MASTERS '25: Jason Day wanted his own look and got a Masters memory with Malbon

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Jason Day was looking for a new identity with his clothing, having spent his entire career with two of the most famous apparel brands in sport. He wanted something that would make him stand out on the golf course and feel fashionable off it.

He got every bit of that with Malbon Golf last year at the Masters.

Day chose a sweater vest, white with large letters stretching across the front that spelled out “No. 313. Malbon Golf Championship.” He recalls wearing a rain suit Friday morning on the 14th tee as he resumed the rain-delayed first round alongside Tiger Woods and Max Homa.

“Max and Tiger said, ‘That’s kind of boring,'” Day said. He already had been turning heads with his Malbon Golf attire the past four months, most of it baggy, a throwback look in golf.

“I said, ‘Wait until you see what I have on underneath.’ I take my jacket off, and they didn’t know what to say. As I was playing, it got crazier and crazier on social media.”

Maybe a little too crazy for Augusta National. The club determined the logo was a bit over the top and asked that he not wear it that afternoon.

His agent, Bud Martin at Wasserman Media Group, got word — by then it was the talk of the Masters and points beyond — on his way to the course and dreaded the idea of having this conversation in the 30 minutes before Day teed off for his second round.

“I was getting ready to make this speech and he said it was too hot and he wasn't going to wear it anyway,” Martin said.

And then there was Stephen Malbon, who founded the company with his wife, Erica, after a creative art career in subcultures from surfing to snowboards, fashion, graffiti and hip-hop. Behind a passion for design and a newfound addiction to golf, Malbon's brand already was making traction in the golf world. It exploded that day.

Malbon likes to say that “everyone knows who we are, for better or worse.”

This was a little of both.

“It had like 3 billion impressions those two days on the internet,” Malbon said. "Tiger made the cut. You had Bryson (DeChambeau) and the Jesus photo when he picked up the sign and put it on his shoulder. Some other player told one of the patrons to (expletive) off. And the only thing they were talking about was Jason and his sweater.”

That was the better part of it.

The worse was something Malbon is determined to change through his streetwear design.

“Golf is intimidating,” he said. "There was a lot of young people who probably looked at Jason that day and said: ‘Wow, golf might be for me. He looks cool.' And then he gets mocked and ridiculed and teased by all the commentators and then they're like: ‘Nah, I’m not going out there. If they're mean to him, they can be mean to me.'

“The Master is the Super Bowl of golf," he said. "That was a great opportunity to show golf can be different.”

That was Malbon's objective when he launched the brand in 2017 from a studio in Los Angeles. The idea was to make golf more appealing to a younger, style-conscious generation. Day, a 37-year-old Australian who once rose to No. 1 in the world, turned out to be a good fit.

Martin had met Malbon a few years earlier and struck up a relationship. Day's deal with Nike was up (he was with Adidas at the start of his career) and he was looking for options. For starters, he didn't like showing up at a tournament worried that he would be wearing the same scripted clothes as another Nike golfer.

“That's kind of how it happened,” Day said. “I was going to do my own custom clothes and Bud came to me and said, ‘What about this brand Malbon?’ They could do anything for you, any fabric you want, any style you want, any way you want.”

He realizes some of the apparel can look “wacky.” Day doesn't care as long as he likes it. He also doesn't mind the abuse when a design is rarely seen in golf.

Such was the case on a cold day at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year. Day wore what looked like an old-school, gray sweatsuit. It's called “Lost Luggage” sweatpants. They looked like pajamas. Not everyone was crazy about them.

“I remember somebody sent me a text or a tweet that ‘JDay has come out of bed and gone to the golf course,’” Day said with a laugh. "It doesn't take much to look different. When you look on the range, everything is performance-based, athletic. That's great, no problem.

“But the next generation are kids picking up golf for the first time,” he said. “And fashion is a big part of their world.”

Malbon Golf since has added Charley Hull, the LPGA star known for her devil-may-care approach to life and golf, the player known last year for having a cigarette dangling from her lips as she signed autographs at the U.S. Women's Open. Hull is huge on fitness and fashion.

Other additions are Minjee Lee with a more classic style, and Nataliya Guseva of Russia.

And now it’s back to the Masters, where Day and Malbon have submitted — and had approved — their lineup of clothing for the week. There appears to have been some negotiating.

“After the first two runs, we were on the same page,” Martin said.

Day wanted his own clothes and Malbon Golf needed a golfer to pitch them. Day has an equity stake in Malbon and is involved in some of the design work, where he wants to be edgy without crossing what can be a fine line. That was Malbon's objective all along with Day.

“He believes in us and he believed in us early,” Malbon said. “Kudos to Bud for taking it to him. He could have easily not. But it means a ton to us. We went from maybe 5% or 10% of the golf world who knew who we are to everyone knowing who we are.”

And then he paused before adding with a laugh, “For better or for worse.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Charley Hull, of England, wears her Malbon clothing line during the final round of the Ford Championship LPGA golf event, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Charley Hull, of England, wears her Malbon clothing line during the final round of the Ford Championship LPGA golf event, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

FILE - Jason Day lines up a putt on the 18th hole of the South Course at Torrey Pines during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, file)

Jason Day, of Australia, waves after making a putt on the 18th hole during the weather delayed first round round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, April 12, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have indeed invoked the Insurrection Act more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded to Trump's post by saying he would challenge any deployment in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December. ICE is a DHS agency.

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

Frey said the federal force — five times the size of the city’s 600-officer police force — has “invaded” Minneapolis, and that residents are scared and angry.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.

Police chief Brian O’Hara said the shot man was being treated for a non-life-threatening injury. The two others are in custody, DHS said. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security.

Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota said what's happening in the state “defies belief.”

“Let’s be very, very clear: this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” he said. “Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”

Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.

The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the bleeding, how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.

Good was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street near her home. Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been criticized by Minnesota officials.

Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment.

Good’s family has hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground 2020.

Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Julie Watson in San Diego; Rebecca Santana in Washington; Ed White in Detroit and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed.

A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)