The dust has settled and the tracks are clear: Tiger’s clawing his way back to the top, both on the course and in commercials. And while a fourth place showing at the Masters affirmed that his professional recovery was never in doubt, his personal brand’s recovery is still touch-and-go thanks to a controversial commercial debut and his miserable post-Masters interview. Let’s look at where he and his sponsors stand these days in the court of public opinion.

Tiger Woods remains one of the most popular athletes in the U.S. – still neck-and-neck with Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. He is easily the most popular golfer, continuing to beat Phil Mickelson by a three-to-one margin. However, his margin prior to January was five-to-one and the Nike “Earl Woods” ad and Kostis interview didn’t help his cause.

Earlier research compiled and conducted by research firm TNS indicates Tiger did major damage to his own brand with his series of well-publicized extramarital affairs, but also shows that most of the brands he endorsed escaped relatively untarnished. Nike and EA Sports were and are his closest corporate friends, and their brands and sales easily absorbed any hits. The other endorsements cut ties but also recovered nicely.

How should Tiger go forward? Sacunas agrees that in order to fully bury the story, Tiger needs to start winning again and do some internal branding to figure out who he really is, then sell that. That simple brand strategy holds true for individuals and companies alike.  

Compiled from three Ad Age articles.