Knight, Riswold inserted his tape into the player, and all eyes turned to the television monitor in the room. As the video played – a collage of images from Tiger’s childhood and amateur career – a choir sang in the background and the words “Hello world” appeared on the screen. There were no voices in the entire 60 seconds, just Riswold’s script: I shot in the 70s when I was 8. I shot in the 60s when I was 12. I played in the Nissan Open when I was 16. Hello world. I won the US Amateur when I was 18. I played in the Masters when I was 19. I am the only man to win three consecutive US Amateur titles. Hello world. There are still courses in the US I am not allowed to play because of the colour of my skin. Hello world. I’ve heard I’m not ready for you. Are you ready for me?
That evening, before leaving the course, there was one bit of business to attend to. The Nike folks had reserved a room in the clubhouse for a brief meeting. When I arrived with Tiger and his parents along with
PROUD PAPA Woods and father Earl on the eve of Tiger’s pro debut at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open.
(Tiger’s swing coach) Butch Harmon, we were greeted by a smiling Phil Knight. With him was a guy I recognised from a visit to Nike. “This is Jim Riswold,” Knight said. “He’s written some ads for me.” That was an understatement. Riswold, the creative director of Nike’s ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy, was something of a legend in the business, having created several iconic Nike commercials. They included “Air Rabbit,” pairing Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny, and the “Bo Knows” series featuring Bo Jackson. The most noteworthy ad Riswold would ever create was the one on the tape he was holding in his hand – the “Hello world” message that would signal Tiger’s professional debut. It would be shown for the first time at the press conference in Milwaukee, and Knight and Riswold were giving all of us an advance screening. At a signal from
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 49
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
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