Jason Day turns heads with retro new look (and he can’t resist a parting shot at Nike!)

2024 is barely hours old and we’ve already got one of the biggest talking points of the year – all courtesy of Jason Day.

Day is in Hawaii for the season-opening Sentry – a tournament consisting of the previous season’s champions – and the 13-time PGA Tour winner, who ended a five-year drought at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, is turning heads thanks to his new threads.

• What’s in Jason Day’s bag?

Day, who has worn Nike since 2017, was snapped by the PGA Tour’s Sean Martin during an interview at the start of the week – and it became apparent very quickly that Day will be rocking a more old school look. Just look at those sleeves, for a start!

New year means new gear.

Former Nike ambassador Jason Day will be the first Malbon ambassador on TOUR. pic.twitter.com/VDD2f4k79Y

— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) January 1, 2024

But what is the brand? Well, we didn’t have to wait long as, just a few hours later, Day was revealed as the first Tour ambassador for Malbon, a six-year-old luxury golf apparel company which showed us more of his fresh look at Kapalua in a short clip posted across its social media.

“The new year is always a time when people make resolutions for the upcoming year – but my goals remain the same,” Day says in Malbon’s video.

And what are those goals?

“Recapture World No 1, win a major, work harder every day,” he adds, before turning his attention to his new look.

“My goals shouldn’t surprise you, but my new style will. I’m entering a new chapter with Malbon Golf, so things are going to look a little different around here.

“With my look as relaxed as my swing, and my outlooks as sharp as my perspective, my style and my game are dialled in to win.

“When it comes to my game, it’s all Jason. But when it comes to my style, it’s a new Day.”

A quirky little play on words there, we’re sure you’ll agree, but it’s Malbon’s 90s style that will be garner the most attention.

Check it out for yourself…

Please Welcome Jason Day to #TeamMalbon@JDayGolf pic.twitter.com/ZKEirWhvmg

— Malbon Golf (@MalbonGolf) January 2, 2024

If you weren’t quick enough with the pause button, we’ve picked out a couple of stand-out moments from the 39-second teaser…

First up we’ve got this rather fetching sweater vest. You don’t see enough sweater vests on tour these days, so great to see those back. You’ll also notice his cap is completely plain, which allows space for corporate sponsors – as you can see in Martin’s photo above.

Speaking of things we haven’t seen enough of in recent years, check out this long-sleeved turtle-neck – made popular by Tiger Woods back in the day, of course. And is that a hint of a white belt we see there?

Why yes. Yes it is. Regular listeners of The bunkered Podcast will know our feelings on white belts, so let’s zoom in on Day’s footwear…

Yes, Day is bringing back kilties!

What a time to be alive.

So why the departure from Nike? There has been a lot of talk of the brand removing itself from the golf apparel market in recent weeks, with Woods’ contract reportedly close to coming to an end, but for now the 15-time major champion – as well as its other main ambassadors, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka – sticking with the Swoosh.

But Day wasn’t going without a parting shot at Nike.

“There have been times that I’d be standing on the first tee and look over to see another golfer in essentially the same outfit as me,” he said, according to Golf Digest, before turning is attention back to Malbon.

“I’m excited to be able to go outside of the box and wear something that’s dramatically different than what everyone is used to seeing in golf today,” he added.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor