Ponte Vedra Beach (Florida), Mar 30: Already known for flipping up the bill of his cap, Jesper Parnevik took fashion to a new extreme at the 1997 Bob Hope Classic when he showed up on the practice range with a bright array of tight-fitting clothes from Swedish designer Johan Lindeberg.
The idea was to bring style back to golf.
Everyone else thought he was nuts.
"There were a lot of frowns when I stepped onto the range," Parnevik said. "Johan went overboard in the beginning with very tight stuff. He wanted to make a statement. At the time, guys really wanted to know what was going on."
Now, all they have to do is look around.
One day last week at The Players Championship, Parnevik was dressed in aqua pants, a white belt and a bright turquoise shirt with orange down the side. Depending on whose company he keeps, he no longer stands out.
Not with Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland dressed up like a Popsicle, head-to-toe in bright orange during the final round of the Bay Hill Invitational.
The most outrageous might have been Ian Poulter of England, who wore pants with a Union Jack pattern at the British Open, and a Stars & Stripes pattern at the PGA Championship.
Scott Hend wore bright yellow pants and a kelly green shirt at Torrey Pines. Hunter Mahan rarely goes through a tournament without wearing pink pants and a matching hat.
"Do you want to see guys wearing khakis and white shirts? Or do you want to see somebody a little bit different?" Clarke said. "There's more to us than just playing golf. I think it brightens it up and makes it a bit of fun."
For those who think the colorful array of clothing is over the top, consider the 2001 US Open at Southern Hills, where Retief Goosen of South Africa and Mark Brooks faced each other in an 18-hole playoff.
Both showed up on the first tee that Monday morning wearing khaki pants and white shirts.
"It's definitely going away from that," Mahan said. "Jesper, he's been doing it the longest. He's the man who got everything going."
Golf has been dominated by talk of the Big Four and tournaments interrupted by weather. But another trend that can no longer be ignored is the latest shift in fashion.
Bureau Report
