Tiger Woods Loses Tag Heuer Endorsement
Luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer has ended its sponsorship deal with Tiger Woods after the golfer’s contract ran out last month.
“Golf World” executive editor Ron Sirak tweeted the confirmation Friday evening- “Tiger’s agent confirms Woods’ Tag Heuer relationship has expired.”
Tag Heuer, the Swiss company owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Loius Vuitton SA (MC) signed Woods in 2002. The watch-making house began limiting their use of Woods’ image in advertisements after the November 2009 car accident which resulted in the golfer's admission of marital infidelity.
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The 16-time World Golf Championship winner has not won a tournament since the Australian Masters in 2009, one week before the accident. Woods has lost corporate sponsorship agreements with Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T, and Golf Digest within the past 19 months.
Forbes magazine recently speculated that Woods’ fortune could be running out, but commercial contracts remain between the golfer and Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS), Nike Inc. (NKE), Upper Deck, Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets Inc., and TLC Vision Corp.
Also, the Woods began promoting Kowa, a Japanese-based heat rub company, in June.
Woods announced July 20 that he was firing his caddy of 12 years, Steve Williams. A week later via Twitter, Woods stated that long-time friend Bryon Bell would caddy for him during the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods was listed 28th in the Official World Golf Ranking upon entering the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. During the invitational, he finished 37th, 18 shots behind the winner Adam Scott, who now uses Woods’ former caddy Williams.
Sports fans have watched Woods’ personal and professional decline since the events in 2009, as multiple infidelities were uncovered by several different women on worldwide media sources.
Tiger Woods is the only person named “Sports Illustrated” magazine’s Sportsman of the Year more than once, the youngest player to accomplish the career Grand Slam, and is the youngest and fastest to have won 50 tournaments on tour.
