Justin Leonard Joins Nike Golf Tour Staff
06 January 2005 - 4:45AM
PR Newswire (US)
Justin Leonard Joins Nike Golf Tour Staff Major Champion Looks to
Golf's Innovator for a Spark BEAVERTON, Ore., Jan. 5
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Passion and innovation - not only two
distinct qualities that set Nike Golf apart in the industry, but
also the dynamics that have attracted Justin Leonard to join the
Tour Staff of one of golf's newest leaders. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020719/NKGOLFLOGO ) Nike Golf
is proud to announce that Justin Leonard, a 10-year veteran of the
PGA Tour, has joined the Nike Golf Tour Staff. The relationship
will be formally announced in a conference call with media at 1
p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, today. "Justin is going to light it up this
year, I can just see it in his eyes," said Kel Devlin, Global
Sports Marketing Director for Nike Golf. "We ask our players for
their input, their help, their opinion so that we can get them what
they need to compete at the highest level. Justin feels that we can
help him return to prominence. In turn, we take player feedback and
develop product that will help the average golfer compete at the
highest level. What is nice for us is that Justin has really
embraced this concept." Leonard, the '97 British Open Champion, the
'92 U.S. Amateur Champion, and an 8-time winner on the PGA Tour, is
making the first manufacturer change of his professional career. A
well-known traditionalist and a fiercely loyal competitor, Leonard
said he was attracted to the energy and innovation that Nike Golf
has been bringing to the sport of golf. "Just looking at the
history of Nike it's all about innovative products that are for
athletes. Nike Golf is the same. At Nike, golfers are athletes,"
said Leonard, who proudly lists the White Rock Marathon ('01) in
Dallas among his career accomplishments. From the debut of the
solid-core golf ball with Tiger Woods in 2000 to innovations such
as Air CG (center of gravity) introduced with the Slingshot Irons
in 2003 and the next-generation titanium, NexTi, introduced with
the Nike Ignite Driver in 2004, Nike Golf has been leading change
not only in equipment but also in footwear and apparel. "I'd say
that Nike really caught my attention when Tiger started playing the
[Tour Accuracy] golf ball in 2000, and then you had these guys that
you knew had played one ball or another for a very long time all of
the sudden started playing Nike balls," said Leonard at a recent
photo and commercial shoot for Nike Golf in Las Vegas. Leonard will
begin appearing in commercials for Nike Golf almost immediately. "I
would say in the last two years the [Nike] equipment has really
surpassed anything I had believed Nike could do. It really passed
anything I thought that any company could do. And I'm just delving
into it. I know that Tom Stites [Director of Product Creation]
designed a couple sets of my irons years ago and for him to be at
Nike with that kind of technical thinking and always trying to push
the envelope on 'let's make this better' and thinking more outside
the box, you know, that's an environment he's going to thrive in
and he's going to come up with some amazing products." Leonard has
entered an exclusive multi-year relationship with Nike Golf that
includes clubs, ball, glove, bag, footwear, apparel, headwear, and
accessories. He will reconnect with Nike Golf's lead club engineer
Tom Stites, who used to develop new equipment for Leonard's
previous endorser. The Buick Invitational is expected to be
Leonard's first PGA Tour start of 2005. He will be carrying Nike
Golf's 410cc Ignite Driver, Nike's Forged Blade Irons, Forged Pro
Combo Wedges and playing the successful Nike One Black golf ball.
In addition to making the switch to Nike Golf's technical and
stylish apparel, he has also met with Nike Vision representatives
and is expected to be in new eyewear early in the year. One area of
equipment that will not change for Leonard is his footwear.
Ironically, Leonard had forgone a competitive contract and earnings
in order to wear Nike Golf footwear for the past three years. He
will continue to wear designs from Nike Golf's Sport Performance
line -- athletically engineered golf shoes that combine unequaled
comfort with classic style. "I used to go through a lot of
band-aids," admitted Leonard. "I could tell you where to find
band-aids in any pharmacy at a Tour stop and what kinds they had. I
was wearing Nike running shoes at the time, so I got a couple pairs
of their golf shoes to try out and my band-aid knowledge instantly
decreased. I had a couple of companies contact me about wearing
their shoes and getting paid to do it, but I wasn't willing to give
up that comfort. To be able to put on a pair of shoes out of the
box and not worry about [discomfort] was more than worth the money
that I was passing up to wear other companies' shoes." Leonard is
looking to Nike Golf to help him regain his position among the top
players in the world. He was a perennial fixture at the year-end
Tour Championship, competing there nine straight seasons and tied
with Vijay Singh for the longest streak until 2004 when he failed
to qualify. Currently ranked 39th in the world, Leonard is excited
for a new beginning with Nike Golf in 2005. "At 32 I'm just getting
into my peak years," said Leonard. "And with the help of Nike Golf
I'm going to be able to achieve my maximum potential in these next
few years." Nike Golf, located in Beaverton, Oregon, is
passionately dedicated to honoring and respecting the traditions
and heritage of the game, and to providing committed golfers with
the absolute best equipment in the game in every product category.
For more information on Nike Golf, visit our Web site at
http://www.nikegolf.com/. Journalists seeking editorial information
and downloadable images, visit http://www.nikegolf.com/presscenter.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020719/NKGOLFLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Nike Golf CONTACT: Dean
Stoyer of Nike Golf, +1-503-532-6018 or Web site:
http://www.nikebiz.com/
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