The first event for the world #1 and #2 did not go well.  With opening rounds of even par for Woods, and +3 for McIlroy, Nike was not off to a hot start with its two super stars.  Day two at the Abu Dhabi did not fair any better for either player.  Rory continued his bad play in the second round with another 73.  Woods got off to an awful start with an outward 41. Which included a 7 on the par four 5th hole because of a wayward drive that embedded in the desert and ultimately cost him a two shot penalty for a bad drop.

Tiger played very well on the back nine on day two, and was clawing his way back to make the weekend, but fell one shot short.  Rory however never really got anything going, and just looked like he hadn’t played golf very much in the last few weeks.

So what is the big deal?  So the world #1 and #2 had a off week, and started of the 2013 season with the opposite of a big bang.  The big deal is the giant push for Nike this week in Dubai for Rory McIlory’s announcement that he is now on team Nike.  Add to that the new commercial that Nike debuted this week, which everyone loves, including the Chicago Golf Guy…turns out that the top golfers in the world were never filmed together.  YUP we are watching a photoshoped commercial that was edited to seem as if the pair were engaging in witty banter, but only turned out to be TV wizardry

As if that was not enough, by the four or fifth hole on day two, the media figures out that Rory is no longer putting with that new and fancy Oven built Nike putter but he is back to his Scotty Cameron build GSS Prototype with a Nike head cover.  The tom foolery of the head cover apparently did not fool the media for long.  Way to go media!

With all that being said…
Nike is going to be the top golf equipment company very soon.  Despite the current mistakes and issues that Team Nike (which I am assuming is only including Tiger and Rory) is having, they still have the world #1 and world #2 golfers in the world decked out head to toe in Nike gear.  The putter will work itself out, and I am sure that a Nike exec will bring that to Rory’s attention.  Plus this is week number one.  Rory has a total of 36 holes under his belt with the new Nike equip, and that is hardly any time to start accusing anyone of anything.

I for one know what it is like to be a little off my game, and be willing to try anything to get some kind of mojo working for day two of a tournament.  So he went back to his security blanket (yes both a crack on his youth, and a reference to his Cameron & Co putter) to try and get his game back.  Rory is a young man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he is still going to win tournaments this year, contend in Major Championships, and ultimately show the world why Nike bucked up a couple hundred mil for him.

Lets all take a step back, and remember that we are barely into the golf season.  If Rory is still missing cuts and switching clubs left and right at the end of the year, with no wins, then we can worry.  Give the man some time to adjust.

Related articles

• McIlroy (+3) struggles, Tiger even in debut (espn.go.com)
• Woods, McIlroy struggle together in Abu Dhabi (cbssports.com)
• When Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy Hit The Links, No Cup Is Off Limits. (theobamacrat.com)
• Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy miss cut at 2013 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (sbnation.com)
• Tiger, McIlroy didn’t shoot Nike ad together (espn.go.com)
• Tiger Woods vs. Rory McIlroy in Abu Dhabi: Round One Goes to Woods (bleacherreport.com)