04 Apr Nike’s sartorial splendor at the Masters
April 03–And you thought these guys just threw a few shirts and a couple pair of pants into a suitcase?
Hey, we’re talking about the Masters, where every player is scrutinized from head to toe. Nobody knows that better than the folks at Nike Golf, who have “scripted” apparel for staff players at major championships for more than 10 years. Scripting is a process in which Nike and its athletes collaborate up to a year in advance on ensembles for the majors.
Eight Nike athletes will compete in the first major of the year next week: Russell Henley, Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Thorbjorn Olesen, Carl Pettersson, Charl Schwartzel, Nick Watney and Tiger Woods.
Here’s what McIlroy, Olesen, Schwartzel and Woods will be wearing:
McIlroy will wear the Fashion Body Map Polo in Violet Force on Thursday; the Embossed Polo in Stadium Grey on Friday; the Iconic Polo in Pink Force on Saturday and the Light Weight Heather Polo in Squadron Blue on Sunday.
Making his Masters debut, Olesen will wear the Nike Swing Polo in Electric Yellow, the Core Body Mapping Polo in white, the Sport Gingham Novelty Polo in Light University Red Heather and the Nike Victory Polo in Poison Green.
Schwartzel will wear the Premium Stripe Polo in Midnight Turquoise, the Premium Nike Precision Polo in Dynamic Pink, the Premium Novelty Pocket Polo in Neo Turquoise and the Premium 1/2-Zip Plaid Polo in Black.
Woods will wear the TW Jacquard Polo in Dark Grey, the TW Modern Color Block Polo in White / Dandelion, the TW Ultra Polo 2.0 in Squadron Blue and the TW Emboss Polo in Hyper Red.
Violet Force? Poison Green? Neo Turquoise? Light University Red Heather?
Whatever happened to khaki?
For those who are interested, a certain Journal Sentinel sportswriter will be wearing various rumpled shirts highlighted by a hodgepodge of golf course logos; shorts of several lengths and cuts (depending how long ago they were purchased); a couple sweat-stained golf caps, and 2-year-old sneakers.
Full disclosure: though the sneakers were made by Nike, I am not a Nike staff athlete. However, I am open to contract negotiations …