Karl Vilips plays a shot during the second round of the 2025 Cognizant Classic.© Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Outside of Tiger Woods, the only other player who wears Sun Day Red while on the golf course is PGA Tour rookie Karl Vilips.
Vilips, who hails from Australia, attended and played at Stanford, just as Woods did in the 1990s. Having the same alma mater helped Vilips land this landmark sponsorship deal, as did his connections with TaylorMade. Woods switched to Taylor Made in 2017 after Nike ended its golf club manufacturing. He also emerged victorious at Augusta National in 2019 using TaylorMade clubs.
“I’m very close with [the TaylorMade] guys,” Vilips explained when asked about the origins of his Sun Day Red deal.
“They’ve been helping me out for a long time. Then throughout the summer last year on the Korn Ferry I started playing well, and we decided to make it happen, and very fortunate to have been chosen by the GOAT himself.”
After graduating from Stanford last year, Vilips got off to a roaring start on the Korn Ferry Tour. He won the Utah Championship and finished runner-up at the NV5 Invitational — his three other top-20 finishes in 2024 helped him secure status on the PGA Tour in 2025.
“It was definitely unexpected at first,” Vilips added.
“But when I got the call, I was excited and honored to be able to represent Tiger and Sun Day Red. I’m the first one, so that’s really cool.”
Vilips’ first memory of Woods came in 2008, when he won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He met him in Australia, a moment he will remember forever. He keeps in touch with him, although he does so sporadically.
So far in 2025, Vilips has made two starts. Last week, he barely made the cut at the Mexico Open, doing so on the number at 3-under. He ultimately tied for 72nd after a 4-over 76 on Saturday kept him at bay.
This week, he has played much better. Vilips is 7-under for the championship and shot a 4-under 67 on Friday to book a Saturday tee time with ease. He will not have to stress about making the weekend this time around, much unlike last Friday in Mexico.
“I came out of the gate strong,” Vilips said of Friday’s second round.
“I hit the ball really nice on the front, made some putts. Kind of stumbled across the finish line a little bit but still felt like I was swinging it good towards the end of the round. You’re going to find water eventually out here. A bit sour to finish the round like that, but in a good spot for the weekend.”
Vilips found the water left of the 6th fairway, his 15th hole of the day, which led to a double-bogey. His tee shot on the par-4 9th landed in the penalty area again, but at least he salvaged a bogey. He was at 10-under at one point, but those pulled tee shots cost him three strokes. At least he will make the weekend and now has a chance to post the best finish of his PGA Tour career, all while wearing Sun Day Red.
