It’s not been the Year of the Tiger for a long while, and instead of the ‘Eye of the Tiger’, all Tiger Woods finds himself in these days is the eye of the storm as he fights to find his form and fights to retrieve what’s left of his battered reputation.

Only this week golfing legend Nick Faldo declared ‘Tiger Wood’s aura has gone’. It’s that painful moment in many a top athlete’s career when he or she discovers that the aura of invincibility that could psychologically overwhelm opponents has disappeared like the morning mist.

As Tiger finds himself in the unfamiliar territory of being the world number 30 without a tournament win in over two years, TAG Heuer, one of the world’s top luxury sports watch brands, has decided to end its decade-long sponsorship of the 35 year old golfer.

The Swiss watch company opted not to renew Woods’s multi-million dollar endorsement contract when it ended earlier this year. Tiger Wood’s watch partnership had been TAG Heuer’s longest to date.

Tiger’s struggles

Tiger Woods’s career has struggled since late 2009, following damaging publicity over several alleged affairs and the subsequent end of his marriage. He hasn’t won a tournament since then and has lost several big-name corporate sponsors. TAG Heuer stayed with him longer than many, but the company stated publicly in late 2009 it was “reassessing” its relationship with him and then reduced use of him in its marketing.

We are confident Tiger will eventually regain full trust with the public, and that his huge talent and mental strength will help him overcome his difficulties,said Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of TAG Heuer, when the contract ended. “We wish Tiger all the best in his future endeavours in golf, with new business partners, and in his private life.”

Woods had endorsed and worn TAG Heuer watches since 2002. The brand produced a professional golf watch, regarded as the first watch catering to the needs of golfers’, and was designed by Woods. It has now been “reimagined” as TAG Heuer’s Professional Sports Watch, says the watch company.

TAG tweet

Though Woods’ contract officially ended on May 31st, public awareness of it only came about on August 5 when Ron Sirak, executive editor of Golf World a former Woods’ sponsor said in a widely-reported tweet that Woods’s agent acknowledged the business relationship with TAG Heuer had ended. Since then, national US newspaper USA Today, Bloomsberg business news service, the Times of India, the Daily Telegraph, and many other publications around the world have reported the news.

Down but not out

Despite the end of the contract with Tag Heuer and several other top name brands, most athletes would kill to have Tiger Woods’s ‘problems.’ Even if he never hits another golf ball or signs another lucrative endorsement deal in his life, he could still live a life of carefree indolence, sailing the world in his yacht, totally secure with a personal fortune estimated at over $500 million. And in golf, unlike many sports, a meaningful comeback is still entirely on the cards at the age of 35.

Suzann Petterson

TAG Heuer, headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, remains actively involved in golf. It is partnered with the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s number-two player, 29 year old Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, seen here perched seductively on a chair. The TAG Heuer relationship with Suzann Pettersen, launched immediately before the 2008 golf season and has seen her wear TAG Heuer watches both on and off the golf course. She is the only female golfer used by TAG Heuer as an ambassador.