He is already the highest paid sportsman in the world, an attribute he has maintained since 2001, except for an interruption in 2012, but he is about to become even more so. Tiger Woods and his main sponsor, Nike, are in fact in the final stages of a contract that could bind them in marriage until the end of the golfer's career. The current agreement, 140 million dollars over seven years, expires at the end of 2013, but the signing of a new agreement is expected immediately before or immediately after the US Open which begins on Thursday. In short, a matter of days to amaze the world with new and astonishing figures. Estimates range from $20 million to $40 million a year for a sponsor to cover Tiger from head to toe, including equipment and balls. The chances that the current 20 million per year will be exceeded seem many, given the results obtained by the champion this season: 4 tournaments won out of 7 played. The fact that after a negative period, Nike Golf has returned to profits since Tiger returned to winning also weighs on the balance of the negotiation. Revenues increased 10% in 2012 to $726 million after three consecutive years of decline. In short, the sponsor will break the piggy bank and the number one in the world will be able to dominate the economic rankings for a long time to come.
On the sports front, however, Woods rests this week. After the poor performance at the Memorial, he has to regain confidence in his putts and short game. In the next Major, the US Open which takes place from 13 to 16 June at the Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, he is once again the favorite. Between predictions and victory, however, there are 72 unpredictable, very bad, holes. Marion is not an ideal course for Tiger, the fairways are narrow and the par 5s are only two. Grand Slam tournaments also put everyone under pressure, especially Woods who wants to reach Jack Nicklaus' record, but he has less and less time to do it. I have been missing this appointment for 5 years, also due to bad luck as happened at the Masters. The Tour has also already announced some starting trios for next week and the most appetizing is the one formed by the three top players of the moment: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott. Very hard test for Tiger who has excellent relations with Rory, but not so serene with Scott. Firstly because Scott's caddy, Steve Williams, was Tiger Woods' caddy before the red light scandal. And the divorce between the two was bitter: Williams accused Woods of stinginess and spoke ill of him on several occasions. Scott, on the other hand, is a very correct player, of great fair play, but he is also a close friend of Sergio Garcia, the Spaniard who has accumulated a series of gaffes with Tiger after The Players, with a trailing racist phrase. Tiger has always dampened the controversy and put a full stop to these episodes, but the climate will not be ideal. Finally, it should be added that Woods has always fought against long putters, that sports bodies have decided to ban them since 2016, that Scott has always played in the opposing faction, because he overcame his problems on the greens thanks to these tools, and the psychological picture of the triad is complete.
The show will benefit, golf will probably suffer. We will see.
In the meantime, Matteo Manassero, elected player of May by the European Tour, is also remarrying this week. Manny is preparing for the great challenge of Marion, after having demonstrated how much he can do on difficult fields, in a high-level context. Not surprisingly, the twenty-year-old has risen a lot in the consideration of bookmakers, who today pay him for winning the US Open practically on a par with the multiple Major winner, Ernie Els.
However, the European Tour and the US Tour are also on track in these hours. The first in Austria, where the Lyoness Open takes place and where the Italian Lorenzo Gagli, past the cut with -5, starts 19th on the third day. In the States we compete in Mamphis, for the FedEx St. Jude Classic which sees a great champion like Phil Mickelson (-2, 22nd) on the field. Among the Europeans Ian Poulter, in tenth position with -3.
