Adams bulks up Tour staff with stars
By SCOTT HAMILTON
Senior Writer
Add a couple of big PGA Tour names to Adams Golf’s marquee.
Less than three weeks after signing Q-school graduate Tommy “Two
Gloves” Gainey and Brad Elder, the Plano, Texas-based equipment maker
has added a pair of top-20 PGA Tour players in Rory Sabbatini and Aaron
Baddeley.
Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Sabbatini, a former Nike staff player who is a four-time winner on the
PGA Tour and ranked 11th in the world, will wear an Adams hat and carry
the company’s staff bag while using Idea a3 irons, an Idea Pro hybrid
and Insight driver. He finished sixth on the money list last year after
posting top-10 finishes in each of the four FedEx Cup playoff events
and winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Baddeley, a two-time Tour winner and the 18th-ranked player in the
world, was released from his deal with MacGregor in the fall. He will
wear an Adams hat, carry a tour staff bag and is expected to start the
year using the company’s line of Insight 3 and 5-woods. Adams Golf
president and CEO Chip Brewer said Baddeley will work additional Adams
clubs into his bag during the year, adding that the company will
consider adding blade irons to its product lineup to accommodate these
elite players and broaden its consumer audience. Adams Golf’s brand
identity thus far has been defined mostly by its game-improvement
equipment rather than clubs for skilled golfers.
Adams already has a significant presence on the Champions Tour, thanks
to relationships with players including Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer.
But the addition of Sabbatini and Baddeley is by far the company’s most
aggressive move toward gaining exposure on the PGA Tour.
“We wanted to broaden our brand’s appeal and reach by having a PGA Tour
presence,” Brewer said. “Business has done well, and we thought we had
an opportunity and we took it. Time will tell how big this move is.
We’ve got four players on the Tour we’re very proud of, and we hope
it’s a nice significant move forward for our brand.”
Brewer said Adams had discussions with a half dozen PGA Tour players
before wrapping up deals with Sabbatini and Baddeley. He doesn’t expect
any more PGA Tour signings in the immediate future.
Gainey, 31, first became an Adams staff player before the 2007 season,
following his victory on Golf Channel’s Big Break IV reality show. He
earned his 2008 PGA Tour card by finishing 19th at Q-School. Elder, 32,
makes his return to the Tour after finishing 17th on the 2007
Nationwide Tour money list.
• • •
Scott Hamilton is a Golfweek senior writer. To reach him e-mail shamilton@golfweek.com.
Posted: 1/3/2008
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