tournament

Golf fashion continues to be one of the major discussions of the 2024 PGA Tour season. At the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the players showed off their impressive style.

That said, fashion is a subjective topic with no right answer.

Not everyone likes risks and prefers traditional outfits, but there are ways to be both trendy and traditional.

Akshay Bhatia does this well. He blends traditional and trendy together by wearing Greyson Clothier items. This week is more about finding traditional outfits that look fantastic. The bright patterns are great, but sometimes, it is nice to see the guys pull off a classic look.

So, without further ado, check out the five best-dressed golfers from the first two days at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

5. Joel Dahmen

This subtle pattern, light khaki pants, and Joel Dahmen’s signature bucket hat make a great outfit. His style is for those who take a little risk but not too much.

The pattern is just enough to make it trendy. That shade of blue looks fantastic on his skin tone. He wears Travis Mathew, and the brand does a great job making sure what he wears looks solid on him. It also shows how versatile the brand is because anyone of any age can pull off that pattern.

Rating: 8/10

4. Chris Kirk

Rocket Mortgage Classic, Chris Kirk, Akshay Bhatia

Chris Kirk is No. 4 on this list because he always wears traditional outfits but finds a way to play with a little color. He wore green on Thursday, and this shade of red looks great on him.

His beard has a red tone, so these shades go well with it. I also like how he went with a gray belt instead of a traditional black one. Kirk still pays tribute to his college team, the Georgia Bulldogs, without making it too obvious.

Rating: 8.5/10

3. Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee is almost a staple on these best-dressed lists. What Lululemon continues to put him in looks fantastic. It is traditional but trendy because it’s one of the hottest brands on the market.

The lavender with the silver pants looks incredible in his skin tone. He has his signature shades on, and they pull it all together. It will be interesting to see what Lululemon does next in golf because these are great so far. Please give us more color, but keep it up because this is such a vibe that most people would wear.

Rating: 9/10

2. Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler has finally impressed on the fashion front. This blue polo is a phenomenal color for him. The gray belt looks incredible with the white pants, and the white hat pulls it together. The ‘P’ on the hat matches the polo, and I love how the inside of the collar is pink. It’s a pop of color without making it too busy.

However, I want to see less of the little pattern on him and more of these traditional moments because he pulls them off so well. Sometimes, those patterns get tacky, and it does not have a vibe, but this week, Fowler looks awesome.

Rating: 9.5/10

1. Akshay Bhatia

He leads the tournament and is No. 1 on this list because Akshay Bhatia is the walking definition of traditional but trendy.

This two-tone blue polo from Friday is perfect for his skin tone. The flow, beard and glasses pull it all together. It is a perfect fit. His polo from Thursday was also great because it had a pattern but was not too loud. Greyson Clothier is an ideal choice for Bhatia.

He wears the joggers, which is still a sensitive topic in golf, but he pulls them off. Bhatia is such a vibe. Look good and play good is in full effect for the 22-year-old this week in Detroit.

Rating: 10/10

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

The Memorial Tournament is returning to its original spot on the PGA Tour calendar.

After striking an agreement with the PGA Tour to stage its event the week before the U.S. Open in 2024, Jack Nicklaus announced Monday that his Memorial Tournament will take place during the first weekend of June.

That means the tournament will begin on Memorial Day Monday, two weeks before the U.S. Open.

“The relationship the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday has enjoyed with the PGA Tour is more like a partnership. The Tour has acted in the best interest of the Memorial Tournament, and we, in turn, have always supported the Tour and its initiatives. That is why a year ago when the Tour presented us its new business model, we were willing to work with them and move the 2024 date to a week before the U.S. Open,” Nicklaus said in a statement.

“Over recent months, we have had a number of conversations with Jay Monahan and his team—ones that have included our presenting sponsor Workday and Co-Founder and Executive Chair Aneel Bhusri—and together we determined that in the best interest of the Memorial Tournament, the Tour and its players, we would return to our traditional date and start Tournament week on the Memorial Day holiday.”

The Memorial Tournament presents a grueling test year in and year out, almost serving as a ‘Mini-major.’ This year’s edition certainly lived up to that billing, as Scottie Scheffler fought firm and fast conditions, as well as a charging Collin Morikawa, to win by a stroke at 8-under par. Scheffler even said it played like a U.S. Open, but it’s extremely difficult for both the mind and the body to play a U.S. Open-type course in back-to-back weeks.

Hence, at Pinehurst No. 2 this past week, Scheffler explained why he does not want to play the week before a major going forward.

“I think playing the week before, a lot of it depends on the golf course, but I think last week with the golf course the way it was, it probably was not the best prep work for me coming into another challenging event,” Scheffler said Sunday.

“I shot 5-under during the first round at the Memorial, which would have been the easiest day, and after that, I was 3-under from there on out. I mean, that’s pretty U.S. Open-like, and to play that many rounds, especially with what I’ve been dealing with the weeks leading up or the whole season, been playing a lot of good golf and being in contention, I think maybe my prep would have been a little bit better for this week if I was at home.”

Interestingly, Nicklaus, the 18-time major champion who has won more of them than anyone else, agreed with this sentiment.

“When I played, I rarely played a week before any major championship. So I’m asked to be part of putting on a golf tournament in a week that I would never play,” Nicklaus said before his tournament.

“From a sponsor’s standpoint, Memorial Day has been what our name is, and we were around Memorial Day. [Monday] is normally a huge day gallery-wise for us because it was Memorial Day, and we had maybe a thousand people here [this year on Monday].”

Now Nicklaus gets his wish, as his tournament will welcome the PGA Tour’s best players two weeks before Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh—another brutally tough course—will host the 2025 U.S. Open.

And best of all, Scheffler, now knowing that the 2025 Memorial aligns with his plans, will be there defending his title, too.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Tag: tournament

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5. Joel Dahmen

4. Chris Kirk

3. Min Woo Lee

2. Rickie Fowler

1. Akshay Bhatia

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