The Masters bans Jason Day’s bold new outfit as Augusta National strikes again on golfer’s fashion choices

Jason Day likes to express himself through his fashion choices when he takes to the golf course.

But the Australian golfer’s chosen outfits for The Masters 2026 were deemed too outrageous by the club that they been forced into banning him from wearing them.

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Set to compete in his 15th Masters Tournament, Day planned to wear a bold head-to-toe bird-themed outfit created in collaboration with Malbon Golf during Thursday’s opening round.

The Masters – renowned for being deeply rooted in its traditions – has since requested he revises his proposed fit and wear solid-colored trousers instead.

They have allowed him to be able to continue wearing Malbon’s Birds of Georgia jacket as originally planned, though, according to Sports Illustrated.

This isn’t the first time that Augusta National Golf Club has had to intervene on Day’s eclectic outfit choices.

Back at the 2024 Masters, the 38-year-old was asked to remove his vest due to its oversized branding which read ‘No. 313 Malbon Golf Championship.’

“They asked me to take the vest off, the busy one,” he explained back then. “Respectfully, you do that because it’s all about the tournament here, and I understand that. I respect the tournament.

“That’s what we’re here to do is try and play and win the green jacket. I don’t know why they asked me to take it off. I didn’t ask. They said, ‘can you take it off?’ I said, ‘yeah, no worries’.”

At The Open Championship in 2025, Day opted to don a bold ‘ugly’ sweater, worth $435, which featured a king in a deck of cards, but was allowed to participate at Royal Portrush wearing it.

Malbon founder teased Day over his bird-themed collection

As for the 2026 Masters, the lineup of Day’s outfits from Thursday through Sunday – should he reach the final round – have been revealed.

X/ @malbongolf

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In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Malbon Golf founder Stephen Malbon revealed he had teased the current World No. 41 over his bird-themed collection by repeatedly sending him audio files of bird sounds.

“He’s like, ‘What is wrong with you?’” Malbon said of Day. “To me, it’s like if Jason knows the meaning of a woodpecker and he’s in the woods and a woodpecker flies by, it’s like ‘I can do it.’”

Although unafraid to push the boundaries with his fashion at the best of times, there appears to be a reason behind the bird prints, which depicts all types of birds including cardinals, blue jays, oriols and a red-headed woodpeck, among others.

“If you are on the course and you are tuned in with nature and know the sounds of birds, you’ll make more birdies,” Malbon told SI.

“It’s inspired by Native American beliefs. Each one of these birds has a different meaning. I’ve been sending the noises of the birds to Jason for the last six months. Hopefully, he’s trying to stay in touch with nature.”

Malbon also revealed that during the Masters, the brand will host various events with no relation to golf at all, such as a sunrise birdwatching class and floral arrangement classes with his wife, and co-founder, Cathy.

All of these activations, which will also see LGPA player Charlie Hull, former NBA player J.R. Smith and even rapper ScHoolboy Q make appearances, have been designed to promote that golfers can have more passions in life other than always being out on the course.

X @NUCLRGOLF

“It’s O.K. if you like to go birding or fishing or hunting or working out or skiing, and you also like playing golf,” Malbon added.

“Prior to us, there haven’t been many brands that said it’s O.K. to have multiple loves in your life, from your family to your hobbies to your sports.

“We’re giving people permission to be who they are and be proud of who they are on the golf course and off it.

“Not every piece we have is for everyone. But there’s a lot of depth to our brand and there are pieces for everyone.” 

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