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Marketing and Sponsorship

McIlroy In No Rush To Sign With Other Equipment Company After Nike's Exit

Golfer Rory McIlroy has "no plans to sign with a new equipment company anytime soon" despite Nike earlier this month announcing it was stepping out of the golf equipment business, according to Joel Beall of GOLF DIGEST. McIlroy said, "No reason to start changing just because I can. I'm comfortable with everything. I've got them to save me three years' worth of golf balls, so at least I've got a golf ball that I like and that I know that I can play well with." He added, "I wouldn't be surprised to see me not go with a manufacturer for a year or two, just sort of play with what I want to play, play with what I'm comfortable with, and go from there" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 8/24). McIlroy said that he heard the news of Nike's decision "two hours before the company made the announcement public." He said, "We’re all still trying to figure it out. ... It was a shock to all of us. I got a call two hours before it was announced. We’ll see where we go from here. I’m not going to commit to anything" (N.Y. POST, 8/25). GOLFWEEK's Jim McCable noted a "steady stream of delivery trucks kept arriving at the McIlroy home in Holywood, Northern Ireland" following the Nike news. McIlroy said, "Apparently my parents’ house has been inundated with golf equipment from different manufacturers. I haven’t asked for it, but it’s there” (GOLFWEEK.com, 8/24).

STILL SUPPORTING THE SWOOSH: USA TODAY's Steve DiMeglio writes McIlroy and Tiger Woods "are the two biggest stars in Nike’s golf stable." Both had said that they "will keep wearing the Swoosh as Nike will continue in the golf business with its apparel and shoes lines" (USA TODAY, 8/25). McIlroy: "Nike Golf is a big company. It still will be. Apparel and footwear is 80 percent, 85 percent of their market. They want to be the best in that department, and now that they can focus fully on that, I feel they will be" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/25). 

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