Tiger Woods appears in new Nike ad ahead of Masters tournament

Tiger Woods appeared in a new Nike Inc commercial yesterday, the eve of his return to professional golf at the Masters Tournament.

The 30-second spot features Woods looking at the camera while a recording of his late father, Earl Woods, speaks about responsibility. Nike made the ad available on YouTube.com before running it on ESPN and the Golf Channel.

“Tiger, I am more prone to be inquisitive, to promote discussion,” Earl Woods says in the ad. “I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are and did you learn anything.”

Woods, 34, hasn’t played in a professional tournament since a November car crash that set off a sex scandal that included an admission of marital infidelity and the loss of several of his corporate sponsors, including Accenture Plc and AT&T Inc.

Nike has been one of the few to stick with Woods, who endorses its line of golf clothing and equipment. The Beaverton, Oregon-based company signed Woods to a sponsorship deal in 1996.

“We support Tiger and his family,” Nike said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. “As he returns to competitive golf, the ad addresses his time away from the game using the powerful words of his father.”

The Wall Street Journal reported the debut of the ad earlier.

The Masters, which Woods has won four times, begins today at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The world’s No 1- ranked golfer told reporters this week that he wanted to prove to his corporate sponsors that he’s a “worthy investment.”

Woods will tee off at 1:42 pm today and 10:35 am tomorrow, according to the golf club.