Brooks rocks Drizzy’s mock, Patty Ice is too cool in Hugo Boss, JT rolls with the biggest boss of them all, Na walks (in) the talk, and more. Hip-hop, fashion, and golf unite this week in Hotlanta.
See also: This Week In Golf Fashion: Charm City Style
Brooks Koepka (NOCTA x Nike)
The worlds of golf and high fashion rarely collide. What’s even more head-scratching is the fact that Brooks Koepka is bringing the two together. You’ll remember at the Tour Championship way back in 2019, Brooks rocked a pair of Off-White x Nike Air Max 90 golf shoes that had sneakerheads’ heads spinning. When asked about the fresh kicks, Koepka famously uttered, “It’s fashion, bro.”
Fast forward two years and Brooks rolled to the first tee at East Lake on Thursday in an unreleased short-sleeve mock neck from Drake’s NOCTA x Nike line and again on Saturday before he WD’ed. Interestingly, Koepka’s new NOCTA wardrobe coincided with the drop of Drake’s new album, Certified Lover Boy. Coincidence? I think not, although this seems like a strange place to stage a promotion. 98% of PGA Tour fans are unlikely to connect the dots between Koepka’s mock neck and a new Drake album, let alone know what NOCTA even is.
Some other interesting twists here; Virgil Abloh is the CEO of the Off-White fashion house and also the artistic director at Louis Vuitton. Abloh redesigned Drake’s private Boeing 767-300F plane in 2020 and is good friends with Kanye West, with who Drake has a long-running feud and repeatedly disses on his latest album. What does this have to do with golf? I have no idea, but it is a tangled web.
Billy Horschel (Ralph Lauren & FootJoy)
See the watch collection and assume I got time
‘Cause of the ruby rose two-tone
– Drake, 7am on Bridle Path
No line from Drake’s new album went viral more than this one as model/rapper Rubi Rose mistakenly thought he was shouting her out. Instead, Drizzy was referencing a luxury watch. Oops! Lol!
Make no mistake, though, this rosy-pink color is one of the trendy colors of early fall. You can opt for a dusty hue, as Collin Morikawa did a couple of weeks ago, or pump up the volume with Horschel’s more vibrant take on the color.
Justin Thomas (Greyson Clothiers & FootJoy); Rick Ross
I just keep it fundamentally fly.
– Rick Ross
Drake wasn’t the only hip-hop artist making waves at the Tour Championship. The biggest boss of them all, Rick Ross, teed it up at East Lake before the tourney and returned for some second-round action. Ricky Rozay and Drake have teamed up for some bangin’ musical collabs over the years, with Stay Schemin and Aston Martin Music being two of the best. Ross is just the latest in a long list of hip-hop artists who have recently taken up the game of golf. In describing his style, Rozay once said, “I just keep it fundamentally fly.” The same can be said for JT in those Greyson threads and FootJoy Tarlow shoes.
Patrick Cantlay (Hugo Boss & FootJoy)
Hey yo I’m movin’ on up, excuse a moi, pardon it’s me
There’s a new chapter to life that I’m starting to see
– Drake, Money
Speaking of big bosses, Patty Ice left East Lake with more than a few stacks. You have to think he’s moving on up and entering a new chapter of his career–one filled with major championships. Cantlay typically sticks with classic navy blues, greys, and blacks from Hugo Boss, and he is one of the few top players that doesn’t have a go-to Sunday color. However, if he was to adopt a Sunday-style superstition, this monochromatic navy blue look would be a good option.
Rory McIlroy & Tony Finau (Nike)
Shout goes out to Nike, checks all over me
I need a FuelBand just to see how long the run has been
– Drake, 10 Bands
There is no shortage of Nike references in Drake’s verses, including his famous, “Checks over stripes” line showing his allegiance to Nike over Adidas. Last week, we asked if Rory McIlroy was the best-dressed Nike player? The answer was a resounding “yes,” but Tony Finau certainly got some votes. Interestingly, the two Swoosh players bring slightly different styles to the course. McIlroy puts an athletic spin on classic looks, while Finau leans towards a modern streetwear vibe.
Joaquin Niemann (Adidas Golf)
Herzog and Adidas, man, you know they love it
If Nike ain’t have Drizzy, man, they would have nothing
– Kanye West, Facts (Charlies Heat Version)
Not to be outdone, Yeezy hasn’t been shy about throwing shade in Nike’s direction. Joaquin Niemann wasn’t to be outdone, either. The dude blazed his way around East Lake in only 1 hour and 53 minutes (skrt, skrt) to set the PGA Tour record for the fastest round. He did it in a pair of Adidas’ new ZG21 Motion kicks, which feature an upper made from recycled materials. Can’t help but to think there is a marketing campaign here– the “ZG21 Motion, the fastest shoe in golf.”
Kevin Na (WAAC & FootJoy)
Walk it like I talk it (walk it), walk it like I talk it (yeah)
– Migos (featuring Drake), Walk It Talk It
In 2018, Migos and Drizzy teamed up on a track titled, “Walk It Talk It,” which seems like an appropriate theme song for Kevin Na. Any guy that has a logo of himself walking in a putt on the back yoke of his polo better be able to back it up. Amazingly, Na never has a misstep. Na is also one of the biggest golf fashion enigmas. You never know what he is going to roll out wearing, as evidenced by that dizzying print last week. When Na keeps it classic and simple, as he did this week, he is one of the best-dressed guys out there.
Erik van Rooyen (Greyson Clothiers & ECCO)
You don’t see just how wild the crowd is?
You don’t see just how fly my style is?
– Kanye West, Champion
Every year there seems to be a player who makes a Cinderella run through the playoffs. Erik van Rooyen was the guy who ran a hot streak to go from outside the top 125 to the Tour Championship this year. One thing that never wavered through the season was EVR’s style. Last week, he introduced us to Greyson’s Meadowsweet purple hue. This week, he showed us two new ways to wear this gem tone in early fall.