“This is weird” “Never heard of him.”: Fans react to the newly announced ambassador for Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red

On Tuesday, February 18, Tiger Woods’ golf apparel brand, Sun Day Red, announced its first brand ambassador outside of Woods. The brand welcomed PGA Tour rookie Karl Vilips to its family, and fans have taken to social media to share their opinions.

Tiger Woods is regarded as one of the most popular names in golf. The 49-year-old American golfer has 82 PGA Tour and 41 European Tour wins. He is tied with Sam Snead for the player with the most PGA Tour wins ever.

Woods launched his highly anticipated apparel brand Sun Day Red in February 2024 and released the first line of clothing items in May. Until recently, the 82-time PGA Tour winner’s clothing brand had no ambassador besides Tiger Woods himself.

Stanford alum Karl Vilips has signed an endorsement deal with the brand, and some fans reacted on X, saying they had never heard of him.

“This is weird,” one fan said.

“Never heard of him. Breaking News huh?” another fan reacted.

“Who?” more fans reacted on X.

“Huh?” another fan said on X.

While some fans do not know who the PGA Tour rookie is, others recognize him from his YouTube channel.

“That’s cool. I remember Karl growing up on YouTube. What a journey,” an X user said.

“What a phenomenal and wonderful guy! Was one of his first 500 or so subscribers on YT golf 🥹 LFG!” another user said on X.

Karl Vilips is an Australian professional golfer who turned pro in 2024. The 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie has played in ten PGA Tour events and has had seven top-25 finishes. He also runs a YouTube channel where he has posted over 800 videos on golf-related content. He was the Rookie of the Year at the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour.

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Tiger Woods expressed confidence in Karl Vilips’ ability to make a good impact at Sun Day Red

In a press release, Tiger Woods revealed that he believed Karl Vilips would positively impact the PGA Tour. He called Vilips “one of the game’s future stars.”

“At Sun Day Red, we were drawn towards his relentless work ethic and pioneering spirit that embody what we stand for and look for in our athletes. With his impressive track record and determination, I have no doubt he will make a significant impact quickly on the PGA Tour,” Woods said (via The Australian).

Vilips, meanwhile, took to Instagram to divulge that Tiger Woods was his idol growing up, and he was thrilled to be a part of Sun Day Red.

“Tiger was my idol growing up, and knowing he drives the insights behind the product gives us a unique edge… It’s a thrill to be part of Sun Day Red, especially so early on as we grow the brand around the world,” he wrote.

Still taken from Karl Vilip's Instagram story_Image source: Instagram/@koalakarl2001

Karl Vilips is expected to compete in the upcoming 2025 Mexico Open at VidantaWorld starting Thursday, February 20.