IN THE ROUGH

Tiger Takes Hiatus

May lose another endorsement.

Tiger Woods used to appear on the home page of consulting company Accenture PLC, but the rotating image of him among cacti disappeared, Bloomberg reports, on the same day Woods announced an indefinite break from professional golf on his Web site. “What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing,” he wrote. This was Woods' first admission of infidelity since more than a dozen women have claimed affairs with him. Additionally, links to Woods-related content on the site lead to messages saying the page requested cannot be found. Woods’ ranking among celebrity endorsers plunged from 6th to 24th, and David Martin, president of Interbrand Corp.’s New York division, says the pro golfer’s recent publicity will affect Accenture more than other sponsors because the ads tie him so closely to its values. “His qualities they’re using as a metaphor for their qualities,” said Martin. The Daily Beast’s Gerald Posner reported earlier that Accenture executives were in “emergency discussions” about the Tiger deal. Nike and Gillette have said they aren’t changing their media plans with Woods.