Well that didn’t take long!
Only two days after Tiger Woods announced that he will be playing in the 79th Masters Championship at Augusta National this week, Nike released a commercial staring the beleaguered player along with the world’s top-ranked golfer Rory McIlroy.
Nike portrays Rory as a boy emulating every move Tiger makes, including the fist pump. The video shows a young Rory practicing obsessively, hitting golf shots in his house, in his yard, and at the range in weather that a mailman wouldn’t hazard. Rory watches his hero on TV, while sitting on the floor of his living room with his father, dreaming that someday he too may be a great golfer.
The advertisement is titled Ripple alluding to the “ripple effect” Jack Nicklaus had on Tiger’s development as a golfer and then how Tiger influenced Rory’s rise to number one in the world. Some of the commercial was actually shot at Rory’s boyhood home.
“It’s been an incredible journey for me, going from massive fan to competitor,” McIlroy explained in a press release. “To think that not too long ago I was that little boy watching him on TV to where I am now. It’s been a cool journey and I’m very lucky I get to compete with and against him because he inspired me as a kid and he inspires me now. He’s the best player I’ve ever seen.”
Tiger admitted in the press release that now it is Rory and other younger players that now inspire him. “It’s neat because I’ve been able to be a part of different generations of competitors,” Tiger said. “Now I’m competing against the younger ones. It helps me train a little harder, because these guys are athletic.”
Golf.com observed that this isn’t the first time the two have appeared in a commercial together.