EA Sports today announced that golfers Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy have been selected by fans to join Tiger Woods on the cover of “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13” in the North American and European markets, respectively. Over 250,000 fans cast votes from more than 35 countries from Oct. 3-23. In the final week of voting, Fowler defeated Bubba Watson by a final margin of 52% to 48% to win the American side of the bracket while McIlroy defeated Luke Donald by a final margin of 54% to 46% to win the European side. Cover art of “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13” will be released in November (EA Sports). THE BIG LEAD’s Barry Janoff notes this will be McIlroy’s second “PGA Tour” cover, having “shared the honors with Woods for ‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11.’” That was the “first time Woods did not get a solo cover on the product, the result of his personal life having spilled over into marketing decisions” (THEBIGLEAD.com, 10/24). Similar fan votes were held to determine the cover athletes for EA Sports' “Madden NFL 12” and “NCAA Football 12.” Browns RB Peyton Hillis beat out Eagles QB Michael Vick in the final round of voting for the "Madden" cover, while Alabama RB Mark Ingram was chosen for the NCAA cover over Auburn DT Nick Fairley, Oklahoma RB DeMarco Murray and Washington QB Jake Locker (CP, 10/24).
