Heavy Lies The Crown
Heavy Lies The Crown.
Every week on The Cut Stuff we lead with a big talking point. This week, I’m leading with Ludvig Åberg.
He returns to The Genesis Invitational - the site of his last victory and it feels like the right moment to pause and take stock. Not of promise. Of proof.
I admire his game. It feels engineered for repeat success. Balanced. Controlled. Technically clean. Emotionally composed. There are no obvious weaknesses. No visible noise. But with that completeness comes something heavier.
Expectation. Because he has risen so quickly and so seamlessly, it’s easy to forget how much he has already achieved. And just as quickly, expectation has hardened around him.
So the question this week isn’t about potential. It’s about pressure.
What are the expectations around Ludvig Åberg now? And how does a player built for serial winning respond when the narrative begins to demand it?
That’s where we begin.
The Weight of Expectation on a Quiet Superstar
It is easy to forget how much Ludvig Åberg has already achieved.
His ascent has been unusually smooth and rapid, so much so that it almost feels forgotten. A dominant collegiate career. A rapid rise to the PGA Tour. Multiple wins, including a Signature Event. A Ryder Cup debut that became historic. A near-contender in majors before many peers had even taken their first cuts. By his mid-twenties, Åberg sits firmly among the game’s top players, ranked inside the global top 5 and collecting titles on multiple continents.
“This isn’t surprise. It’s talent + work ethic.”
And yet the conversation around him often defaults to potential rather than proven impact.
That shift in narrative reflects something deeper: expectation.
Professionals built to be serial winners rarely announce themselves in flash alone. They build through repetition, measurement and adaptation. Åberg’s preparation reflects that. As he’s learned on tour - particularly over the past year - sustaining performance across a season requires more than technical polish. It demands deliberate management of energy, strategic planning, and long-term rhythm. He himself has noted the importance of adjusting preparation and pacing to endure the relentless PGA Tour calendar.
This isn’t surprise. It’s talent + work ethic.
Across 50-plus Tour starts, Åberg has adapted repeatedly, adjusting swing mechanics, balancing corporate and competitive demands, and negotiating the subtle psychological shifts that come with being both a contender and a favourite.
Serial winners share certain traits: emotional economy, consistency under pressure, and the ability to simplify complexity. Åberg has shown all three. When asked about expectations - internal and external - he acknowledged them as inherent to elite sport, but emphasised focus over scoreboard fixation.
“A dominant collegiate career. A rapid rise to the PGA Tour. Multiple wins, including a Signature Event. A Ryder Cup debut that became historic. A near-contender in majors before many peers had even taken their first cuts. ”
Yet talent alone does not conquer expectation. The toughest competition for a player of his calibre is seldom another’s swing, it’s his own narrative.
Heavy lies the crown - even when it hasn’t been formally placed.
For Åberg, the next phase is not about arrival. It is about confirmation: turning proximity into frequency, promise into pattern, and potential into legacy. Golf history is littered with meteoric rises that plateaued just short of dominance. It is also shaped by those who translated early brilliance into sustained excellence. Åberg appears built for the latter.
But sustaining greatness means mastering the game between the ears and how one handles the pressure that comes when expectation catches up with achievement. That transformation is the moment now waiting to be written.
NEWS-IN-BRIEF
Riviera Flooded Early
Play at Riviera was halted Thursday morning after persistent rain left greens unplayable. Officials cited “too much water on the greens,” with crews squeegeeing surfaces before the suspension at 10:13am local. Forecasts called for heavier rain late morning and stronger winds into the afternoon, adding volatility to scheduling and scoring conditions.
Anthony Kim Completes the Comeback
Anthony Kim won LIV Adelaide with a closing 63 featuring nine birdies, finishing at 23-under after starting the day five behind Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. It’s Kim’s first victory since 2010, following a long absence marked by injury and public struggles with addiction. The win also lands as a rare moment of genuine emotional gravity inside LIV’s often-polished framework.
Morikawa Ends the Drought
Collin Morikawa claimed the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a birdie at the last, surviving a late wobble that briefly reopened the door for Min Woo Lee and others. Morikawa’s victory ends a two-year-plus title drought and reinforces his place among the game’s most reliable ball-strikers. Scottie Scheffler surged with a 63 featuring three eagles but fell short.
Hull’s Finish Was Ruthless
Six-shot surge in eight holes wins Saudi Ladies International. Charley Hull produced a closing 65 to win the PIF Saudi Ladies International by one, picking up six shots in her final eight holes, including a long eagle putt on 12 and a birdie at the last. The $750,000 winner’s cheque is a statement in itself, but the performance was louder: controlled aggression under pressure, early-season, against a strong field.
Penge Earns His Peers’ Vote
Marco Penge was voted DP World Tour Player of the Year by fellow players after a breakthrough season featuring three wins, second in the Race to Dubai behind Rory McIlroy, and a move into the world top 30. He also secured dual membership for the 2026 PGA Tour season. The award signals more than form - it marks acceptance at the top level.
Woods Leaves Augusta Open
Masters “not off the table” but no return timeline. Tiger Woods said playing the Masters this April is “not off the table,” though he still has no clear timetable following October surgery to replace a disc in his back. He’s progressed from chipping and putting to hitting full shots - inconsistently - and described ongoing soreness. The message was cautious: possibility remains, certainty does not.
McIlroy Likes His Game - Not Riviera’s New Par 3
Rory McIlroy said he’s encouraged by his form despite rustiness early in the season, pointing to strong shot-making and putting. But he criticised Riviera’s updated par-three 4th, extended to 273 yards, arguing it won’t play properly without structural changes to allow shots to run onto the green.
A New Voice in the Player Room
Lucas Glover was elected Player Advisory Council Chairman for 2026. The PAC advises the PGA Tour Policy Board and helps shape membership-driven decisions. After serving as chairman, Glover will take a four-year Policy Board seat (2027–2030), replacing Adam Scott. Rickie Fowler joins the 2026 PAC, returning for his third stint.
Genesis Commits Through 2030
Genesis will remain title partner of The Genesis Invitational through 2030, announced at Riviera alongside Tiger Woods and PGA Tour leadership. The 2026 edition marks the tournament’s 100th staging (first played in 1926) and returns to Pacific Palisades after last year’s San Diego relocation due to wildfires. The deal reinforces the event’s “pillar” status on the schedule and its commercial stability.
Hovland’s Shortcut Is Gone
Tournament organisers have effectively ended Viktor Hovland’s unconventional Riviera tactic - cutting from the 15th tee to the 17th fairway - by installing two large sycamore trees in the gap. Hovland previously beat attempts to deter the move (including a scoreboard barrier) and even referenced using the route as far back as the 2017 U.S. Amateur. This time, the course has made the decision permanent.
McIlroy Returns to Augusta Early
Rory McIlroy is heading back to Augusta National next week for an early look at the course ahead of his Green Jacket defence, with a scheduled round alongside his father and chairman Fred Ridley. He noted small tweaks - including a longer 17th - but said the course is largely unchanged.
OBJECTS OF DESIRE
#002: adidas x Metalwood
adidas | Metalwood | For Pricing See Website
Y2K Returns to the Fairway
Golf’s fashion cycle has moved steadily from tradition to reinterpretation.
This latest drop accelerates it.
Adidas and Metalwood Studio have unveiled their first collaborative golf capsule - a limited-edition collection that pulls unapologetically from Y2K aesthetics, skate culture and early-2000s adidas heritage.
The range is tightly edited: a polo, windbreaker, trousers, hat, glove and a standout MC70 golf shoe. Nothing excessive. Nothing accidental.
The hero piece may be the trousers with zippered leg vents that reveal Three-Stripe detailing beneath, a subtle flex between performance and statement. The polo carries mid-2000s Teamgeist references. The MC70 footwear draws from 90s football boots, complete with deco-stitched leather uppers, updated with modern golf tech underfoot.
It is street-aware but not costume. Nostalgic without parody.
The collaboration signals something broader: golf apparel is no longer orbiting tradition alone. It’s drawing from skate, football, fashion and urban culture — and doing so with intent.
Limited quantities release February 19th via Metalwood and February 20th via adidas.
STYLE
THE BRAND LIST #002: RADRY GOLF
The Art of Becoming
Golf apparel is typically one of two things:
Performance-first technical wear
Style-by-committee heritage staples
Radry Golf exists somewhere else entirely in the creative hinterland where experimentation meets ethos.
Radry describes itself as “a never ending art project disguised as a golf brand.” That formulation is telling. Golf is the muse — but not the constraint. What sets Radry apart is not what it makes, but how it thinks.
The brand name itself - a portmanteau of Scottish slang radge (going crazy in a fit of rage) and barry (something wonderful) - embodies the emotional oscillation at the heart of golf: the surge and the spill, the bliss and the frustration. The logo, the language, the aesthetic cues all nod to golf’s emotional rhythm rather than its performance metrics.
Where many brands chase perfection, Radry chases process. Where runs of technical specs are edited for conformity, Radry’s pieces read like ideas realised: art as experiment, creativity over conformity, play over precision.
That creative positioning manifests in how they design and release. Radry tends to:
Drop limited runs that feel more like artistic statements than production lines
Lean into cultural influences beyond golf — streetwear, graphic art, skate energy
Use playful, emotive language that resonates with the human side of the game
Radry’s pieces aren’t just “golf clothes.” They are conversational objects - visual punctuation that reads as equally at home on a putting green, a street corner, or a backyard simulator session.
They remind players - and fans - that golf is emotional before it is technical. That frustration and joy are inseparable. That a bad hole tells you as much as a great one.
This is what makes Radry cool. Not performance claims. Not clubhead speeds. Not heritage co-branding.
But a philosophy that:
Fractures perfection
Invites imagination
Accepts imperfection as fertile ground
Treats golf as inspiration rather than instruction
In a market increasingly saturated with “athleisure golf” and “heritage tributes,” Radry occupies a creative niche: golf apparel as an art project, identity as emotional truth. Golf brands often sell aspiration. Radry sells experience - both on the course and off it. And in a sport where mood swings are part of the scorecard, that perspective feels both genuine and overdue.
Radry isn’t cool because it looks different. It thinks different. In a culture where golf is being remapped by younger fans, broader audiences, and new visual languages, brands that speak to being in the moment, being human, and being real have disproportionate cultural currency. Check out their art and one-off pieces. And keep a look out for collaborations in the future.
Radry Golf isn’t just a label. It’s a reminder of why we play.
THE WEEKEND
PGA Tour - The Genesis Invitational
Riviera takes centre stage. The Genesis Invitational - now in its 100th playing — remains one of the most complete examinations in professional golf. A $20 million purse. 700 FedExCup points. A field dense with the world’s top 20. But beyond scale, Riviera is about precision.
Ludvig Åberg returns to the site of his breakthrough victory. The narrative has shifted since then. He is no longer the emerging name - he is expected to contend. That subtle difference is the weekend’s most interesting subplot.
Collin Morikawa arrives with renewed confidence after Pebble Beach. Rory McIlroy continues to “shake off rust.” Scottie Scheffler’s baseline remains unnervingly high. Riviera does not reward volatility. It rewards control under layered pressure.
This weekend is less about spectacle, more about confirmation.
DP World Tour - Magical Kenya Open
Karen Country Club takes centre stage this week as the DP World Tour’s International Swing moves to Nairobi for the Magical Kenya Open.
In a quiet week for the PGA Tour, LPGA and LIV schedules, Kenya becomes the primary competitive focal point. The layout at Karen traditionally rewards control over aggression - positional discipline, patient scoring and an ability to manage subtle shifts in momentum.
Defending champion Jacques Kruyswijk returns looking to repeat last year’s success on a course that suits his measured, repeatable style. Adrian Meronk arrives as one of the most established names in the field, his structured ball-striking profile well suited to strategic layouts. Jordan Smith, capable of streaky birdie runs, will look to convert opportunity into a sustained four-round performance, while Rasmus Højgaard continues his pursuit of consistency translating into trophies. Emerging contenders such as Harrison Endycott represent the type of player who can quietly build early-season momentum with a strong week.
For many in the field, this is not simply another stop - it is an opportunity to build Race to Dubai positioning and reinforce status before the schedule tilts toward higher-profile events. In weeks without headline tours, the margins become clearer.
LPGA Tour - Honda LPGA Thailand
The LPGA season continues in Thailand with one of its most consistent early-year proving grounds.
Honda LPGA Thailand, staged at Siam Country Club, is a limited-field, no-cut event that traditionally produces aggressive scoring and tight leaderboards. With four guaranteed rounds, players can lean into attack rather than survival. The margin between contention and obscurity tends to be a single loose stretch - Nasa Hataoka, Chanettee Wannasaen and Gemma Dryburgh will be three to watch.
SEE YOU NEXT FRIDAY.
The Problem Is Identity.
Every week on The Cut Stuff we lead with a big talking point. This week saw the news confirmed that LIV Golf has struck a deal with the OWGR to earn some global ranking points for its players. The restrictions on how the points are handed out leaving the players questioning the fairness of the deal, with only the top 10 finishers at its events awarded world ranking points. And all this got me thinking. What is the key problem with LIV? It’s not competition or talent, it’s cutlure and product.
Competition Was Never the Problem
For all the noise surrounding LIV Golf, one point is often missed: the existence of a competitor to the PGA Tour is not the problem.
Professional sport benefits from tension. Rival structures can sharpen standards, force innovation and challenge complacency. Golf was never harmed by the idea of competition. In fact, periods of disruption - from the emergence of the World Golf Championships to the FedEx Cup era - have often preceded structural growth.
What continues to undermine LIV Golf is something more fundamental: its format and its identity.
Three seasons in, the format remains difficult to explain - even to an engaged fan. A 54-hole individual competition layered with a 12-team season-long franchise model. A shotgun start across all groups, compressing viewing windows but flattening narrative build. A points system that determines both individual and team champions, yet rarely alters a player’s broader standing in the sport.
“LIV feels less like a distilled vision of what golf could become and more like the output of a creative meeting in which every concept survived the edit.”
Recent developments underline the structural tension. LIV events were finally granted Official World Golf Ranking recognition in a limited capacity, but only a small portion of the field receives points - and the weighting remains modest compared to full-field PGA and DP World Tour events. As a result, several major champions within LIV’s ranks have seen their world rankings drift outside the top 50 despite consistent finishes within the league.
The team championship distributes significant prize money, yet it carries little historical consequence. A player may win a season-long team title and still see no material impact on Ryder Cup eligibility, major qualification, or career narrative.
None of the individual ideas are indefensible. Shorter events suit modern broadcast windows. Team golf has thrived in the Ryder Cup format. Guaranteed contracts provide financial stability.
The issue is accumulation.
LIV feels less like a distilled vision of what golf could become and more like the output of a creative meeting in which every concept survived the edit. Team branding. Captains. Drafts. Music on tees. Franchise logos. Collective scoring. Global exhibitions. Aggressive expansion rhetoric.
Less has rarely felt more distant.
Golf, at its best, is spare. It is tension stretched over four rounds. It is individual accountability. It is the slow burn of momentum and collapse. Its drama is not manufactured; it emerges from accumulation - of shots, of pressure, of history.
When formats become layered with mechanisms designed to accelerate excitement, they often achieve the opposite. Complexity dilutes clarity. Shotgun starts remove the natural crescendo of a Sunday back nine. Simultaneous finishes eliminate the theatre of staggered pressure. Spectacle replaces narrative.
And narrative is what gives sport meaning.
The branding compounds the issue.
LIV presents loudly - saturated visuals, team slogans, high-volume presentation. Its launch campaign leaned heavily into disruption. Yet disruption is not the same as identity. Volume is not the same as resonance.
“Without soul, connection becomes transactional. Viewership spikes around headline signings and debut events have not consistently translated into sustained weekly engagement. ”
The strongest sporting brands carry continuity. The Masters needs no reinvention. The Open Championship does not require amplification. Their authority is cumulative - reinforced annually by repetition, rivalry and consequence.
LIV has secured elite players, significant funding and global venues. But what it has not yet built is emotional weight. It lacks connective tissue to the sport’s existing architecture. Its events operate adjacent to - rather than integrated within - the game’s traditional milestones.
Without soul, connection becomes transactional. Viewership spikes around headline signings and debut events have not consistently translated into sustained weekly engagement. Attendance varies by market. Team allegiances remain commercially branded rather than organically formed.
Fans may watch for talent. They may follow individuals. But emotional investment requires stakes that feel earned and structures that feel coherent.
This is why the debate around LIV so often misses the point. The question is not whether professional golf should have multiple tours. It is whether a new tour understands the essence of the sport it is attempting to reshape - and how its offering complements, rather than complicates, the existing landscape.
Competition was never the issue.
Coherence, compatibility and craft still are.
NEWS-IN-BRIEF
McIlroy: The Players Does Not Need Major Status
Rory McIlroy has dismissed the idea that The Players Championship should be designated as men’s golf’s fifth major, despite renewed marketing efforts around the event.
The world No. 2 described The Players as “one of the best tournaments in the world” with a strong identity of its own, but said he remains a traditionalist when it comes to major championships. Men’s golf, he argued, does not need to expand beyond its existing four.
The tournament, held at TPC Sawgrass each March, has long been informally labelled the “fifth major.” This year’s promotional campaign carries the tagline “March is going to be major.” McIlroy’s intervention signals resistance from within the player base to formal reclassification.
He also suggested the PGA Championship’s move from August to May has diluted its identity, arguing it “needs to go back to August” to regain distinct positioning in the calendar.
The broader issue is differentiation. In a crowded schedule, identity remains one of golf’s most valuable assets.
Ffion Tynan Turns Professional After Securing LET Card
Welsh golfer Ffion Tynan has turned professional after earning her Ladies European Tour card through qualifying school in Morocco.
The 22-year-old’s journey began at age eight during a family holiday in Florida, where she chose a golf camp over a visit to Disney World. She later developed through junior competition before moving to the United States on a college scholarship, attending the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri.
Tynan’s pathway - junior golf, US collegiate system, Q-School progression - reflects the increasingly structured route into the professional women’s game.
Despite securing her tour card, she will not compete in the season-opening PIF Saudi Ladies International due to category restrictions, highlighting the competitive nature of tournament access even after qualification.
Her professional debut will follow later in the season.
Bronte Law Returns to Competition After Becoming a Parent
Bronte Law returns to Ladies European Tour action this week at the PIF Saudi Ladies International, marking her first competitive appearance since becoming a parent.
Law and her wife welcomed their first child in November. The former Solheim Cup player acknowledged she enters the season without certainty over preparation levels but expressed enthusiasm about returning to competition.
She plans to compete in approximately 10 LET events in 2026, balancing her playing schedule with her role as vice-captain of Team Europe’s PING Junior Solheim Cup side and her involvement in grassroots initiatives.
Her return continues a growing trend of visible parenthood within women’s professional golf, reflecting broader shifts in how tours accommodate family life alongside elite sport.
Fleetwood Addresses “Too Nice” Narrative
Tommy Fleetwood begins his PGA Tour season ranked fourth in the world following a breakthrough year that included his first PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship and success in the Ryder Cup.
Despite his improved record, discussion continues around whether Fleetwood possesses the competitive “edge” required to win major championships. Rory McIlroy recently suggested the Englishman had developed a sharper mentality over the past year.
Fleetwood rejected the notion that personality must change to win, stating he remains committed to being himself while continuing to refine his competitive approach.
After 163 PGA Tour starts without a win prior to his breakthrough, Fleetwood’s trajectory now places him firmly within major championship conversations for 2026.
Matsuyama Playoff Disruption at Phoenix
Hideki Matsuyama’s playoff defeat at the WM Phoenix Open was marked by an unusual interruption on the first extra hole.
As Matsuyama began his backswing, a security guard dropped a chair near the tee box, forcing the Japanese player to abort his swing. After resetting, he pulled his subsequent drive into the water.
Chris Gotterup capitalised, holing a 27-foot birdie putt to secure his fourth PGA Tour title and his second victory of the 2026 season.
Matsuyama has now gone 12 months without a win and falls to a 4-2 record in PGA Tour playoffs. While the dropped chair was not solely responsible for the outcome — he had struggled with his driver throughout the final round - the episode illustrates the narrow margins that define sudden-death competition.
Augusta’s Door Remains Closed
Gary Player has expressed disappointment that Augusta National has refused his request to play a round with three of his grandsons.
The three-time Masters champion, who made 52 starts between 1957 and 2009 and has served as an honorary starter since 2012, is not a member of the club and therefore cannot invite guests. Only members may host rounds outside Masters week.
Player, now 90, noted that other major venues would accommodate such a request. Augusta, he said, will not.
The irony is historical. Alongside Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Player formed golf’s “Big Three,” a trio that helped elevate the Masters into a global spectacle during the 1960s. Palmer and Nicklaus were both invited to become members. Player was not.
“I accept it,” he said. “But I accept it with sadness.”
The episode is a reminder that Augusta National’s exclusivity remains uncompromising even for those who helped build its mythology.
Fleetwood Goes Sponsor-Free
Tommy Fleetwood arrived at Pebble Beach without an apparel deal and without urgency to sign one.
Following the conclusion of his Nike contract, the world No. 4 has embraced life as a rare clothing free agent. This week, that meant wearing Pebble Beach-branded gear sourced directly from the pro shop.
Fleetwood has recently rotated through Lululemon, Vuori and even Masters-branded apparel. At Pebble, he leaned into the local logo.
“It’s quite nice to be wearing Pebble Beach clothing,” he said. “I’m a big golf fan.”
For a player of Fleetwood’s global profile, the absence of a sponsor is unusual - and temporary, many suspect. But the moment reflects a subtle shift in golf fashion: brand freedom as identity.
Not every statement requires a contract.
Charlie Woods Chooses Florida State
Charlie Woods has verbally committed to play college golf at Florida State beginning in 2027.
The high school junior currently sits No. 21 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and won last year’s AJGA Team TaylorMade Invitational. He helped lead The Benjamin School to a state title, posting a team-best 68 in the final.
His decision aligns him with one of the NCAA’s stronger recent pipelines under coach Trey Jones, which has produced players including Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger.
The surname guarantees attention. The ranking justifies it.
For the first time, Charlie Woods’ path is becoming structured rather than symbolic.
McIlroy Returns to Blades
Rory McIlroy has abandoned his brief experiment with cavity-back irons and returned to his RORS PROTO muscle-backs ahead of his PGA Tour season debut.
After testing TaylorMade P7CB irons during three DP World Tour starts finishing T14, T3 and T33, McIlroy decided the feel was not sufficiently familiar under pressure.
The cavity-backs offered greater forgiveness, reducing mishit dispersion from roughly 10-15 yards to closer to five. But they introduced what he described as a “right bias” that altered his preferred ball flight.
“That experiment’s over,” McIlroy said at Pebble Beach.
For the second-ranked player in the world, the decision underscores a truth elite golfers rarely escape: trust outweighs theory.
So far this season, the majority of tour winners have still used blade-style irons.
Tradition, once again, proves resilient.
OBJECT OF DESIRE
#001: The Mizuno Pro S3 Iceberg Set
Mizuno | £2,499
Precision, Composed in Blue
There is a quiet confidence to a properly built iron set.
Not one that tries to be everything at once, but one that understands where performance matters most. Increasingly, tour professionals are turning to mixed sets - forgiving long irons for stability, muscle-backs in the scoring clubs for precision. It is not compromise. It is optimisation.
The Mizuno Pro S3 Iceberg leans fully into that philosophy.
The 3- through 6-irons are shallow cavity-backed S-3s, engineered to offer a fraction more launch and margin without surrendering feel. From the 7-iron through pitching wedge, the set transitions into muscle-backed S-1s - compact, exacting, built for trajectory control and distance discipline.
The structure is deliberate. The finish is equally so.
The “Iceberg” edition carries an ombré gradient that moves from an almost glacial blue in the long irons to a deep navy in the scoring clubs. It is not loud. It does not chase attention. It signals refinement — a visual cue that something intentional sits beneath the surface.
Mizuno has long built its reputation on feel. This set extends that identity into composition. Precision where you demand it. Stability where you need it. Aesthetic restraint throughout.
Limited in number. Designed with clarity.
Not just an iron set - a considered statement.
STYLE
THE BRAND LIST: #001: MALBON GOLF
Malbon Golf and the Reframing of the Fairway
Malbon Golf did not emerge from a clubhouse. It emerged from Los Angeles.
Founded in 2017 by Stephen and Erica Malbon, the brand positioned itself less as a traditional golf label and more as a cultural bridge - between fairways and fashion, between sport and street, between heritage and self-expression.
That distinction matters.
For decades, golf apparel followed a narrow aesthetic lane: performance fabrics, muted palettes, and silhouettes dictated by convention. Malbon approached the sport from the outside in. It introduced graphic storytelling, collaborative capsules, and references drawn from music, art and contemporary design. The clothes felt less like uniform and more like identity.
Its now-recognisable Buckets logo became shorthand for a different kind of golfer - one comfortable in blending tradition with individuality.
Malbon’s coolness is not accidental. It understands that golf’s evolution is cultural as much as competitive. As younger audiences engage with the sport - through social media, alternative tours, simulator leagues and urban practice spaces - the visual language of golf has had to expand. Malbon recognised that early.
Collaboration sits at the centre of its strategy. Partnerships across sport, streetwear and luxury have reinforced its positioning as a brand that belongs as easily off the course as on it. That fluidity is central to its appeal.
But the deeper shift is philosophical. Malbon frames golf as inclusive and expressive rather than exclusive and codified. “Making the green the common ground” is less slogan than positioning - an attempt to widen the cultural perimeter of the sport.
It works because it does not reject golf’s past. It reframes it. Traditionalists may see disruption. A growing segment sees accessibility.
In a sport negotiating its identity, Malbon feels contemporary because it understands that style is no longer peripheral. It is part of participation. The fairway, increasingly, is a cultural space as much as a competitive arena.
Malbon simply dressed accordingly.
THE WEEKEND
PGA Tour - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
The only PGA Tour event on the calendar this weekend, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am runs through Sunday across Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill. As the first Signature Event of the 2026 season, it carries a $20 million purse and 700 FedExCup points, drawing a field that includes Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and other top-20 players. McIlroy returns as defending champion — and the event’s mix of pros and amateurs creates an unusual competitive texture. While Pro-Ams rarely shape season arcs, they do offer early signals about form, strategy and how elite players are adjusting after the off-season. How the top names balance risk and reward here may forecast who separates as major season nears.
Ladies European Tour - PIF Saudi Ladies International
The 2026 season kicks off in Riyadh with the PIF Saudi Ladies International, a 72-hole stroke play event with a $5 million purse - one of the richest on the LET outside majors and a key stop in the expanding PIF Global Series. A field of 120 players, including world top10 talent is competing for Order of Merit points, deeper Rolex World Ranking significance and early season momentum. This tournament has become a signature event in women’s golf, representing both competitive opportunity and a broader push toward parity in prize distribution.
LIV Golf - Adelaide (72-Hole Festival Format)
LIV Golf Adelaide continues its expanded four-day, 72-hole format this weekend. Built around a festival atmosphere that includes art, food and entertainment alongside competition, organisers are reporting strong attendance numbers potentially surpassing last year’s 102,000 crowd. While the spectacle does not change the structural questions around LIV’s competitive architecture, the weekend provides another test of the brand’s ability to convert novelty into sustained engagement.
International & Regional Tours - Sunshine Ladies Tour
Sunshine Ladies Tour moves toward the NTT Data Ladies Pro-Am in South Africa, a growing stop on the early women’s season that offers a competitive platform for players outside the biggest global stages.
SEE YOU NEXT FRIDAY.
