7th January, 2011
Tiger Woods and Golf Digest parted company yesterday, ending a 13-year relationship between the world’s most visible golfer and the world’s largest golf magazine.
Woods has also been dropped from the box cover of the latest Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12. The Golf Digest’s breakup with Woods may not be unconnected with the sex scandals that involved the world golf star, a scenario that has been hunting the American player in the last one year.
The breakup was announced in a statement by Jerry Tarde, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Golf Digest, a Conde Nast publication with a circulation of 1.65 million that has run monthly articles with Woods’ byline since 1997.
Tarde said that Woods’ column in the February issue of Golf Digest would be his last. Woods, whose deal with the magazine was his second-longest after his ongoing 14-year endorsement deal with Nike, will have his name removed from the magazine’s masthead.
“We appreciate the insights Woods has provided to our readers,†Tarde said in the statement.
In a statement released by the magazine, Woods said: “I enjoyed my relationship with Golf Digest. But we have decided it’s now time for a break. I wish my friends at Golf Digest continued success.â€
Unlike other business relationships that soured after the scandal that accompanied Woods’ well-publicized affairs, the parting with Golf Digest was amicable.
During lengthy talks aimed at renewing the agreement, the two sides were unable to come to terms on the expanding amount of time the magazine was requesting from Woods.
Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, told Bloomberg News that, “Woods is not in a position to commit to more time, so we cordially parted ways.â€
Coming off the only winless year of his professional career, Woods has made no secret about his desire to spend as much time as possible working on his game in hopes of returning to form this season and resuming his quest to dominate the golf record book. He has 14 major championship titles among his 71 PGA Tour victories, 4 shy of the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus.
The monetary terms of Woods’ contract with Golf Digest were never publicly disclosed, but it was known to be modest in comparison to his other endorsement deals, which added up to $74.2 million last year. The primary value of the magazine deal was the exposure available through the 30 international Golf Digest affiliate editions published in the native language of every major country where golf is played.
