The “indefinite break from professional golf” for Tiger Woods following recent dramatic revelations about his private life has put further pressure on his sponsors to stick with him or send him to the naughty step of the clubhouse.
The big guns on his roster, Nike, Accenture, EA Sports and Tag Heuer, are obviously attracting the most attention by virtue of being global mega-brands, but Woods also has a suite of second tier commercial partners, including US-based plane “fractional ownership” website, NetJets.
The company arranges business class segments on its suite of private jets for wealthy individuals or corporations who need transportation between 50 and 400 hours a year.
It’s a nice tie-in for the jetsetting Woods and other global stars such as Tennis ace Roger Federer and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Earlier this week NetJets CEO David Sokol issued a statement pledging his support to the golf icon following the initial revelations prompted by the now infamous car accident involving Woods.
However as the story has unfolded this week the pressure on the once squeaky clean Woods and in turn his commercial partnerships has mounted.
Calls and emails to the NetJets press team since Wednesday this week have gone unanswered amid reports of some sponsors quietly removing Woods branding from their sites, such as Accenture.
NetJets has had its fair share of attention this year already after a corporate restructuring in August and ongoing pressure on the private aviation industry due to declining demand for travel.
AP reported in November that the company would be letting 500 pilots go.
NB: Story will be updated when NetJets responds.
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