Nike Golf Athletes Rely on Elite Cooling at The PGA Championship

Hyper bright colors paired with shades of gray will keep athletes looking great and staying cool

(BEAVERTON, Ore.) – Nike Golf athletes will stay cool as they battle the Louisville, Ky., heat at the 2014 PGA Championship. Wearing Nike Dri-FIT fabrics that promote cooling, the Fall 2014 Nike Golf Collection will help keep the athletes cool in a color palette of hyper brights.

Tiger Woods, the four-time PGA Championship winner, will compete in ultra-lightweight polos from the Tiger Woods Collection, that emphasize stretch and ventilation. Woods will rely on laser perforation in all of his polos to allow for more breathability in the areas that need it most, under the arms, along the upper back and under the collar.

Rory McIlroy will stay cool in his classic Lightweight Innovation Color polo featuring hyper bright colors such as Hyper Grape and Hyper Colbalt, complemented by gray pants. He will also stay cool in the Innovation Two-color Jacquard polo that utilizes a new jacquard technique called Racheltronic. This technique provides a seamless transition from solid jersey to mesh construction. Nike has added a burst of energetic colors to McIlroy’s flat bill hats to tie together his modern look.

“We know it’s going to be hot and muggy at Valhalla, so we focused on keeping our athletes cool and comfortable in the heat of competition,” said Merritt Richardson, VP of Global Golf Apparel and Footwear. “Through techniques like Racheltronic jacquard, laser cut and bonded mesh panels through the underarm, laser perforated collars and laser perforation at the upper back, we are providing our athletes with cooling innovations that will allow them to focus on playing their best.”

Thirteen Nike Golf athletes will compete at the 2014 PGA Championship: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Scott Brown, Kevin Chappell, Russell Henley, Francesco Molinari, Seung Yul Noh, Thorbjorn Olesen, Charl Schwartzel, Nick Watney and recent qualifiers, Paul Casey, Ross Fisher and Tommy Fleetwood.

Tiger Woods
Woods will sport lightweight fabrics with increased ventilation. On Thursday, he will go lightweight wearing Purple Haze color in the TW Seasonal Emboss Polo ($85). Friday through Sunday is all about ventilation: TW Iridescent Polo ($85) on Friday, TW Perforated Panel Polo ($100) on Saturday and the TW Seasonal Bold Stripe Polo ($90) in Action Red on Sunday. Woods will finish each look with the TW Adaptive Fit Pant ($125), TW Ultralight Tour cap ($30), TW Mesh Nike belt ($70) and Nike TW ‘14 footwear ($180). Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour and Nike ONE Tour D.

Rory McIlroy
McIlroy will start and finish the week in the Lightweight Nike Innovation Color polo ($75) the same design he won in at the 2014 Open Championship in addition to Friday and Saturday’s Nike Innovation Two Color Jacquard polo ($75) in Light Magnet Grey and Photo Blue. McIlroy’s modern look is tied together with colorful and coordinated Flat Bill Tour Caps ($30). He’ll complete each look with the Modern Tech pant ($80), Sleek Modern Plaque belt ($50) and Nike Lunar Control footwear ($160). Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour and Nike RZN Black.

Scott Brown
Wearing bold colors throughout the week, Brown will sport deep jewel toned hues as he battles at Valhalla. He bookends his competitive rounds in Purple Haze color wearing the Key Embossed Polo ($65) on Thursday and the Nike Victory Stripe Polo ($55) on Sunday. Brown will sport the Lightweight Nike Innovation Stripe Polo ($65) in Photo Blue on Friday and the Nike Victory Polo ($50) in Action Red on Saturday. He will pull his looks together with the Nike Lunar Control footwear and the Nike Tour Mesh Cap. Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 and Nike RZN Platinum.

Kevin Chappell
Competing for his first major victory, Chappell will coordinate his apparel with the new Nike Lunar Waverly ($140) footwear throughout the week. The court-inspired footwear has integrated traction for on course performance with off-course function and style. Keeping cool in the southern heat, Chappell will wear the following during competition: Key Iconic Polo 2.0 ($65) on Thursday, Sport Stripe Polo ($65) on Friday, Sport Seasonal Polo ($70) on Saturday and the Nike Speed Print Polo ($75) on Sunday.  He will top off his stylish looks with the Nike Tour Mesh cap. Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour and Nike RZN Platinum.

Russell Henley
Accustom to the warm temperatures of the South, Henley will be searching for his first major championship clad in a color palette of Photo Blue and white mixed with pops of Volt. On Thursday and Saturday Henley goes solid with the Nike Ultra Polo 2.0 ($65) in white and black respectively. On Friday and Sunday he mixes it up with stripes in the Nike Victory Stripe polo ($55) and the Key Bold Heather Stripe polo ($65) both in Photo Blue. Henley will complete his looks with the Flat Front Tech Pant, Signature Swoosh Logo Cutout II belt, Tall Tour visor ($22) and Nike Lunar Control footwear. Driver and ball: Nike VRS STR8-FIT and Nike RZN Black.

Francesco Molinari
Molinari will beat in the heat in lightweight Dri-FIT styles and light colors at Valhalla. Confident in purple, he will wear the Nike Ultra Stripe Polo ($60) on Thursday and the Key Iconic Polo 2.0 ($65) on Saturday, both in Purple Haze. On Friday, Molinari will wear the Nike Ultra Polo 2.0 ($65) in white paired with Photo Blue Flat Front Tech Pants. On Sunday, he will wear his preferred final round color, Yellow Streak, in the Nike Victory Polo ($50). Molinari will lace up in Nike iD TW ‘14 footwear designed to coordinate with his outfits and pair each polo with the Flat Front Tech pant, Nike Tour Mesh cap, and Signature Swoosh Logo Cutout II belt. Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 and Nike RZN Black.

Seung Yul Noh
Trying to make his second win of the season a major championship, Noh will wear stripes and bold graphics in Purple Haze, Riftblue and Magnet Grey colors at Valhalla. He will start the week in the Nike Ultra Polo 2.0 ($65) in Purple Haze on Thursday. Stripes come into play the rest of the week for Noh with the Sport Nike Innovation Pocket Polo ($70) on Friday, the Sport Stripe Polo ($65) on Saturday and the Nike Ultra Stripe Polo ($60) on Sunday. The Modern Tech Pant ($80), Nike Tour Mesh Cap Signature Swoosh Logo Cutout II belt and Nike Lunar Control footwear will finish each look. Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 and Nike RZN Platinum.

Thorbjorn Olesen
Always making noise in his head-to-toe looks, Olesen will sport camouflage Thursday through Saturday at Valhalla. He will wear the Sport Seasonal polo ($70), which has a camouflage pattern in the iconic 26-degree Nike chevron for the first round; and the Sport Nike Graphic Polo ($75), which has an all over camouflage graphic for round two. Olesen will wear camouflage on his trousers with the Sport Novelty Pant in black on Saturday paired with a black Sport Swing Movement polo ($60) with pops of Volt in his Nike Flat Bill Tour cap and his Nike Lunar Control footwear. On Sunday, Olesen will be wearing his color of choice for the final round, Pro Green, in the Nike Victory Polo ($50). Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour and Nike RZN Black.

Charl Schwartzel
Bold graphics including camouflage and bright stripes will be on display as Schwartzel hunts for his second major championship title. The Sport Seasonal Polo ($70) on Thursday, Nike Innovation Speed Stripe Polo ($80) on Friday and Sunday, and the Sport Stripe Polo ($65) on Saturday round out Schwartzel’s sporty styles. Nike Golf’s Modern Tech Pant, Nike Tour Mesh cap, Sleek Modern Plaque belt ($50) and Nike FI Impact footwear complete each head-to-toe look. Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour and Nike RZN Black.

Nick Watney
Coordinating his hyper bright colors, Watney will wear the Nike Innovation Speed Stripe Polo ($80) in black with pops of Volt on Thursday and that same polo in white with pops of Photo Blue on Saturday. Relying on Dri-FIT fabrics head to toe throughout the week, Watney will wear the Nike Speed Print Polo ($75) on Friday and Sunday - pairing them with the Flat Front Tech Pant, Nike Tour Flat Bill cap and the Nike Lunar Control footwear. Driver and ball: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 and Nike RZN Platinum.

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