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Five Nike Golf athletes thrive under pressure of the Ryder Cup
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| TORONTO (September 19, 2008)-Five Nike Golf athletes are playing for pride and their countries this week in the biennial pressure-cooker known as the Ryder Cup. Nike Golf is strongly represented at the 37th edition of golf's most exciting team event by U.S. captain Paul Azinger, American players Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard and Chad Campbell, and European team member Paul Casey. The three-day event got underway Friday at the 7,500-yard Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Going into the Ryder Cup, Cink was one of seven Nike athletes to win 11 PGA Tour events in 2008. A member of four Ryder Cup teams (1989, 1991, 1993 and 2002), Azinger, 46, will attempt to turn the tide for the once-dominant Americans, who have watched Europe win five of the last six meetings. His passion for the game and his leadership in past Ryder Cups make him an ideal captain to guide the American team in 2008 at Valhalla. In 15 career Ryder Cup matches, Azinger compiled a record of 5-7-3, including a 2-0-2 mark in singles play. Azinger joins a succession of golf's greatest players in the role of Ryder Cup captain. Walter Hagen, the first captain in 1927, was followed by such legendary golfers as Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino. Cink, 35, is playing in his fourth Ryder Cup. In his three previous Ryder Cup appearances, he has compiled a record of 3-5-4, winning five points in 12 matches. Azinger will count on Cink's laid-back nature to help calm the nerves of Team USA's younger members. The 1997 PGA Tour rookie-of-the-year is having one of his best seasons in 2008. He won his fifth PGA Tour title at the 2008Travelers Championship and the veteran is currently T3 with Kim for top ten finishes with seven. Kim is a 23-year-old sophomore sensation on the PGA Tour and a Ryder Cup rookie. Azinger is counting on his powerful play in 2008 to pick up some points for the Americans. Kim has won two PGA Tour events this year (the Wachovia Championship and AT&T National) and is currently T3 in scoring average (69.62). This is Leonard's third Ryder Cup experience. In eight matches he has a record of 0-3-5. At the 1999 event at Brookline, he made one of the game's most celebrated shots - a 45-foot putt that earned a decisive half point in the stirring comeback win for the U.S. Leonard has finished in the top 20 in all three events in the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedEx Cup. Earlier this season, the 36-year-old Texan won the Stanford St. Jude Championshipforhis 12th PGA Tour title. Campbell, 34, played in two previous Ryder Cups (2004, 2006). He sports a record of 1-3-2 in six matches. A captain's pick, he is one of the game's best ball strikers; Azinger looks to capitalize on Campbell's length. Currently, Campbell ranks third on the PGA Tour in all-around scoring and he'is in the top 10 in ball-striking. The lone European Nike athlete to tee it up at Valhalla is Casey, one of Nick Faldo's captain's picks. The 31-year-old Englishman has played in two previous Ryder Cups - helping guide the Europeans to victory in 2004 and 2006. At the K Club in 2006, Casey won three out of four points. He sports an overall record in six matches of 3-1-2. Over the past two months, Casey finished T3 in the BMW International Open, T7 in The Open Championship, T8 in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and T15 in the PGA Championship. |
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Located in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories worldwide. Nike Golf is passionately dedicated to honouring and respecting the traditions and heritage of the game, and to providing committed golfers with the absolute best equipment in the game
In 2008, Nike Golf's PGA Tour staff has 11 wins, 55 top-10 finishes, one Nationwide Tour victory and eight international wins. In 2007, Nike Golf had 13 PGA Tour wins, seven Nationwide Tour victories and eight international titles. For the last two years, Nike Golf has led the PGA Tour in driver, fairway woods and iron wins. For more information on Nike Golf, visit our Web site at www.nikegolf.ca. Editors and journalists seeking editorial information and downloadable images, visit www.nikegolf.com/presscenter. For information on Nike Golf Canada, please contact: Vitalis Gomes Tim O'Connor O'Connor Golf Communications 519.341.4778 |
