updated 7:26 p.m. ET April 13, 2005

BEAVERTON, Ore. - It was a Masters moment that will forever linger in memory: Tiger Woods’ chip shot crawling to the lip of the cup, the ball teetering for what seemed like an eternity, its tiny swoosh slowly rolling up into view before dropping in.

For Woods, it was a triumph. For Nike, it was a marketing coup — and a lucky one.

Some 2,750 miles away from the 16th hole at Augusta National, Nike Golf’s director of marketing Chris Mike was scrambling for the phone. Nike, he suggested to a colleague, had the makings of its new ad campaign.

Through its nearly decade-long alliance with Woods, Nike has sought to gain ground in the golf equipment and apparel market. The company currently has a 9 percent slice of the golf ball market that’s dominated by Titleist and Callaway Golf.

Because Woods hadn’t won a major for two years, some believed that the perception of Nike equipment was tarnished, said Paul Swangard, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon.

Then came The Shot.

“It really reinforced what Nike has been trying to get across — that they’re a leading performance golf brand,” Swangard said.

In another stroke of luck for Nike, the very ball that Woods seemed to telekinetically will into the cup — the One Platinum — hits the market next month. It will retail for a pricey $54 a dozen.

Nike first paired itself with Woods back in 1996. He signed a five-year endorsement deal with the company in 2000 for a reported $100 million, and has become such a major part of the company’s endorsement stable — one stocked with superstars — that he has a building named after him at Nike’s headquarters campus in Beaverton, a suburb of Portland.

Whether Nike can capitalize on Woods’ feat through an ad campaign remains to be seen, however; Nike said it is working with Augusta National, which owns the rights to the footage.

“It was exciting in many different ways. It was exciting because it was a great moment in sports, and we always celebrate great moments in sports,” said Nike Golf spokeswoman Joani Komlos. “It was exciting because it was a great moment for a member of the Nike family and it was exciting because it was a great moment for a part of our business that we’re very proud of.”

Nike seems to have a knack for hooking up with the right athletes at the right time.

When Brandi Chastain doffed her jersey after the U.S. Women’s soccer team won the World Cup back in 1999, the sports bra splashed across newspapers worldwide was itself stitched with the swoosh.

MORE FROM GOLF

Golf Section Front

Ochoa edges Shin for LPGA's top player award Nordqvist wins LPGA Tour Championship Out of Bounds: Tiger booed ... at Stanford? Latest golf videos Latest player news, rumors and more Tracking Tiger: News, features and more Tiger's triumphs: Recapping all Woods' wins Vote: When will Tiger win his 15th major? Vote, discuss: Best major of 2009? Special section: Golf on NBC   Golf Section Front   Add Golf headlines to your news reader: