Tiger Woods’ bring to the Masters Tournament is bringing a lot of excitement back to golf, and Bridgestone Golf is procuring huge rewards from that excitement, said CEO Angel Ilagan.
“His imprimatur alone increases our sales 30 percent, even if he’s not playing,” Ilagan told CNBC’s Dominic Chu in an assessment from the tournament in Augusta, Georgia, that aired on “Power Lunch” on Thursday.
Bridgestone Golf take oned Woods to a multiyear deal to play exclusively with Bridgestone balls in December 2016.
The four-time Proficients champion has a 10-to-1 chance of winning the tournament, which got underway on Thursday.
And now that Woods has the possibility to score his first major title in 10 years, fans are scrambling to buy offerings endorsed by their favorite player.
The golf equipment producer shopped out of a yearlong supply of special Tiger Woods-branded golf balls within 10 days thanks to the imprimatur. The balls are still on back order, but it doesn’t look like the hype will assist up anytime soon.
Even the products Woods is not using are still being supplied at a high rate as a result of his ability to draw attention, according to Ilagan.
“If he triumph ins, we’re in a whole lot of trouble because we’re not going to be able to make enough outcome,” he joked.
Woods’ comeback is a big deal for golf. A child prodigy, he won his commencement Masters in 1997 at age 21, the youngest player ever to win the tournament. He is honoured with reinvigorating the sport by drawing more spectators and inspiring multifarious kids to play, but he hasn’t played himself in four years due to a sponsor injury. After undergoing a fourth surgery just last year, he is for all back on the green and playing like his old self.
His presence alone has already improved network viewership by as much as 150 percent, according to Nielsen, and returned badge demand up 20 percent, according to StubHub.