Agent: Woods to use his Nike brand on golf bag at the Masters

Woods won’t have new sponsor logo on bag

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Tiger Woods won’t replace AT&T with a new corporate sponsor on his golf bag when he returns at the Masters, instead using his Nike brand.

AT&T dropped him as a sponsor on Dec. 31 in the midst of the infidelity scandal.

It will be the first time since he turned pro that Woods has used an existing sponsor’s logo on the bag. The golf bag and hat are the two areas in golf where companies get the most television exposure.

“We are not actively pursuing new business partnerships at this point in time,” Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent at IMG, said Friday in a text message.

Steinberg said Woods will be using the “TW” brand at Nike, his longest corporate sponsor.

It will be the fourth logo on Woods’ bag in his professional career. He started with Titleist from 1996 before signing an endorsement deal with Buick that lasted through the 2008, ending early when GM filed for bankruptcy.

Woods then signed on with AT&T, which also sponsors a PGA Tour event over the Fourth of July weekend that supports Woods’ foundation. AT&T was the second sponsor (behind Accenture) to drop Woods over revelations he had been cheating on his wife.

AT&T is still title sponsor of Woods’ tournament, although Woods will not be the tournament host this year.

Most of Nike’s golfers have a clean look, with only the swoosh visible from head-to-toe. Woods was among the exceptions. Anthony Kim recently signed a deal to have Royal Bank of Canada on his bag.