signs-bridgestone-golf-balls-2016-12

http://www.golfchats.com/here-are-27-great-pictures-for-those-of-you-who-love-golf/

Follow: @jrcornel

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