Have you ever wondered what it would take you to win the Masters? A recent study published by Sports Handle assessed data going back to 1934 to find such crucial details like which star sign (Pisces), height (5-foot-9), and nationality (American) were most likely to predict a winner. In case your birth chart and certificates don’t align, the study also produced a significant amount of data analyzing the outfit choices of winners—since the first year of colored photographic records in 1963—yielding some surprising, and surprisingly copyable, results. Below, we’ve broken down highlights from the study as well as tips for how to take the winning looks into your own game, and maybe (hopefully, definitely) increase your odds of crushing (in a friendly way!) the members of your foursome.
When it comes to style, stay away from loud prints or dizzying stripes, according to the study, which found that 60 percent of winners wore plain shirts in a single color as they sank their final ball. Perhaps less surprising given the time of year and Georgia heat, three out of every four winners opted for polos with short sleeves. History does show many players donning a long-sleeve, so perhaps the real lesson here is to pray for warm weather.
This maybe the most unexpected find is about headwear. A whopping 40 percent of winners wore white hats or caps—kind of crazy given the unlimited colors of the rainbow in golf sartorial offerings. For comparison, 28 percent of winners preferred a hat-less look, which is only 3 percent more than the amount of players who went for a black cap.
Of those hat-donning winners, more than half sported baseball cap styles, with 10 winners wearing visors (making up about 16 percent). Bucket hats received no mentions. But you do you.
Thanks to Tiger’s reign supreme, Nike was the most popular brand among the winners, bolstered by fellow green jacket owners Scottie Scheffler (who won in 2022), Patrick Reed (2018), Charl Swartzel (2011), and Trevor Immelman (2008).
The big news here is from Lacoste, who can boast being the second-most favored brand by winners. While no winners in this millennia have chosen to sport the French crocodile mascot on the greens (yet!) the tennis-forward brand was a popular choice among players, particularly winners from Spain and the US, interestingly. (And pro tip: Lacoste just dropped a capsule of golf-specific spring styles.)
With more players dispersing from larger giants like Nike and choosing to rep smaller, upstart brands, like Malbon, from across the world, we’ll be curious to see how the next decade influences this list. But one thing’s for sure: if it’s a little oomph you’re looking for to refresh your game and give you an extra boost of energy and confidence, then these pointers could be your answer—or at least make for good conversation starters.
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