October 3, 2011 – For the first time in franchise history, EA SPORTS™ is giving fans an opportunity to vote and determine who will join Tiger Woods on the cover of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13. From October 3 through 23, fans can participate in a match play bracket-style voting campaign on www.facebook.com/tigerwoodspgatour 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.
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.
The PGA TOUR and EA SPORTS have shared a 22-year partnership and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 will feature many of the best championship courses from the PGA TOUR tournament schedule, as well as all-new experiences around Tiger Woods’ memorable golf accomplishments throughout his lifetime.
Golf fans will once again be able to step foot onto the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club as the Masters Tournament will be included in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13. There will also be a special Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13: The Masters Collector’s Edition, equipped with its own unique box art and will include all the features of the standard edition as well as five additional golf courses, Augusta National’s world-class Tournament Practice Facility, and much more.
Both the standard and collector’s edition of the game will be the first controller-free, voice-enabled and body tracking sports simulation game to support the Xbox 360 Kinect motion control system.
Over the past two decades, EA SPORTS has introduced a series of immersive and authentic golf experiences across a variety of game platforms that has helped expand the popularity of the sport amongst fans. The EA SPORTS golf product portfolio includes the award-winning Tiger Woods PGA TOUR franchise, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online and EA SPORTS PGA TOUR® Golf Challenge for Facebook.
*The Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 cover athlete winners announcement date is subject to change. Visit www.facebook/tigerwoodspgatour throughout the campaign for updates and more information.