Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red ambassador unlocks rare achievement in just his fifth PGA Tour start

Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red's first brand ambassador, Karl Vilips, has added another accolade to his name in just his fifth start on the PGA Tour. The Australian golfer is playing this week at the Valspar Championship, which already started with its first round on Thursday, March 20.

Vilips is included in the feature group for the second round of the event on Friday, March 21. Friday's marquee group includes Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Karl Vilips. They will tee off at 1:23 pm ET.

Korn Ferry Tour shared the good news on its X (formerly Twitter) account, along with the caption saying:

"In his fifth @PGATOUR start, Karl Vilips has entered Featured Group status."

The other featured groups for the Valspar Championship are:

• 1:34 p.m.: Shane Lowry, Sahith Theegala, Corey Conners
• 1:45 p.m.: Cameron Young, Jake Knapp, Viktor Hovland

Karl Vilips became the first brand ambassador of the Sun Day Red last month. The 23-year-old golfer had a great start to the PGA Tour season, and just in the third start of the 2025 season, he won his maiden event on the circuit. Vilips won the Puerto Rico Open after carding four rounds of 65, 67, 66, and 64.

The Australian started his 2025 campaign at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, where he played the four rounds of 74, 65, 76, and 69 to settle in T72 place. Following that, he competed at the Cognizant Classic, and after the four rounds of 68, 67, 68, and 72, he settled in T39 place and then won the Puerto Rico Open. The Aussie last played at The Players Championship, but he struggled with his game and missed the cut after two rounds of 72 and 78.

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How did Karl Vilips play at the 2025 Valspar Championship?

Vilips had a decent start to his game at this week's Valspar Championship. He shot the opening round of 3-over 74. He teed off for the first round on the first tee hole with a birdie but then struggled as the game progressed. He ended up making bogeys on the third and fourth holes.

Karl Vilips had a really tough time on the greens on the front nine as he again made two more bogeys on the seventh and ninth holes. He carded a birdie on the 11th and a bogey on the 17th for 3-over 74. He settled in T98 place after the first round of the Valspar Championship.

Notably, the opening round of the tournament was suspended due to darkness on Thursday and will resume on Friday, March 21. The second round of play will start at 7:35 a.m. ET on Friday, while the players who have yet to complete their first round will resume their game at 9 a.m. ET.