👕 Baggy is back!

Aloha! The PGA Tour's season opener kicks off this afternoon in Maui. And somehow, thankfully, the buzz heading into the event isn't about the game's deep divide or the fact that defending champion Jon Rahm isn't around. 

Instead, people are talking about fashion. That's thanks to Jason Day showing up to Kapalua not dressed in his traditional Nike fit, but donned in baggy polos and pants from the golf-inspired streetwear brand, Malbon. 

"It was just crazy," Day said, recounting how fellow players and caddies didn't recognize him in his new wardrobe. Some even took him for a random that had snuck into the practice area. 

"Everyone was looking at me giving me side eye," he said. 

The 36-year-old major winner is the first PGA Tour player under contract for Malbon, which says its mission is to "inspire today’s youth to participate in the greatest game on Earth" and counted Justin Bieber as an early fan when it launched in 2017. The company sells its pullovers, hats, and $248 clogs online and at its brick-and-mortar stores in LA, NYC, Miami, and Carmel By The Sea. 

“I'm more interested in having a more relaxed, loose-fitting type of clothing, especially out here because, obviously, the clothes that you see now these days, everything's very athletic looking,” Day said. “And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just looking for a bit of a change and this is it." 

Malbon co-founder, Stephen Malbon, said this week in an interview with Sports Illustrated: “[Jason] is texting me from Hawaii right now and just saying, ‘Dude, everyone looks the exact same.’”

Of note: The LPGA's Charley Hull and Jeongeun Lee6, as well as the ever-stylish Jesper Parnevik will also start rocking Malbon this year.

My take: I think it's great that "golf streetwear" is making its way onto the professional scene. 

A much more fashionable friend introduced me to Malbon about a year ago, and I definitely drew inspiration from them when coming up with the Quick Nine's aesthetic. 

I don't own any Malbon gear personally, but the LA-based company seems to have struck a chord with a cooler (and perhaps younger) demographic than myself. They also seem to be at the forefront of a growing category that includes other golf-lifestyle brands like Macklemore's Bogey Boys, Manors, and Bad Birdie. 

Hittin' the links 

🧢 Patrick Cantlay — who lost his Goldman Sachs sponsorship shortly after last year's Ryder Cup — has a new hat deal with the First Responders Children's Foundation. 

• As part of the sponsorship, Cantlay will launch a scholarship program in his name for children of first responders who "demonstrate business acumen and aspire to become entrepreneurs," per AP. 
  

🏆 Scottie Scheffler took home the PGA Tour's Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season after winning twice and putting together an 18-tournament stretch in which T12 was his worst finish, CBS' Patrick McDonald noted. 

• Viktor Hovland, meanwhile, won three times during the 2022-23 season and Jon Rahm, four times. 

👩‍👦Journeyman Eric Cole earned PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors joining his mom, Laura Baugh, who won the same award on the LPGA exactly 50 years ago. 

👀 Rory McIlroy said in an hour long interview this week that he was "maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start."

• “I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now," he said.

And finally... 

Speaking of baggy shirts, every year when Kapalua comes around, I can't help but think of the epic duel between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els in 2000 (when The Sentry was The Mercedes Championship and only included players who won a tournament the year prior). 

I was 12-years-old at the time and had no idea how special it was to watch two guys exchange eagles on the Plantation Course's iconic 18th hole to force a playoff. I also took Tiger's dramatic fist pumps for granted and remember thinking it was sorta normal for a player to drain a 40-footer for the win. Maybe normal for Tiger. 

He would go on to have arguably the greatest golf season ever in 2000, winning the first three legs of his eventual Tiger Slam and nine tournaments overall. And I, like so many other kids of that era, would become hooked on the game for years to come. 

That’s all for today! Enjoy the golf this weekend and talk soon. - Nick B. 🏄‍♂️