TOKYO — US golf star Tiger Woods has appeared in his first new TV commercial since his epic fall from grace in 2009 over a sex scandal.
The 35-year-old former world number one appeared in a 15-second commercial for a Japanese heat-rub which debuted on Japanese television Friday.
Japan-based Kowa Company announced Wednesday he had agreed to become the pitchman for its series of pain rubs, according to Forbes.
A spokesman for Kowa said the firm made the offer to Woods late last year. He refused to reveal details of the deal.
“We don’t think there is any,” he told AFP when asked if there was any risk in using the disgraced superstar, who is currently sidelined by injury.
It is Woods’ second endorsement contract with a Japanese firm. He signed a three-year deal with Asahi Soft Drinks in 1997 at an estimated ¥900 million ($11 million) to promote a canned coffee brand.
The sponsorship deal is Woods’ first since his well-documented sex scandal sent him into a personal and professional tailspin.
Woods, who has not won a tournament since just before the scandal broke in November 2009, lost several major endorsement deals in the midst of revelations about his numerous girlfriends and marital infidelities.
Accenture, AT&T, Gillette and PepsiCo all pulled the plug on Woods, costing the golf star an estimated $35 million in annual income, according to Forbes.
Despite the sponsorship fallout, Woods has remained the highest-paid athlete in the world, raking in $75 million — $22 million more than the next ranked sports star — over the past 12 months ending in May.
But Woods has had difficulty adding to his purse on the golf course due to lingering knee and Achilles injuries.
Woods sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee at the Masters in April, before aggravating the injury on his opening tee shot during The Players Championship in May.
The injuries forced the 14-time major champion to sit out the US Open last week and could keep him from participating in the British Open July 14-17.