EA Sports has announced that not one, but two additional golfers will share the spotlight with Tiger Woods on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. Both an American and European professional golfer will be joining Tiger Woods on the cover of his own game. What a slap in the face. Unlike Charlie Sheen, Tiger Woods' public meltdown didn't result in a growing fanbase amongst the golfing community.
But is it any surprise? Given Tiger Woods personal meltdown at home and his professional meltdown on the course, it was only a matter of time before EA turned towards younger, more successful golfers for the cover of their golf game franchise. After all, when was the last time Woods had a successful tournament? While Tiger's trying to figure out his golf game, EA's trying to figure out how to not lose sales on their golf game by having his face on the cover. What better way then to reduce his image by a third.
This time, EA is giving fans the opportunity to vote and determine who will join Tiger on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. From October 3 through October 23, fans can participate in a match play bracket-style voting campage on the Tiger Woods PGA Tour Facebook page and choose among 16 golfers who in total have amassed over 100 combined PGA Tour and European Tour victories, multiple rookie and player of the year awards and four major wins – including the last two US Open champions.
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13, which launches in March 2012, will have two versions of the box art – one to appear in North America and one in Europe. Eight American golfers will be featured on one side of the bracket and eight European golfers on the opposite side, with two golfers going head-to-head each week until a winner is determined on each side. The winners will be announced via Facebook on October 24.
On the American side of the bracket, the candidates include:
· Ben Crane
· Rickie Fowler
· Jim Furyk
· Dustin Johnson
· Zach Johnson
· Hunter Mahan
· Rocco Mediate
· Bubba Watson
On the European side of the bracket, the candidates include:
· Paul Casey
· Luke Donald
· Ross Fisher
· Graeme McDowell
· Rory McIlroy
· Edoardo Molinari
· Ian Poulter
· Justin Rose
Candidates were selected and seeded based on a combination of the Official World Golf Rankings, the FedExCup Rankings/Race to Dubai Rankings and “Fandom” rankings. Fandom rank is a combination of Twitter followers, Facebook fans and traffic to each golfer’s official website.
While this is the first time EA has opened up a vote to the fans for Tiger Woods PGA Tour, this isn't the first time EA has opened up the vote to the fans. Community reaction to previous EA Sports cover athlete votes with Madden NFL 12 and NCAA Football 12 have been overwhelmingly positive for providing an opportunity for fans to have a voice on who they think should be on the cover of their favorite sports video games.
Who do you think should share the spotlight with Tiger Woods on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13?