The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Inside the game, style is out front again at Augusta National
AUGUSTA — At a place where green jackets never go out of style, the sometimes-wild, often-trendy and always-interesting fashion sense of those playing Augusta National has become a viral subplot to the competition at the Masters this week.
Start with Jason Day, marching alongside Tiger Woods in the opening round, wearing some loose-looking slacks from Malbon that harkened back to the baggy shorts from the Fab Five era of Michigan basketball.
Then, on Friday, the former PGA champion slipped into a white vest from the fashion house that read in bold letters across the belly, “Malbon Golf Championship.”
“It looks like he’s wearing a billboard,” one patron quipped while watching from the shade.
More than any place in golf, the Masters is the place to see and be seen, and that goes for players and their sponsors. So, in the past few years, the companies that provide their gear have started going all out the first full week of April.
Justin Thomas, Erik van Rooyen and Akshay Bhatia are ambassadors for Greyson Clothiers, which bills itself as a full lifestyle brand, complete with membership options. Greyson is the brainchild of Charlie Schaefer, who once served as senior vice president of design for Ralph Lauren, and who launched the brand in 2015 at the Masters.
Viktor Hovland, who is contending again this year, has an apparel deal with J. Lindeberg. And when it comes to Masters wear, the Swedish clothing company has put him in some bold prints that often pay homage to Augusta.
That includes the black shirt with the giant azalea across the front that Hovland wore this week. The azalea, a particular species of Rhododendron, is almost synonymous with Augusta National and can be found throughout the course.
Hovland said during last year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill that he usually wears more muted colors.
“I wear a lot of gray, black, and that’s about it,” he said. So, when asked about the attire on the course, Hovland replied, quite simply: “Well, J. Lindeberg, they give me this stuff and pay me money to do so, so I just show up and wear what they want me to wear.”
Of course, there are still plenty of players sponsored by mainstream sports apparel companies.
Rory McIlroy still wears Nike, just like Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, and Brooks Koepka, the reigning PGA champion. Rising star Ludvig Aberg is among those wearing Adidas gear, and former Masters champion Jordan Spieth is the most well-known ambassador for Under Armour, reportedly making eight figures annually on a deal through the 2029 season.
As part of the contract, Under Armour also donates $1 million annually to the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation.
But perhaps the biggest fashion icon in golf has been Tiger Woods, who made wearing Sunday red popular everywhere from exclusive private clubs to smalltown munis.
Woods began doing it when he was a junior because his mom, Kultida, said it was his “power color.” He played well his first time in red and then stuck with it out of superstition.
For 27 years, Woods’ Sunday red came from Nike in one of the most successful partnerships in sports. But, late last year, the sides announced they had split up, and Woods revealed in February that he would be unveiling his own brand, called Sun Day Red, in a partnership with his golf equipment provider, TaylorMade.
“Sun Day Red will embody a love of playing and competing, and we are for people that share those values, whether it’s on the course or in life,” Woods said in February. “We will be anchored to putting the athlete first in the product decisions we make.”
The first good look the public has had of it has been at Augusta National this week. For Thursday’s opening round, Woods wore a salmoncolored polo featuring the brand’s logo, a tiger with 15 stripes in a nod to his 15 major wins. Woods then slipped into a gray-and-white ensemble Friday, when he returned early to finish his first round and then played his second.
It was perfect timing — or genius marketing — because Sun Day Red will officially launch on May 1.