Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red newest ambassador secures first PGA Tour victory

Tiger Woods' golf apparel brand, Sun Day Red, signed Karl Vilips as its latest ambassador this year. It was a surprising decision as the Stanford golfer is not an established player yet.

However, the gamble seemed to work when Vilips, wearing Sun Day Red gear, secured his maiden PGA Tour victory at the 2025 Puerto Rico Open on Sunday, March 9. He was three strokes ahead of runner-up Rasmus Neergard-Petersen with a total score of 26-under.

The ace golfer said (via Golf Digest):

"Dream come true for me and my dad. Going at it for a long time. This is what we dreamed of when I was a kid. It’s pretty surreal.

Vilips wore a white Sun Day Red shirt and black trousers for his final round at the Grand Reserve Golf Club. The victory has earned him a spot at the Players Championship in the coming week as well as the PGA Championship in May.

As the Puerto Rico Open was held in the same week as the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the 23-year-old hasn't received a Masters qualification. However, he did receive a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

Interestingly, Karl Vilips' Stanford coach Conrad Ray was also Tiger Woods' teammate, when the golf legend was a student at the college. Ray had first noticed Vilips' potential at the Junior World.

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Karl Vilips "couldn’t process" when Tiger Woods personally congratulated him on his 2025 Puerto Rico Open win

Karl Vilips and Tiger Woods (Image via Imagn)

After winning the 2025 Puerto Rico Open, Karl Vilips' phone must have flooded with congratulatory messages. However, he received a voicemail from a "random number" that turned out to be none other than Tiger Woods himself.

Vilips narrated the incident (via Fox Sports):

"I got on my phone after the round and I was just scrolling, like who was texting me? I think I got one from a random number that called me as well. Then there was a voicemail saying it’s Tiger and I couldn’t like process it in the moment, I was just trying to -- I’ll get back to that later. That’s pretty cool."

Woods' apparel brand Sun Day Red announced it had signed Vilips in February this year. The ace golfer had been leading the standings alone at the Puerto Rico Open after 54 in the final round. The brand had hoped for his victory.

The brand later congratulated him as well. This was Vilips' third PGA Tour start.