The temperature reached 85F during the PGA Tour’s Players tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and Phil Mickelson strolled the fairways in a long-sleeve, button-down dress shirt. It was a clear case of Phil being Phil.
The questionable fashion choice left the golf-viewing public asking ”why?”
The answer is simple. Money.
85 degrees but Phil Mickelson out there in a long sleeve button down shirt pic.twitter.com/uFJ0AljtxK
— Born Salty (@cjzero) May 10, 2018
Mickelson has signed an endorsement deal to wear the shirts, made by Mizzen+Main, an Atlanta-based men’s clothing company founded in 2012 by Kevin Lavelle. In exchange for wearing the unconventional shirts, Mickelson is getting an undisclosed stake in the company as well as some cash, according to ESPN.
“These dress shirts not only look incredible but are so comfortable and versatile I can play golf in them,” Mickelson is quoted as saying on the company’s website. “It’s remarkable to have a dress shirt I can wear from a meeting to the course.”
The winner of 43 PGA Tour events, Mickelson didn’t exactly do much to silence critics who might have wondered if the long-sleeve shirts would hinder his on-course performance. He shot 7-over-par 79 in the first round of the Players, ending the day with three double-bogeys in his final five holes.
Asked about his fashion choice after the opening round, Mickelson dropped what might be the single best quote of his career.
“Nobody does kind-of-slightly-overweight-middle-aged guy better than me, and this says exactly who I am,” he said.
The five-time major winner returned to the course for the second round wearing another long-sleeve, button down dress shirt — presumably after attending a 7 a.m. board meeting in the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse. Mickelson, 47, proceeded to miss the cut after his second-round 73 left him at 8-0ver-par for two days.
Ever the company spokesman, Mickelson knows where his endorsement dollars come from. His Mizzen+Main shirts feature the logo of Workday, a California-based financial management and human capital management software vendor. Mickelson signed a sponsorship agreement with Workday shortly before teeing off in the first round of the 2017 Masters Tournament.
Mickelson, No. 12 on Forbes’ 2017 list of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes with $43.5 million in total earnings, took in $40 million in endorsements last year alone.
It’s not the first time Mickelson has donned the ill-fitting button-down shirt. The left-hander was first seen wearing it during a practice round two days before this year’s Masters Tournament.
While most golf fashion trends typically begin with PGA Tour players and then spread to the weekend hackers, based on public reaction, this is one trend that might remain better suited for the board room than the fairways.
