CNN
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Former world No. 1 Jason Day has said that Masters tournament organizers pre-empted any of his planned fashion statements to ensure there would be no repeat of last year’s infamous sweater vest.
In fact, Augusta National asked to see what outfits Day had planned before this year’s tournament, given the uproar around the bold lettering on the vest he wore last time out.
The Australian was requested to remove the sleeveless white, black and red top, which had the words “Malbon Golf Championship” on the front, after the first round in 2024.
“If they would have let us do what we first put the scripting through to them, it would have been a lot crazier than last year. But, you know, it will be a lot less. Toned down,” Day humorously revealed about this year’s outfits on a recent episode of the “Dan on Golf” Show.
“They’ve never asked to see scripting of mine because I’ve always been pretty, you know, neutral and down the middle. This year, they asked because (of) obviously what happened last year.”
The designer of last year’s sweater, Malbon Golf, made Day its first golf ambassador in January 2024. Since then, he and the lifestyle golf brand have worked together to show off his personality on the course.
Day said he simply chooses what he thinks looks good, and although he expected to get some attention, he never intended to disrespect the tournament or Augusta National.
“I think I had a sense that it was gonna go crazy just because it’s just a little bit different,” said Day. “It’s literally a knit vest, right? But it just said Malbon Golf Championship on it … It doesn’t take much to kind of stand out in golf because just everyone wears the same thing, essentially.
“The whole experience of Augusta is phenomenal,” he added. “I just want to make sure that I’m not trying to do anything that’s too crazy or outlandish to disrespect the tournament.”
The Masters isn’t the first professional sporting event to ask an athlete to change their look. In 2018, the French Open banned Serena Williams from wearing her catsuit at future tournaments.
Then in 2021, Norway’s beach handball team was fined for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms. Both of these decisions opened up wider conversations about gender and dress codes in sport.
And who could forget Magnus Carlsen’s jeans incident at the 2024 World Rapid Chess Championship? The five-time world champion walked away from the competition after refusing to change out of jeans, which the International Chess Federation (FIDE) said breached the tournament’s dress code. However, Carlsen later returned to play in the World Blitz Championship after “fruitful” conversations with FIDE.
As for Day, he said that he does not see himself as a fashion icon. Even so, fans will have to wait for another tournament to see what statement piece he’ll wear next.