There's a rumor floating out there -- made broadly public by Sports Illustrated's Alan Shipnuck -- that Tiger Woods could well move from Nike Golf equipment to playing Miura Golf irons when he returns to competitive golf.
That assumes a lot, including that Woods has an eye on a potential return date that would give him time to make the switch from his Nike Golf sticks.
No matter Woods' plans to return and the rumors about his future equipment maker, golf equipment makers have sensed a potential opportunity of a lifetime to land their equipment in Woods' bag.
Woods' friend and Stanford teammate Notah Begay III said on Golf Channel that Woods' Jupiter, Fla., dining room looks more like a golf warehouse store than where he and his kids might eat dinner.
“I walked into his dining room and it was like going into a PGA [Tour] Superstore now that Nike’s equipment line no longer exists,” Begay said on Golf Channel. “Every single manufacturer had sent equipment in there, and he’s trying a variety of different things, trying to get a sense of where he’s going to go from this point on.”
The former world No. 1 has been a Nike Golf staffer for the bulk of his 20 years on the PGA Tour, dating back to 1998. However, Nike announced after the PGA Championship that it will no longer make golf clubs, balls and bags, leaving Woods and the litany Nike Golf staffers to secure a new equipment sponsor. Woods' agent Mark Steinberg said they were aware of some time that the transition was coming, but it's unclear how much of a head start Team Tiger may have had to work on a new equipment deal.
Woods has still not indicated specifically when he return to competition. In a brief, happenstance cameo on the Barstool Sports "Pardon My Take" podcast with guest Scott Van Pelt of ESPN, Woods said he would return "in the future."
