Ace Of Clubs? Nike Set To Unveil New Line; More Golf News

Nike Golf announced that its "inaugural club line would include forged titanium drivers, forged muscle-back irons and wedges," according to Ron Sirak of GOLF WORLD BUSINESS, who noted Nike will unveil the line at January's PGA Merchandise show in Orlando, "with drivers available in February and irons and wedges in the spring" (GOLF WORLD BUSINESS, 12/3). Nike claims that company endorser David Duval "increased his driving distance to 316.7 yards from 293.6 yards while using" the Nike Forged Titanium Driver this past season (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 12/3).

A NEW PRECEP-TION: GOLF WORLD BUSINESS' Sirak & Johnson reported Justin Leonard will play a Precept ball in '02, and "as a result, he is not renewing his long-standing ball contract with Titleist," set to expire at the end of this year (GOLF WORLD BUSINESS, 12/3).

EVENTS: Nissan N.A. has extended its sponsorship of the PGA Tour's Nissan Open in CA through '06. Nissan has been associated with the event since '86 and has been the title sponsor since '89. The event is the oldest civic-sponsored event on the PGA Tour. Next year's tournament will feature a record purse of $3.7M (Nissan)....The Toronto GLOBE & MAIL reports that the "search for a new title sponsor for the Air Canada Championship will continue." Air Canada announced in October that it will discontinue its sponsorship after the '02 Vancouver event. No deadline for securing a new sponsor has been set (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 12/4).