Tiger's a bargain for Nike at £90m

Nike, with a history of making footwear and clothing endorsed by the likes of basketball superstar Michael Jordan, has employed Woods as a lucrative fashion icon for the past five and a half years.

He hasn't come cheap. An initial five-year contract with Nike worth £30m has been followed by a new five-year deal reported to be boosting his bank balance by up to £90m.

But last year's launch of the Tiger Woods Collection suggests his endorsement of Nike apparel is a money-maker for both parties.

A more difficult proposition for Nike was the design and manufacture of golf clubs that would meet its star's strict specifications.

The first sign Nike was getting it right came at Royal Lytham and St Annes last July when David Duval, of the United States, won the Open using a set of prototype Nike irons. Duval then switched to a Nike driver and led the driving distance category at the USPGA Championship, the NEC Invitational WGC tournament, and the Tour Championship.

Nike claims that since he started using its club Duval's average driving distance has increased from 294.1 yards to 316.6 yards. Other players joined Duval as contracted players of Nike clubs, including leading New Zealander Michael Campbell and US Ryder Cup player Stewart Cink.

But as one company representative admitted: "It was more important to have the best player in the world using our club."

Woods is on a tournament-by-tournament deal with Titleist, which will still supply his irons and wedges, at least for the moment. But he has been practising with the Nike driver for over three months.

He used the club in competition for the first time in the AT & T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am three weeks ago, joking: "I wanted to get a little more distance to keep up with the young pups."

Using it at a tournament like the one here with a £740,000 first prize at stake is a far more serious matter.

Woods said: "I like the club a lot. When I go up there and trust it, I really hit it good. When I don't trust it I start trying to steer the ball and I feel a little uneasy over shots." But the decision has been made to go with it, and that will delight Nike's army of marketing men. Kel Devlin, Nike Tour manager, said: "At tour level you have to think someone like Tiger only moves into a new product that's better. That's what the consumer has to take away from it.

"Consumers today are a bit jaded. They think a pro changes only because the company is paying him a lot of money. But guys on tour are playing for a lot of money. They only switch if its better."

The Nike driver will be launched in the United Kingdom in June, when it is expected to sell for £350.

For that amount of money the weekend hacker can buy a complete set of reasonable clubs made by any number of rival manufacturers.

But then he wouldn't be driving with a swoosh like Tiger, and to many of those standing on the first tee that is the name of the game.

And doesn't Nike know it.

Geri tees off with a little help from her friend