Column: Tiger Woods and Nike was a partnership for a lifetime until it wasn't

Tiger Woods has had two agents and three regular caddies in his 27 years on the PGA Tour

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- The red shirt on Sunday came to identify Tiger Woods.

So did the swoosh.

Woods and Nike were partners from the time he stepped to a podium at the Greater Milwaukee Open in August 1996, a 20-year-old fresh off his unprecedented third straight U.S. Amateur title. With a swoosh on his striped shirt, he gazed at the room and said, “I guess, hello world, huh?”

It all sounded so innocent until Nike launched its “Hello, World” campaign a few days later. That wasn't put together overnight, but so what? It worked.

Just about everything did when it came to Woods and Nike.