IN THE NAME OF LOVE: TITLEIST, NIKE GOLF RIVALRY HEATS UP

          Nike Golf and Acushnet's Titleist have "become fierce
     rivals," and the "latest salvo in the big-money shootout was
     the successful effort by Titleist to fend off a bid by Nike
     to lure" Davis Love III as an endorser (see THE DAILY, 9/7),
     according to Ron Sirak of GOLFWORLD BUSINESS.  Sources close
     to Love's Titleist deal say that the "bidding war" for the
     golfer "had Nike offering" him a five-year deal paying him
     $6M per year.  But Titleist "countered" with a 10-year, $50M
     offer for a "head-to-toe, ball, club, shoe and glove deal." 
     Acushnet President Wally Uihlein, on Nike: "We're not going
     to be intimidated or leveraged in any way by a $10 billion
     behemoth."  Sirak adds that Titleist may also be "looking to
     sign" Phil Mickelson, who plays with Yonex clubs, "on a full
     product-line basis" (GOLFWORLD BUSINESS, 9/12).