There might not be money to be made by playing in the Ryder Cup, but the 2016 European Ryder Cup team is going to be compensated in the form of some incredible, high-end Italian-made clothes.
European captain Darren Clarke and his team will be outfitted by Loro Piana, which does make some golf clothing already. Clarke, a stylish man who pays attention to the details, gave his vision to designers to produce eye-catching, classic looks for the opening ceremony and through the week.
“I’ll bet these guys (European Ryder Cup players and captains) will be getting about 100 grand in gear,” Clarke’s agent Chubby Chandler said, according to Golfweek. “Darren’s like, ‘This here needs to be mohair, nice and light for travel,’ and players get a tux, a suit … the shoes go for about $3,000 a pair.”
The tuxedos will go for about $10,000 each. Then there are the clothes during the three days of matches. The gilet (wind vest) goes for $1,500 each. The pants, which have a Rain System water-repellent finish, go for $600 each. The wool pique polo is $865 a pop. You get the point.
“I hope all the guys like the stuff as much as I do,” Clarke said to Golfweek. “There’s no wild, wacky sort of outfits. They’re very sensible. Classic.”
Rory McIlroy put it very clearly on Wednesday at The Barclays: “We’ll be well-dressed.”