Tiger Woods to Pitch Japanese Heat Rub Also Endorsed by Daisuke Matsuzaka

Memo to Kowa Company Ltd. in Japan: If you want to promote a heat rub with pain-relieving properties, it might be better not to choose pitchmen who have missed extended time due to nagging injuries.

Just sayin'.

Kowa has added Tiger Woods to its endorsement roster by making him the face of its marketing campaign for its Antiphlogistic Analgetic Vantelin Kowa series, the company said in a news release reported by The Associated Press. The heat rub is advertised as a relief for joint and muscle pain.

The TV commercial is set to debut on Japanese TV in July.

Woods has not played a tournament since pulling out of the Players Championship in May, and did not participate in the recent U.S. Open. He has not given a timetable for when he will return from the knee and Achilles tendon injuries.

Another pitchman for the Kowa heat rub, Daisuke Matsuzaka, had Tommy John elbow surgery this year and is out for the season.

If Matsuzaka and Woods have used Antiphlogistic Analgetic Vantelin, and they still suffered considerable pain to keep them from competing, wouldn't that mean the heat rub doesn't work?

Context clues, people.