GOLFER COMMITS MASTERS NO-NO
BUSY SWEATER WORN BY AFFABLE AUSSIE WAS JUST TOO MUCH FOR FUSSY FOLKS AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL
When a man in a green evening jacket tells you your sweater is too loud, you know you’ve made some interesting fashion choices.
That was the scene at the Masters on Friday when Jason Day was asked by Augusta National to remove a busy sweater-vest adorned with the oversized letters of his clothing sponsor, Malbon Golf.
“Yeah, they asked me to take it off,” Day told reporters. “Respectfully, you do that because it’s all about the tournament here, and I understand that. I respect the tournament. That’s what we’re here to do is try to play and win the green jacket.”
As you may have heard, there are rules at Augusta National, or as the club may prefer to label them, strong guidelines. Let’s go over a few.
You sit on the grass, never lie down. You can lean comfortably against a tree but that’s the limit. You can walk quickly, you don’t run.
Masters chairs have squatters rights once in place and can’t be moved by others. But if you find an empty one, take a moment to get off your feet and enjoy the view, just be sure to promptly depart with a thank you when the owner arrives. How will you know you’re speaking with the owner? Well, because a) it’s all quite civilized here, and b) the lawn chairs are like a reverse mullet: Masters party in the front, business card in the back.
Then there are the mobile phones. Rather there aren’t any mobile phones. Come to think of it, this one is a rule not a guideline. Being caught with your cellphone is a surefire way to say goodbye to your Masters experience. Do not pass go. Do not collect your bag chair or garden gnome.
But back to Jason Day. In January, he became the first PGA Tour player to sign with Malbon Golf, a company founded in 2017 by Stephen and Erica Malbon.
The apparel company describes itself as lifestyle brand inspired by the game of golf, “inviting customers to take part in the community of like-minded thinkers that we have created.”
Like-minded thinkers, eh, so what exactly were you thinking, Jason?
“What was I trying to do? I don’t know what I was trying to do,” he said, which pretty much explains 99 per cent of style choices made by fathers of five. “I wasn’t trying to do anything.”
The sweater vest in question wasn’t the golfer’s only item of clothing that drew attention. Day’s oversized pants nearly had him cleared for takeoff during Thursday and Friday’s blustery conditions.
“If it’s down breeze, these things puff up pretty quick,”
Day said of his pants.
He was asked whether having slacks that whip around in the wind like a blow-up auto dealer mascot could negatively affect his play: “Tiger had baggier stuff on in the early 2000s. He did pretty good. I think it’s fine.”
Channelling prime Tiger Woods is actually not a bad idea around here. Also, Day’s massive pant pockets could easily fit 25 or 30 golf balls which would have come in handy at an Augusta National chewing up and spitting out golfers this week.
But about the sweater. What exactly was it that drew the ire of club?
“I don’t know, I didn’t ask,” Day said. “They said, ‘Can you take it off?’ I said, ‘Yeah, no worries.’ ”
Some say there is a rule limiting the size of a logo on a golfer’s apparel. Others thought it was more of a general guideline not to look like a giant billboard. Three years ago, Gary Player’s son, Wayne, was banned for life for shamelessly promoting a golf ball brand on camera during the tee shot tribute for Lee Elder, the first black golfer to compete in the Masters.
But in Day’s case, there definitely was nothing boorish about his behaviour, and the 36-year-old golfer is easily one of the finest gentlemen in the game.
Whatever it was, social media has been positively captivated by the Aussie’s style choice, which he further explained as simply the scripting provided by his sponsor.
“They send the scripting and say, this is what we want you to wear Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and I’m like, OK,” Day said.
Which all sounds simple until your sweater vest ends up in Masters jail.