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Nike Golf's TA2 Named Official Practice Ball For 2003 Nationwide Tour Contact Dean Stoyer BEAVERTON, Ore. (March 24, 2003) - Golfers arriving for the start of this week's Chitimacha Louisiana Open in Broussard, La., the Nationwide Tour's first U.S. event of the year, will be met with signs touting Nike Golf's new Tour Accuracy 2 (TA2) golf ball at the practice range. The TA2, now played by more than 70 tour-level professionals throughout the world, has been named the Official Practice Ball of the 2003 Nationwide Tour. Nike Golf will provide the TA2 LNG for all 28 of the Nationwide Tour events in the U.S. and Canada, including the Nationwide Tour Championship to be held October 27 through November 2, in Prattville, Ala. After each event, Nike Golf and the Nationwide Tour will donate all of the practice balls to a local junior golf program in need. The TA2, introduced to retail in February 2003, is the result of more than three years of testing Nike Golf's Tour Accuracy line; feedback from hundreds of golfers after thousands of rounds played; scores of professional tour victories including seven Major Championships; and the magic of the most talented golf ball engineer in the golf industry, Rock Ishii. "Nike Golf is proud to take an active role in the Nationwide Tour and pleased to give these emerging Tour stars an opportunity to play the ball that is the choice of so many professionals around the world," said Kel Devlin, Nike Golf's Global Sports Marketing Director. "We already have a handful of Nationwide players and expect that this opportunity will actually drive even more players to switch to TA2." The TA2 is available in two versions, allowing golfers to match a ball with their launch angle and course conditions in order to realize every yard of the TA2's long potential. Both balls feature a new, proprietary cover from Nike Golf, the company's most-durable ever: TA2 LNG - Designed for players who prefer a distance ball with a higher trajectory, the TA2 LNG's higher compression and slightly harder cover make it the right distance ball for players with a low-to-mid launch angle. TA2 SPN - Designed for players who prefer a mid-trajectory, wind-boring distance ball with a slightly softer feel and increased responsiveness, the TA2 SPN's lower compression, softer cover and higher dimple pattern make it the right distance ball for golfers with a mid-to-high launch angle. More than a dozen golfers will begin the Nationwide Tour season playing Nike Golf's TA2 SPN or TA2 LNG. The company expects more players will switch to the TA2 in the weeks to come. All players on the Nationwide Tour will have the opportunity to experience the faster core and longer distance of the TA2 while preparing for competition each week on the practice range. The Nationwide Tour is run by the PGA TOUR and consists of 30 events in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Now in it's 14th year, the Nationwide Tour will be playing for a record $14.7 million this season. Former members of the Nationwide Tour have gone on to great success on the PGA TOUR with alums winning 125 TOUR titles to date, including eight major championships. This is the first year for Nationwide, one of the world's largest insurance and financial services providers, as the umbrella sponsor. Nike Golf, located in Beaverton, Oregon, is passionately dedicated to honoring and respecting the traditions and heritage of the game, and to providing committed golfers with the absolute best equipment in the game in every product category. For more information on Nike Golf, visit our Web site at www.nikegolf.com. Editors and journalists seeking editorial information and downloadable images, visit www.nikegolf.com/presscenter. |