5 Positive Signs From Tiger's PGA Tour Win At Chevron World Challenge
Posted by Ron Amodio on Fri, Dec 09, 2011 @ 09:43 AM
If you watched the Chevron World Challenge on Sunday, you saw Tiger Woods make crucial 
birdie putts on the 17th and 18th holes to win the tournament; his first victory in two years. Below are five of the event’s biggest winners which are all positive signs for sponsors involved in professional golf:
1. Professional Golf Tournaments
Tiger moves the needle when he is in contention and that means increased fan interest, bigger galleries on the course and higher television ratings for the Golf Channel, NBC Sports and CBS Sports.
2.Tiger Woods
After tumbling from the top, Tiger's victory at the Chevron World Challenge (an unofficial PGA Tour event) proved to his critics and fans alike that he could win again and is moving in the right direction. He also put his rivals on notice that he hasn’t forgotten how to close and they can expect more of the same in 2012.
3. Tiger’s Sponsors
By way of example, the timing of Fuse Science’s golf sponsorship with Tiger could not have been better as their name on Tiger’s bag received significant brand exposure on both the Golf Channel and NBC during the telecast of the Chevron World Challenge and especially on Sunday as he beat Zach Johnson on the final hole by one shot.
The Nike Swoosh on Tiger’s shirt was highly visible during the telecast and in the post press conference. And Nike was assured of no clutter as a result of their “clean company" contract with Tiger. Could Nike be planning more commercials featuring Tiger Woods in 2012?
Now, Tiger's sponsors can tap into the positive "rub off effect" from the heightened interest his fans have in his comeback as well as their growing expectation in the possibility that he could become the #1 golfer in the world again.
4. Tiger’s Rivals and Their Sponsors
A case in point is Zach Johnson who was paired with Tiger in the final round of the Chevron World Challenge and in the hunt until Tiger made a birdie on the final hole to beat him by one shot. So, Transamerica certainly benefited from having their name on the front of Zach’s golf cap / apparel and as a result of Zach's performance, garnered a plethora of on-air exposure during the telecast.
5. Charity
Chevron’s "Eagles for Education" in effect during the tournament raised almost $500,000 for this worthy cause and made the players feel they were doing something good for the youth of America every time they made an eagle during tournament play. Kudos to Zach Johnson for having the presence of mind to say, on air, "it was for the kids" after he made an eagle by holing out a 7 iron on the 16th hole during his third round on Saturday.
Further to the above, not only did Chevron World Challenge host Tiger Woods win the tournament, he donated his entire $1.2 million in prize money to the Tiger Woods Foundation.
All of the above reinforce the point made in one of our previous blog articles that successful people are always giving back and planting those seeds with others around them to do the same.
The World Challenge will take place next year with a new sponsor yet to be signed. This opens up the opportunity for another company to take advantage of the "Tiger Effect" described above and align their brand with the Sherwood Country Club and the money the tournament raises each year for the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Update (2013): Congratulations to Tiger Woods on winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard for the 8th time and regaining his position as the #1 player in the Rolex Men's World Golf Rankings.
Our colleague, Bill Colvin, who played a key role in signing Humana as the title sponsor of the Humana Challenge (the new name for the event formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic), knows what it takes to develop a strategic plan that effectively activates a title sponsorship. You can reach Bill directly by phone: 216-272-7779, via email: bill@colvinsports.com and you can also follow him on twitter: billcolvin.
If this article was helpful, you may also be interested in:
How To Leverage A Pro Golfer's Star Power To Elevate Your Brand.
Pro Golfer Endorsement Deal Pricing - 9 Brand Exposure Options.
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