Tiger Gets It Right

My last post was a bit critical of Tiger’s sartorial selections, so it is only fair to dish out some props when he steps to the first tee in a look that works.

That was the case with Tiger’s simple white and gray ensemble on Friday at the Quicken Loans National. The basic white shirt with modern touches like laser perforations on the collar was a huge upgrade from the two-toned mint chip ice cream shirt on we saw on Thursday, and the pants were trimmer than what we’ve seen from Tiger in recent years.

Tiger was a late adopter of the white belt and he has seemed to be making up for lost time recently by wearing it for nearly every round. Typically we would have seen Tiger pairing a white belt with this look, but the dark gray belt and hat were a welcomed break from the norm.

I’ve always thought that Tiger should channel Arnold Palmer’s clean and classic looks from the Golden Era, and that is what we saw from the 14-time major champion on Friday.

Think about it. Both players dominated their eras. Both had athletic builds. And both endeared themselves to galleries with aggressive play and ridiculous recovery shots. Plus, Tiger has never been what I’d call a trendsetter from a fashion standpoint, so why not put some modern spins Palmer’s iconic looks. The whole neo-classic thing is in vogue anyway.

I think Tiger has found a look that works for him. Hopefully this is a trend that continues. It would be great to see him mix in a contrasting placket and collar, a chest pocket or some piping around the sleeves. Heck, even throw in a cardigan for the Open Championship.