Eagle-eyed fans watching the 2025 PGA Championship will have noticed that a handful of the contenders - and in particular the round-one leader - have an unusual icon on their clothes. Namely, the MLB logo.
Jhonattan Vegas, Cameron Young and Eric Cole are all donning the US baseball league's emblem somewhere on their person at Quail Hollow, be it either on collar chest or sleeve. But why another sport as a whole and how did this first come about?
Well, according to a story first published by Golf.com, sports agent Dave Parker approached the MLB about the idea and negotiated a deal involving his client Shawn Stefani back in 2013.
Stefani's agreement involved money, of course, plus free tickets for the Texan's Houston Astros as an aside. In return, the former PGA Tour pro had to entertain MLB sponsors or even players on occasion.
In the years since, players such as Peter Malnati, Adam Long, Brendon Todd, Chez Reavie and Billy Andrade have signed deals to place the MLB logo on an item of clothing.
Speaking to Golf.com, Malnati explained the key factor which convinced him to sign an agreement - free tickets.
He said: "They put a logo on your bag and shirt. They pay you a little bit for the exposure. You do an event or two for them. Take some clients out to play golf. But most importantly, you’ve got a ticket connection. I was really intrigued by that."
While we don't know the exact terms of Vegas' deal, Young shared in an interview with No Laying Up early in 2023 how his agreement came about - not through an agent - but via a close family friend who offered the 28-year-old the chance to land one of his first big sponsors.
The Scarborough-born pro grew up as the son of Sleepy Hollow Golf Club's head pro and was able to meet plenty of influential people at the beautiful layout just outside of New York City. One of them was MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred.
Young explained: “So it started - the commissioner of baseball, Rob Manfred, is a member at Sleepy Hollow. My parents have known them for 20 years; they’re great people.
"When I first turned pro they took us to dinner, and afterward Rob leaned in and said, ‘Would you wear the MLB patch?’ And at the time I had just gotten [PGA Tour Canada] status or it was just before I got Canada status, so I was nothing — no status anywhere, essentially.
"And so I said ‘absolutely, I’d love to,’ and they’ve been there ever since and they’ve been an awesome partner.”
The list of players sponsored by MLB may continue to grow moving forward and could even lead to other sports leagues getting involved, such as the NFL, NBA or NHL.
Soccer fan, Billy Horschel has used a bespoke West Ham United tour bag in the past, while other pros have been known to give a nod to their respective teams in one way or another. One day it's the MLB, the next it could be the NFL or English Premier League...
