Woodland became the first Wilson staffer to win one of golf's four majors since 2008GETTY IMAGES
Gary Woodland's U.S. Open victory at Pebble Beach "delivered big time" for Wilson's golf division, which added him to its ambassador staff late last year, according to Len Ziehm of the Chicago DAILY HERALD. The major win "should pay dividends to Wilson as well as Woodland." Wilson Golf President Tim Clarke said, "We couldn't have a better story for our brand. It was unbelievable." Kevin Streelman had been Wilson's "top gun on the PGA Tour" before Woodland, though he "didn't qualify for the U.S. Open." Back in golf's "good old days Wilson's clubs were played by numerous champions," including Padraig Harrington -- who won two majors in '08. Clarke called Woodland's win a "pretty strong endorsement that our equipment works" in the modern era. It is "commonplace that major championship winners receive bonuses from their equipment companies." Clarke said that would "be the case with Woodland." But he was "coy about what that reward will be" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 6/19).
FRIENDS FOREVER: NBC yesterday devoted a segment on "Today" to Woodland's relationship with Amy Bockerstette, which took off earlier this year when a video of the two playing at the Waste Management Open went viral. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie noted the clip "became the most-watched video in PGA [Tour] history with more than 20 million views.” Bockerstette, who has Down syndrome, was on set with her father Joe, who said, "So many folks have reached out to us to talk about how that video has touched their lives.” Woodland then surprised Amy with the U.S. Open trophy, telling her, “We won that together.” Woodland: “The world needs a lot more of Amy in it” (“Today,” NBC, 6/18).
