Fashion police

PGA Championship 2023: Viktor Hovland on his latest outrageous clothing: 'They pay me to do it'

May 18, 2023
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Viktor Hovland plays his shot from the fourth tee during the first round of the 2023 PGA Championship.

Andy Lyons

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Viktor Hovland shot a 2-under-par 68 on a thorny Thursday at the PGA Championship, settling nicely into the top five after the morning wave, but it was his clothes that perhaps made the loudest statement. Just as he dominated the sartorial discussion at the Masters with a pink-and-green Claude-Monet-in-his-water-lily-phase floral shirt that drew some scorn—but also sold like hot cakes—his scripting at Oak Hill had golf's fashionistas perking an eyebrow or two. This time, it was a bright ombré top fire motif, red fading into orange fading into yellow before hitting the bright white contrast of his pants.

Mind you, this was after he was drawing flack for a questionable pullover in the colder hours of the morning:

When asked after the round if it was typical for him to dress up in bright colors, and if he liked the attention, he had the quote of the day:

"No," he said, "I wear a lot of gray, black, and that's about it."

So what's the story with the golf shirts?

"Well," he said, "J. Lindeberg, they give me this stuff and pay me money to do so, so I just show up and wear what they want me to wear."

Pretty simple, pretty convincing!

As for this shirt, it's called the "sunset fade," it has some diamond line patterns among the colors, and it can be yours for $95. Unfortunately, you can't get it for free like Hovland did, but then again, you can't shoot a 68 at a major championship either. A story like this can only end with a pun as garish as the shirt itself, so please forgive the following: To the Viktor go the spoils.

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