Tiger Woods leads the charge for Nike Golf; Titleist again collects Open ball count; Fife Police thank the crowds; A deal off course; Tickets for the 2006 Open Championship now on sale
Tiger Woods leads the charge for Nike Golf
Nike is celebrating its connections with the second Open Championship title won by Tiger Woods. He carries an ‘arsenal’ of Nike Golf equipment that includes the Ignite 460 Driver, T60 3-Wood, Nike Forged Blades irons, 56-degree and 60-degree Pro Combo Wedges and the Nike One Platinum ball.
To mark his victory Nike Golf has released a new TV commercial which features Tiger’s final round on the Old Course, complete with commentary by the BBC television team, scenes of his mother taking photographs and reaction shots of the jubilant gallery. The ‘twist’ is that the Tiger Woods playing the course is just 8 years old.
The commercial can be viewed at www.nikegolf.com
Titleist again collects Open ball count
The majority of the field had one thing in common: they placed their trust in the superior performance of the legendary Titleist Pro V1 to negotiate the unique challenges of the Old Course.
The superior performance of Titleist golf balls has continued to eclipse all others at this event maintaining the #1 position consecutively for an incredible 26 years. 102 players in the field teed up at St Andrews with either a Pro V1 or Pro VIx, more than 5 times as many as the nearest competitor with 19 players, with top 10 finishes for Pro V1x devotees Jose Maria Olazabal, Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh, amongst others.
Titleist was also successful in other product counts finishing #1 in the glove (48 players) and wedge categories (lob wedge 53, sand wedge 43 players), and coming second in the driver and putter counts.
Titleist www.titleist.co.uk
Fife Police thank the crowds
The final event in one of the busiest periods Fife Police has ever seen has been hailed a great success. The 134th Open Championship in St Andrews – which attracted a crowd of 223,000 over the week – followed the force’s commitment to police the G8 Summit and related events and Prince William’s graduation from St Andrews University in June.
Up to 150 police officers and support staff were involved in The Open – with duties ranging from traffic management to on course policing. Security for the famous players included police constable Angie McLaren and Sgt Bob Yuill who accompanied Tiger Woods.
Eastern Division’s Chief Superintendent Alan Maich said he was delighted that all the planning had paid off. “Preparing for such an enormous and prestigious event, which attracts thousands of spectators and millions of television viewers from all over the world, is a huge undertaking for the force.
“We started our detailed planning with partners Fife Council and The R&A at the beginning of the year. Part of this involved liaising with Strathclyde Police who were involved in the organisation of the 2004 Open at Troon.
“Our main concerns were making sure everyone travelling to and from the event could do so without congestion on the roads. The use of the park and ride car park at Guardbridge, Golflink rail and bus service and keeping the traffic to designated routes meant that the traffic flow was relatively free flowing.
“Recent tragic events meant that security was on everyone’s mind. While we were confident that security was not an issue for this event, we had contingency planning to ensure we meet security needs at the event, but as an extra reassurance to people, bag searches were carried out.
“I would like to pay tribute to all the staff involved in this event, the visitors from all over the world and the people of St Andrews for making the 134th Open at the Home of Golf such a memorable occasion.”
A deal off course
The Old Course Hotel was the scene for one of the biggest commercial announcements of the week as IMG, the sports marketing and management company, signed an agreement with Thani Investments, the Dubai based company to design two of the world class championship courses at Dubai Golf City, the recently launched sporting venture.
Dubai Golf City is one of Dubai land’s major projects which is planned to be one of the top ten global tourist destinations by 2008. IMG and its partners will work with BENAA, the property development subsidiary of Thani Investments, to develop the Oasis course and a world first in golf course design.
Commenting on the deal with IMG, Abdulla Saeed Al Thani, chairman of Thani Investments said, “Thani is delighted to be working with a world class partner like IMG. The championship courses planned with IMG will be the most challenging, enjoyable and memorable designs and will become a central attraction to Dubai.
“Other course planners are being consulted at the moment and we look forward announcing further partners in the near future.”
Tickets for the 2006 Open Championship now on sale
Spectators are being given the opportunity of purchasing tickets for the 2006 Open Championship on-line, four months earlier than in the past. Season tickets again represent excellent value and if purchased before the end of January 2006, give a 45% reduction on the cost of daily tickets for the eight days of practice and championship play.
“We have already had many enquiries from spectators wishing to purchase tickets for next year, so we have decided to commence on-line sales immediately,” said David Hill, The R&A’s Director of Championships. “In line with our policy of maintaining prices at affordable levels we are again offering substantial discounts on all season tickets.”
Daily tickets range in price from £5 to £50 and there are concessions for senior citizens and youths. Under-16’s are again admitted free-of-charge.
Open Championship www.opengolf.com