Why did Seve Ballesteros' Nike visor at the 1986 Masters have two Nike logos on it?
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Why did Seve Ballesteros’ Nike visor at the 1986 Masters have two Nike logos on it?

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In the final round of the 1986 Masters, Seve Ballesteros walked up to the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club wearing a unique visor.

The visor was apparently a Nike visor, which was unique given that the Swoosh wasn't really in the golf business at the time. What made the visor even more fascinating was that there were two Nike logos on the visor. The story of why that Nike visor had two logos on it wasn't made clear until many years later.

The visor Ballesteros was wearing that day was actually a Masters visor. In fact, Ballesteros had been wearing one earlier in the week while he was playing in the tournament. However, as a Nike staffer, he wanted to wear the company logo on his headwear for the final round. Seve was tied for second going into the final day, and he knew he would get plenty of TV time since he was in contention.

Without golf visors ready to go, Nike and Seve had to improvise. So, Seve cut out Nike logos from two of his Nike shirts, and then he glued them on as two Nike logo strips over the Masters logo -- because it took two Nike logos to cover the Masters logo on the visor.

Seve had a great chance to win on Sunday, carrying a three-stroke lead at one point on the second nine. However, when his second shot to the par-5 15th hole found the guarding water hazard, he lost his chance to Jack Nicklaus, who won his sixth and final Masters title that day.

Every once in a while, someone pays tribute to the visor with a similar look, including the Sugarloaf Social Club.

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is the founder, owner and operator of Golf News Net.

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