By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – Tiger Woods will be sporting a new look when he makes his 2024 season debut this week after he announced on Monday that he has teamed up with TaylorMade to launch a new apparel and footwear brand named Sun Day Red.
Woods, a 15-times major winner who last month revealed he had parted ways with Nike, is known for his meticulous attention to detail and will have a significant role in the lifestyle brand’s products.
“I have learned so much over the years and have a lifetime of experience adjusting my apparel and footwear to help me play better based on the way it was constructed,” Woods, 48, said in a news release.
“There are things that I could tell you that no one knew I was doing over the years. I’m ready to share those secrets with the world.”
For Woods, whose trademark Sunday red shirt during the final round of tournaments has become one of golf’s most iconic looks, the brand is an extension of his partnership with TaylorMade, who he signed an equipment endorsement deal with in 2017.
The new agreement may be an adjustment for fans used to seeing the iconic Nike “swoosh” logo during the many highlight-reel shots and trophy lifts that Woods celebrated in his career.
In early January, Woods announced the end of a decades-long partnership with Nike, whose products he had worn since signing with the sportswear giant as a newly professional 20-year-old in 1996.
While Woods had his own brand of clothing and footwear with Nike, he started wearing FootJoy shoes at the 2022 Masters as he said he needed greater stability after suffering serious leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash.
NEW APPAREL
Woods’ tenure with Nike was one of the most lucrative endorsement deals in sports history and played out while he dominated the game like no other golfer of his generation.
Fans will get their first glimpse of Woods competing in his new apparel on Thursday when he tees off in the opening round of The Genesis Invitational, which will be his first official PGA Tour event since last April’s Masters.
Woods made the cut at the 2023 Masters but withdrew before completing the third round because of plantar fasciitis and had ankle surgery later that month.
Woods returned to professional golf at the end of November in an unofficial PGA Tour event — the Hero World Challenge — which featured a limited field and no cut.
Two weeks later, Woods competed with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship, which is a 36-hole event featuring two-player teams made up of a major champion and a family member.
The Genesis Invitational is one of the PGA Tour’s eight Signature Events this year and features a halfway cut and $20 million purse, including $4 million for the winner.
Sun Day Red, which will launch its first line of apparel for men on May 1 and will be available online in the United States and Canada, is a stand-alone brand with a dedicated team of designers and staff, as well as its own headquarters.
Over time, Sun Day Red will expand in key markets outside of North America and include footwear, women and kids’ lines.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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