Australian golfer Aaron Baddeley signed a three-year
golf ball, shoe and glove agreement with Nike Golf on Monday.
The 19-year-old rising star captured the Greg Norman
Holden International last month to cement his position at the top
of the Australasian Tour's money list in his first season as a professional.
He also was the runaway winner of the Australasian Tour Rookie of
the Year honor.
"We're extremely proud of Aaron's accomplishments,"
said Kel Devlin, the director of sports marketing for Nike Golf.
"He was the first player outside the U.S. to play the Tour Accuracy
TW golf ball, and he's been one of the most consistent performers
on the Australasian Tour ever since. He's only beginning to tap
his potential for becoming a major force in international play."
Baddeley successfully defended his title late last
year at the 2000 Australian Open. He first won the event as an amateur
in 1999.
Since the Holden event was co-sanctioned by the
European and Australasian tours, his win there earned him exempt
status on the European Tour for the next three seasons.
"I'm looking forward to building on my success
and playing in European and U.S. PGA Tour events," Baddeley said.
Aaron
Baddeley chips from the rough at the recent ANZ Tour Championship.
Allsport.
Last season, Baddeley became the first amateur to
receive a special invitation to the Masters since 1976. He missed
the 36-hole cut by one stroke.
Baddeley was born in New Hampshire before his family
moved back to Australia when he was two-years old. He holds dual
American and Australian citizenship.
David Duval became the first player to agree to
use the entire Nike Golf product line when the two parties reached
a deal last week. Duval is currently being sued for breach of his
endorsement contract with Titleist. He has since filed a counterclaim.
World No. 1 Tiger Woods, who switched to the Nike
ball in June, recently signed a contract extension with Nike Golf
for about $20 million a year.
