January 2 is the official beginning of “new year, new me” for all of us who will eventually return to their same old selves, and by eventually I mean within the next two weeks. For a number of tour pros, however, “new year, new me” will actually mean something, at least when it comes to their on-course style.
‘IT’S A NEW DAY’: Jason Day becomes Malbon Golf’s first PGA Tour ambassador
Former World No.1 Jason Day is the first to shake things up on the fashion front. For the last seven years, the Aussie wore Nike apparel, but on Monday he arrived at Kapalua decked out in Malbon, a luxury golf apparel brand that was founded in 2017 and has been on the rise ever since. On Tuesday morning, the brand officially announced Day as its first-ever PGA Tour ambassador.
Folks on X, formerly known as Twitter, got a first look at Day’s new look on Monday courtesy of the PGA Tour’s Sean Martin:
New year means new gear.
Former Nike ambassador Jason Day will be the first Malbon ambassador on TOUR. pic.twitter.com/VDD2f4k79Y
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) January 1, 2024
Not surprisingly, the extremely new look – Day formerly rocked much tighter, form-fitting Nike stuff – threw Golf Twitter (Golf X? We’re not actually calling it that now right?) for a loop. The sleeves are straight out of the late 1990s/early 2000s, when Tiger Woods was somehow playing the best golf a human has ever played with sleeves that ran down past his elbows. As you can see here, Day’s don’t go down that far, but they are quite baggy, which fits with the “relaxed” vibe Malbon is going for.
The big sleeves are not the only thing Day appears to be bringing back either. In a hype video posted by Malbon on Tuesday, Day can be seen in various different looks he’ll be sporting in 2024, including one that will likely stop people dead in their internet tracks at the 22-second mark:
Please Welcome Jason Day to #TeamMalbon@JDayGolf pic.twitter.com/ZKEirWhvmg
— Malbon Golf (@MalbonGolf) January 2, 2024
Let’s take a closer look at the tape:
Most will be drawn to the pants, the shoes and the blank hat reminiscent of Tony Romo’s Starter cap, but for me it’s what’s around his waist – a white belt. Those things were left for dead a long, long time ago (2015 feels like a good guess). Is Day bringing them back?
Love them or hate them, they had an all-time run in the late 2000s/early 2010s before quickly fading out of the picture. Everything comes back eventually, though.
Upon further review, the belt colour is actually called “sand” according to Golf Digest style expert Brittany Romano. Sand is white, so they are not fooling us. That’s a white belt.
Props to Day for being bold enough to try to bring it back. Whether or not it makes it all the way back remains to be seen.
