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Wednesday, September 20
Woods worth every penny of new deal

By Bob Harig
Special to ESPN Golf Online

After swallowing the news that Tiger Woods has re-upped with Nike for between $85 and $100 million over five years, two things emerge as more amazing than the money: It's going to a golfer, and anyone who appreciates his greatness believes every penny is deserved.

Cashing in

Perhaps the second-most high-profile person on the PGA Tour is Steve Williams, Woods' caddie.

And he's probably not doing too poorly himself.

If Woods is paying Williams the standard 10 percent commission for a victory and 5 percent for other finishes-- and most caddie/player deals differ -- he would have earned some $640,000 this year.

That would put him 57th on the PGA Tour money list, ahead of such players as Greg Norman, Lee Janzen and Mark O'Meara.

Although icons such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer had a way of transcending their sport, they never approached the kind of popularity Woods enjoys today.

In fact, Woods -- who has won nine tournaments and $8.4 million on the PGA Tour, including three major championships -- appears to see more competition outside the ropes than inside.

In addition to deals with Nike, Woods has endorsement contracts with Buick, American Express, Rolex, Wheaties, Golf Digest, Titleist golf equipment, E.A. video games, TLC Laser Eye Centers, CBS SportsLine and Asahi coffee in Japan. Those deals negotiated by International Management Group are reported to be in the $50 million range per year.

Wonder if they'll have to pay more when their contracts are up?

Phil Knight, the chairman and co-founder of Nike, told company shareholders on Monday that the money spent on Woods could not have been spent better and that he is "worth it."

Knight didn't spell it out this way, but consider: Industry analysts pegged Nike's share of the $1 billion golf market at 1 percent before Woods switched to the Nike Tour Accuracy ball in May. Since then, the market share has increased to 3 percent. A blip? Hardly. That 2 percent change is worth approximately $20 million. That pays for Woods right there.

And those numbers don't take into account Nike's other endeavors. The shoe market has reportedly doubled in the past year, from 14 percent to 28 percent. How much is that worth? The company is also said to be considering getting into the club market, which Woods would undoubtedly be a part of in some fashion.

Whenever Woods competes in a tournament, he is a walking billboard for the company, with Nike apparel covering him from head to toe, and the all-too-familiar swoosh on the golf ball he knocks around in fewer strokes than anyone else.

"He's worth every bit of it," Woods' father, Earl, said. "And when the next contract comes around, this one will look like chump change and peanuts compared to that one."

People snickered when the older Woods made similar comments four years ago after Tiger signed the shocking five-year, $40 million deal with Nike that doesn't expire until next September.

Turns out, Mr. Woods was correct.

And it trickles down.

The Canadian Open sold out within 24 hours of Woods' commitment, ESPN's cable television ratings were the highest ever for a golf tournament on cable. ESPN2 got a boost by showing all of Woods' second round of the tournament, when he shot a 65 to get into contention. PGA Tour purses have nearly doubled in three years and are set to go even higher. Every golfer on tour benefits.

Is Tiger worth it? No question.

Shooting 58
It came in a pro-am, but so what? A 58 is a 58 is a 58, no matter the circumstances or length of course.

Senior Tour player Larry Nelson made 10 birdies and an eagle at the Grizzly course at Kings Island, Ohio, last Thursday. The par-70 course measures 6,639 yards.

"When I was 10-under, I thought I would have to make three more birdies to shoot 59 because I thought the course was a par-72," said Nelson, who didn't realize it was a par-70 course until one of his pro-am partners asked for an autograph "because he had never seen someone shoot a 58."

Amazingly, Nelson had a birdie putt at the 18th hole that he missed. "I'm kind of sorry I missed the putt at 18. You don't get the chance to shoot 57 very often."

Nelson's previous best score was a 61 at Pine Tree Country Club in Kennesaw, Ga. The score will not count in the record book. The Senior Tour's official record is 60 by Isao Aoki at the 1997 Emerald Coast Classic.

Taking it slowly
Tom Lehman returned to a limited schedule at the Pennsylvania Classic after having knee surgery three weeks ago following the NEC Invitational. Lehman, however, is scheduled to play just one more event, the Tour Championship.

"The knee is pretty good. It doesn't hurt at all to swing a club or to walk around the golf course," said Lehman, who tied for 28th. "Still can't really run, but there's not much running in golf, so I'm pretty safe there."

Lehman will also be part of the Grand Slam of Golf in Hawaii Nov. 21-22. Designed for the winners of the four major championships, the event had to find two more players because Woods won three major titles. Ernie Els decided not to play, so Lehman is taking his spot.

Struggles
Sometimes it's a matter of having one good week. Other times, it's a matter of having that week at the right time. Two cases in point: Jenny Chausiriporn and Gary Nicklaus.

Chausiriporn, who took Se Ri Pak to a playoff at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open while she was an amateur at Duke, has struggled as a pro. This year, she had limited success on the Futures Tour and in Europe, then failed to advance past the first stage of LPGA Tour qualifying. In a second attempt last week, she missed again. That means no LPGA Tour in 2001.

Nicklaus managed to make the PGA Tour at last fall's Qualifying Tournament. He has also had limited success, but he managed to get into a playoff at the BellSouth Classic, where his loss to Phil Mickelson was worth $302,400. For the year, Nicklaus has made $403,982 to rank 101st on the money list. He is all but secure for next year, basically because of one week.

Since the playoff loss to Mickelson, Nicklaus has played in 15 tournaments, missed nine cuts and finished no better than a tie for 25th.

Solheim snub
Before winning the Betsy King Classic earlier this month, Michele Redman was 14th in the U.S. Solheim Cup standings and not getting much consideration as a possible captain's selection for the event, Oct. 6-8 in Scotland.

Potential team members were fitted for Solheim Cup uniforms before the tournament, but Redman said only two or three pairs of shorts and one pair of pants were brought for her. But when she won the tournament, she rose to No. 8 in the standings and clinched her spot on the team.

"It's a little ironic," she said. "They didn't even have a blazer for me."

This week's Safeway LPGA Championship is the last chance to make the U.S. team.

Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online.


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