BEAVERTON, Ore. (August 24, 2010)- Nike Golf has added two more exciting young rising stars to its talented roster in Europe with the multi-year contract signings of 20-year-old Matt Haines and 19-year-old Tommy Fleetwood.
These Nike Golf athlete additions come on the heels of two other signings of young collegiate stars who have chosen to represent Nike Golf – Canadian Matt Hill, who competed at North Carolina State, and Dustin Garza, who played at Wichita State. In just three months, Nike Golf has added four new young athletes to its roster.
Haines and Fleetwood, who were teammates on the 2009 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team, both hail from England. Haines is from Chatham in Southeast England and Fleetwood comes from Lancashire in Northwest England. Both players will be head-to-toe Nike athletes playing with Nike Golf equipment, balls, apparel and footwear.
Haines enjoyed an illustrious amateur career having won eight major events including the 2008 Lytham Trophy and the 2010 Spanish Amateur Championship, which propelled him to fourth in the World Amateur Rankings. After turning professional in May of this year, Haines quickly made his mark on the Challenge Tour. Already, he’s ranked ninth on the money and has four top 10 finishes in nine starts.
“I am excited about starting my professional career with a brand as big as Nike Golf,” said Haines. “I know that the team there will work with me to give me the very best equipment and support to help me make the transition from amateur to professional successful. I’m impressed by the knowledge and the passion that goes into how they develop products.”
Haines will be playing with the new Nike VR driver, Nike VR fairway woods, Nike VR split cavity irons, Nike Method putter, Nike ONE Tour ball, Nike Golf footwear and apparel, Nike glove and Nike staff bag.
Fleetwood won the English Amateur Championship last month as well as secured runner-up finishes in both the New South Wales Amateur and the Spanish Amateur, which was won by Haines.
Fleetwood already has had some very respectable performances on the pro circuit. In July, he finished second on the Challenge Tour’s English Challenge and he also won a qualifying event to earn him a place in the elite field for the French Open in Paris.
“I’m happy as can be with everything and I can’t wait to get cracking,” said Fleetwood. “Nike has been a big part of my success as an amateur and knowing that I have the best equipment in my bag going into my professional career is a great head start.”
Fleetwood’s Nike arsenal will include the Nike VR driver, Nike fairway woods and the Nike VR split cavity irons. He will be playing with Nike’s ONE Tour ball and he will wear Nike Golf apparel and footwear. He also will wear a Nike glove and hat and will use a Nike staff bag.
Located at NIKE’s World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike Golf designs and markets golf equipment, apparel, balls, footwear, bags and accessories worldwide. Nike Golf is passionately dedicated to ushering in the future of this great sport by developing ground-breaking innovations that enable and inspire athletes to become better. For more information on Nike Golf, visit our Web site at www.nikegolf.com. To follow Nike Golf on Twitter visit www.twitter.com/nikegolf and to become a fan on facebook go to www.facebook.com/nikegolf. To view Nike Golf videos subscribe to our You Tube channel at www.youtube.com/nikegolf. Editors and journalists in the U.S. seeking editorial information and downloadable images, visit www.nikegolf.com/presscenter. For international journalists, please contact Nike Golf’s public relations representative in respective countries for information.
Contact:
Beth Gast – Nike Golf
503.532.8852
beth.gast@nike.com
Gretchen Wilhelm – Nike Golf
503.532.6236
gretchen.wilhelm@nike.com
