Jason Day confirms Masters officials asked him to remove heavily-branded sweater vest

Jason Day's Malbon sweater vest reportedly drew a warning from Augusta officials.

Former World No.1 Jason Day has drawn plenty of attention with his clothing choices at The Masters. Some love it. Some hate it. The powers that be at Augusta National are be among the latter.

While the Major champion’s baggy trousers were the butt of a lot of jokes on social media during Thursday’s first round, drawing comparisons with MC Hammer and fears that he turn into a sail and blow away in the gusty conditions that were hammering the grounds, it was Friday’s ‘scripting’ that drew the attention of The Masters bosses.

Day, who left Nike after eight years and joined Malbon at the start of the year, arrived to complete the final six holes of his weather-delayed first round wearing a rather loud sweater vest over a crisp white polo shirt and black (not baggy) pants.

But by the time he teed off later on Friday in round two, it had gone, at the request of the powers at the Masters.

“Yeah, they asked me to take it off – the vest off yesterday. Respectfully, you do that because it’s all about the tournament here, and I understand that. I respect the tournament. That’s what we’re here to do is try and play and win the Green Jacket.

Day said that he didn’t ask why they wanted him to take it off but he was happy to do so, before confirming it was part of the scripting Malbon asked him to wear.

“They just scripted me in it, and I was wearing it. They send you the scripting and say, this is what we want you to wear Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and I’m like, okay.”

Day’s confirmation came after we’d first reported the rumor earlier in the day.

“He was pulled aside and very politely told that it wasn’t appropriate for The Masters by some officials,” one journalist told me, which didn’t come as a huge surprise.

This tournament is all about tradition, rules and subtlety. The Masters is the brand here – they don’t want anything else taking away from that. That’s why you don’t see any grandstands daubed with sponsors or advertising hoardings across the course. Unlike other tournaments, where you can’t move for the names of the banks, drinks brands and companies that help fund the event being pushed down your throat, there’s none of that here. Augusta doesn’t need the money (and with a shop that takes $1m per hour, why would they?) and they want all of the focus to be on the tournament.

This is a venue that’s happy to stamp its authority – and spend money to do so if required. If they’re unhappy with a building near the grounds, they buy it. If they want your land, they have the funds to ensure they get it. And if you want to play here, you will play by their rules.

So, believe me, if they don’t want you to wear a style of clothing (and you want to keep playing here), you won’t be wearing it.

Day, who also wears Payntr Golf shoes, was the first PGA Tour player to join Malbon, who had tried to bag Tony Finau before securing the Aussie. The lifestyle clothing brand was started in 2017 by Stephen and Erica Malbon and creates streetwear-inspired designs with a vintage aesthetic. They want to push the boundaries of acceptable golfing attire and have added Charley Hull and Jeongeun Lee6 to their stable to showcase their women’s line on the LPGA Tour this year.

“What I like most about Jason is his vulnerability and his openness with real-life normal stuff. He’s eager to put himself out there and be who he is respectfully, but at the same time, he’s not very scripted,” Malbon told Sports Illustrated at the time. “I love it. It’s so relatable and awesome.

“[Jason] is texting me from Hawaii right now and just saying, ‘Dude, everyone looks the exact same,’”

“I’ve never understood why if you play golf, you have to wear golf pants,” Malbon continues. “What about slacks? Jason is very into comfort and trying new things. He’s into wearing resort linens, not just synthetic, polyester, dry-fit-type workout clothes.”

Come Saturday’s third round there was no sweater-vest, just a subtle green polo, but the baggy trousers were back again, and so were the social media comments and mentions on the course.

“If it’s down breeze, these things puff up pretty quick, he smiled. “Tiger had baggier stuff on in the early 2000s. He did pretty good. I think it’s fine.

“Like I’ll hear every now and then (comments), but I really don’t pay attention to it to be honest. I’m just trying to play good golf. That’s all that matters.

“They’re very comfortable. It feels like I’ve got nothing on really to be honest.”

The Australian is eight-over for the tournament after a four-over-par third round and his hopes of as Green Jacket are gone for another year, but at least there’s another outfit to look forward to. See the final round tee times here.

About the Author

Rob Jerram – Digital Editor

Rob specializes in the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the Ryder Cup, spending large chunks of his days reading about, writing about, and watching the tours each month.

He’s passionate about the equipment used by professional golfers and is also a font of knowledge regarding golf balls, golf trolleys, and golf bags, testing thousands down the years.

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