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Xander Schauffele is the star of the latest chapter in the PGA Tour's sponsorship saga. The player is already preparing for The Sentry in Hawaii and is doing so wearing new gear.
Schauffele was spotted wearing Descente apparel instead of his usual Adidas, suggesting a change in his footwear and apparel sponsor. The change was detected by chance thanks to some images shared by the X (formerly Twitter) account @XanderLegion.
"I didn't even realize that looking at the pic, very good find. Could be the first time in his career not wearing Adidas. End of an era and honestly it may look odd for a bit."
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Xander Schauffele signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Adidas in 2018 after finishing the previous season as Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour. At the time, the Adidas family included stars such as Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, and Jon Rahm.
Xander Schauffele's alleged new sponsor, Descente, is a Japanese sports apparel and accessories company originally dedicated to skiing. The company was founded in 1935 and currently has holdings in several brands, including the golf-focused Srixon.
Descente has a long history in sports sponsorship. Apart from winter sports, the company also sponsors athletes in cycling, baseball, motorcycle racing and triathlon. In addition to Xander Schauffele, other Descente golf brand ambassadors include The Masters 2016 champion Danny Willett and 2017 Women's PGA Championship champion Danielle Kang.
Xander Schauffele at The Sentry Tournament of Champions
The Sentry Tournament of Champions has been an important event for Xander Schauffele's career. He has not missed an edition since his second season on the PGA Tour (2018) and has had excellent results in it.
Schauffele won The Sentry in 2019. Given the category of this event (currently a Signature Event, formerly a Designated Event), this is one of the most important victories of his career so far.
Schauffele also finished second in 2020, T5 in 2021 and 12th in 2022. His participation is summarized by one win, two Top 5s, one Top 15 and one Top 25 in six participations (he withdrew after the first round in 2023).
The Sentry Tournament of Champions was inaugurated in 1953 and has been played in Las Vegas, California and Hawaii. It opens the PGA Tour season the first week of each year since 1999.
Initially, only the winners of the previous season qualified for the event. In 2020 and 2021, players who made the TOUR Championship field were included. This was not repeated in 2023, but the field was expanded again for the 2024 edition.
Several of the greatest names in the history of world golf have played and won The Sentry. Jack Nicklaus holds the record for most wins (5), Arnold Palmer won three times, Gary Player, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have won twice, and Lee Trevino once.
The lowest score record for the tournament is 34-under 258, set by Cameron Smith when he won in 2022. The largest margin of victory was set by Gene Littler when he defeated Jerry Barber, Pete Cooper and Bob Toski by 13 strokes in 1955.
