When Tiger Woods tees it up this week at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, he'll be wearing a Nike shoe model that is 4 years old rather than the signature model Nike currently is selling for $200.
That's why, when Nike released the outfits its golfers will wear for this week's U.S. Open on Monday, Tiger Woods' spikes were missing.
When Woods wore the shoes at the Masters, despite a 2015 version that had launched two months before, the Nike Golf Twitter account replied to a curious fan that he "made some recent swing changes leading to an adjustment in his footwear."
Mark Steinberg, the agent for Woods, told ESPN.com that his client's relationship with Nike is "as good as it always is" but that Nike would handle a specific inquiry on the shoe change. A Nike Golf spokesperson confirmed Woods would be wearing the 2011 shoes again but did not elaborate beyond that there was "nothing new to report."
The shoes, TW '11s, were made for Woods in 2011 to help support his injured knee and Achilles tendon.
Woods is the third prominent Nike endorser in recent years who has decided not to wear specific signature shoes made in that year. In the 2013-14 season, LeBron James barely wore his 11th signature shoe, instead favoring the shoe that was released the previous year. This season, Kevin Durant took to the court for the Oklahoma City Thunder without the KD7s Nike made for him and the public this year.
Athletes tend to be particular about their footwear, and the shoes the endorsers themselves wear usually aren't off the shelf. Although companies such as Nike often pitch that the shoe was made for the athlete, the goal obviously is to sell to the fans.
NPD sports industry analyst Matt Powell, who closely covers the athletic shoe business, said that although it's "concerning that athletes who are supposed to be marketing vehicles aren't prominently wearing the product," at least with James and Durant, shoe sales at retail for that particular shoe didn't suffer. Powell said that Nike probably isn't too concerned about Woods, either.
Said Powell: "They use him to sell a lot more shirts than shoes."
Woods finished last in the Memorial earlier this month after shooting a career-worst round of 85. Tuesday is the seventh anniversary of his last major win, the 2008 U.S. Open.