Michael Phelps, with a brand new PING endorsement in his golf bag, teed off today in Phoenix at the 2013 Waste Management ProAm. The deal comes as Phelps, long an Olympic swimming hero, delves further-and-further into his newfound sport. Terms of the deal were not released, but the arrangement did come with a set of fitted Ping clubs accented in special gold, red, white, and blue to honor the man who has more Olympic medals than anyone in history.
The appearance in Phoenix comes as Phelps is filming for the next season of the Haney Project, set to debut on February 25th, where he is working to improve his game under the watchful eye of former Tiger Woods swing coach Hank Haney. Coinciding with the announcement of his new sponsorship this morning, this weekend has been a perfect post-career marketing cynergy for the GOAT.
Phelps is used to being adored by every crowd he stepped in front of; though he got plenty of love at the TPC Scottsdale, including a rousing chant of “USA, USA, USA” on the 16th hole, only to be turned to good-natured booing when he failed to hit the green. This pairing, given that his partner Bubba Watson is among the most popular golfers on the planet at the moment, made them the big hit of the tournament.
Watson is the defending Masters Champion whose popularity exploded last year after winning one of golf’s biggest tournaments.
Tee it high and let it fly Michael!
Smart guy. There’s a whole lot more money in golf than in swimming.
I am waiting for a Homosexual Gone Wild Golf story. The laydees game is coc a bloc.
But not seeing it in Michael.
And the winner for “random and unnecessary comment of the thread” goes to….
Valiant attempt at risque humor.
Humor?
Granted this is MP, but with due respect when a retired swimmer gets a GOLF equipment deal better than a swimming deal most Olympic medalist swimmers will ever see in SWIMMING….