History repeats itself? Nike sure hopes so. The brand has signed the number-1-ranked amateur golfer in the world, recently of Stanford University and, no, this article isn’t 18 years late. Today Nike agreed to a multi-year agreement with the newly-pro Patrick Rodgers, the three-time NCAA Division I All-American and 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Nearly two decades after the Swoosh brought Tiger Woods on board, fresh out of Stanford, and the landscape of golf was changed forever, the company adds to its roster yet another winner of the Haskins award, given to the outstanding collegiate male golfer of the year.
Like Woods, Rodgers plied his trade at Stanford before going pro and won myriad honors along the way while participating in the Walker Cup. In fact, Rodgers set a new school record for lowest career stroke average with 70.33, besting Woods’s previous record of 71.1.
Like Woods, Rodgers’s contract with Nike Golf will see him dressed head to toe in the Swoosh, while using the company’s clubs as well. Rest assured, considering what Woods has done to legitimize and then popularize Nike Golf, his history is one the brand would be all too happy to be doomed to repeat.