TORONTO (August 11, 2010)--Carl Pettersson and Anthony Kim,
winners on the PGA Tour this season, lead 13 Nike Golf athletes into
the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits this week.
Pettersson is coming off his recent victory in the RBC Canadian
Open at St. George's which included a spectacular 60 in the third
round. The victory was his among four top 10s on the PGA Tour this
season, and the fourth of his career.
Anthony Kim is making his way back from a thumb injury that
sidelined him shortly after he won the Shell Houston Open earlier
this year, his third victory on the PGA Tour. Kim was having a solid
year before his injury, enjoying four top 10s. Last week's
Bridgestone Invitational was his first event since early May.
The Nike Golf contingent at Whistling Straits also includes
Tiger Woods, Trevor Immelman, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, Paul
Casey, Stephen Ames, and Lucas Glover, along with European Tour
stars Charl Schwartzel, Francesco Molinari and Simon Dyson, as
well as Champions Tour player Bob Tway.
Nike athletes have won eight global
events
Nike Golf athletes have captured eight victories globally in
2010: Schwartzel won twice early on the European Tour, Pablo Martin
captured the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the European Tour, James
Morrison notched a victory at the Madiera Islands Open BPI, Kim won
the PGA Tour's Shell Houston Open and Pettersson the RBC Canadian
Open.
Jhonattan Vegas and Jamie Lovemark have both won on the
Nationwide Tour.
Among his 14 major championships, Woods has captured the PGA
Championship four times in his incredible career, including 1999,
2000, 2006 and 2007. He was runner-up last year.
Ames of Calgary is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour. His best
finish this season is a T6 at the Transitions Championship. The
winner of the 2006 PLAYERS Championship is regarded as one of the
best ball-strikers on the PGA Tour. He plays Victory Red Forged
Blades.
Cink, a six-time PGA Tour winner, is strong in major
championships with nine top 10s, including his victory in the Open
Championship last season. Cink has three top 10s in 2010. His best
finish at the PGA Championship was T3 in 1999.
Earlier this season, Schwartzel won back-to-back events on the
European Tour. The South African finished second in the PGA Tour's
WGC-CA Championship and ninth in the WGC-Accenture Match Play
Championship. His strong play in 2010 has boosted
him into
the Top 25 in the world rankings.
Casey was T3 in the Open Championship in July, one of five top
10s this season. He was second in the WGC-Accenture Match Play
Championship, T4 at the Honda, T6 at the WGC-CA Championship, and
T10 at SBS Championship. Casey won three times in 2009, including
the Shell Houston Open.
Glover third at this year's PLAYERS
Glover, winner of the 2009 U.S. Open, finished 5th in last
year's PGA Championship. He
enjoyed his best finish (third) in
2010 at the Players Championship, and he finished T9 in the Farmers
Insurance Open.
Duval, the former world No. 1, continues to make a solid
comeback this year with a second-place finish at the AT&T Pebble
Beach National Pro-Am. He has finished T10 twice in the PGA
Championship. He finished T17 in the recent RBC Canadian Open.
Immelman is continuing his comeback from a wrist injury.
The 2008 Masters champion's best finishes this season are T13 at the
RBC Canadian Open and T14 at Augusta. Immelman plays the VR
STR8-FIT Tour driver; he was the first player to win a major
championship with an adjustable driver in 2008.
Leonard has had seven top 10s in the PGA Championship,
including runner-up spot in 1997. Leonard has won 12 PGA Tour
events, including the 1997 Open Championship and the 1998 PLAYERS
Championship.
Italy's Molinari finished 10th in the 2010 PGA
Championship. He teamed with his brother Edoardo to win the 2009
World Cup.
Dyson of England notched a pair of victories on the
European Tour in 2009,
including the Alfred Dunhill Links
Championship at St. Andrews. His best
finish in 2010 is a T10 at
the Madrid Masters.
Tway, a winner of eight PGA Tour
events, won the 1986 PGA Championship in thrilling style by holing
out from a green-side bunker on the 72nd hole at Inverness to edge
Greg Norman by two strokes. Tway has had two top 10 finishes on the
Champions Tour this season, his second year on the
tour.
