ROSS FISHER BECOMES A NIKE GOLF TOUR STAFF PLAYER

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY NIKE
Nike Golf is proud to announce that Ross Fisher, a four-time winner on the European Tour, has joined the Nike Golf Tour Staff with immediate effect.
In switching to exclusively play and wear Nike Golf products, Fisher is making the first manufacturer change during his seven-year career as a tour professional.
The 31-year-old from West London, whose most recent victory was at the Irish Open in 2010, has signed a multi-year staff contract that will see him head-to-toe in Nike Golf’s innovative range of apparel, footwear, and equipment, including the new 20XI ball, which goes on sale in Europe next month.
Fisher said he was attracted to the energy and innovation that Nike Golf has been bringing to golf since it launched its first equipment range just over 10 years ago.
"Just looking at the history of Nike, it's all about innovative products that are designed specifically for athletes. Nike Golf is the same. At Nike, golfers are athletes," said Fisher.
Speaking about his plans for the 2012 season, Fisher said: “My first priority this year is to get back into the world’s top 50, and with the backing and support of my coaches and the team at Nike Golf, I am sure that it’s a realistic goal.
"Since the end of the season I’ve been working hard on all aspects of my game. I’m really bombing it with the VR Pro Ltd driver and I’m looking forward to putting all the new gear into play. At the moment we’re experiencing a golden period for European golf, particularly in Britain, and I just want to be back up there challenging for Majors and another Ryder Cup appearance.”
With four individual wins to his name, and team wins in the 2010 Ryder Cup and Seve Trophy, Fisher remains one of the most talented players of his generation.
Joining the European Tour in 2006, he has won four times in consecutive years from 2007, with victories at the KLM Open, the European Open in 2008, the Volvo World Match Play in 2009, and the 3 Irish Open in 2010, where he fired a second round 61 at Killarney.
A notoriously long and accurate striker of the ball – he averaged 293 yards of the tee in 2011 – Fisher gained the honour of having the lowest cumulative score for the four major championships in 2009, with a best-placed finish of fifth at The Open Championship, a position he matched in the US Open.
In his bag for 2012 will be a selection of products from the highly successful VR woods and iron range and the tour proven Method putter line.
Fisher will also join members of Nike Golf’s Tour staff in putting the ground-breaking 20XI ball into play. Featuring a revolutionary new resin core, the 20XI-S and 20XI-X balls creates faster initial ball speeds to deliver even greater distance off the tee for those with 90mph+ swing speeds, while retaining high levels of spin and control around the greens. New construction materials also ensure unparalleled levels of consistency from ball-to-ball, for highly predictable performance.
“Changing balls is much harder than changing clubs,” says Fisher. “With a new driver, that’s basically just one shot you have to understand. But a new ball affects all 14 clubs in your bag, and you have to have confidence in how each of those clubs is going to play. It’s not something you can do overnight, but I’m really excited about what this ball is going to do for my game.”
Robin Murray, EMEA sports marketing manager for Nike Golf, is equally excited about his latest signings’ prospects in 2012. "Ross is going to light it up this year" he said. "We ask our players for their input and their opinion so that we can get them what they need to compete at the highest level. Ross feels that we can help him return to prominence. In turn, we take player feedback and develop products that will help the average golfer compete at the highest level. What is nice for us is that Ross has really embraced this concept."
Fisher’s first outing as a Nike Golf staff athlete will be at the Abu Dhabi Championship, which takes place from January 26-29.