Mind you, this was after he was drawing flack for a questionable pullover in the colder hours of the morning:

Describe Viktor Hovland's fashion in two words. ? pic.twitter.com/qOV4pZdvEM

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 18, 2023

When asked after the round if it was typical for him to dress up in bright colours, and if he liked the attention, he had the quote of the day:

“No,” he said, “I wear a lot of grey, black, and that’s about it.”

So what’s the story with the golf shirts?

“Well,” he said, “J Lindeberg, they give me this stuff and pay me money to do so, so I just show up and wear what they want me to wear.”

Pretty simple, pretty convincing!

As for this shirt, it’s called the “sunset fade,” it has some diamond line patterns among the colours. Unfortunately, you can’t get it for free like Hovland did, but then again, you can’t shoot a 68 at a major championship either. A story like this can only end with a pun as garish as the shirt itself, so please forgive the following: To the Viktor go the spoils.

The post PGA Championship 2023: Viktor Hovland on his latest outrageous clothing: ‘They pay me to do it’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
The UAE is now at the forefront of the global golfing scene, and more and more players — from pros to beginners — are coming to the region to enhance their game.

Of course, this is not possible without the right equipment, and eGolf Megastore has always been on hand to guide golfers in the right direction, from picking up your first set of clubs to a bespoke bag, just right for you.

With a new-look store in Al Quoz, Dubai, we caught up with Dean Cheesley, the man behind the whole operation at eGolf to explain how everyone can get involved.

RELATED: Driving further as eGolf Megastore expands Al Quoz branch

It has been quite a journey for you and the company. Can you sum up how we arrived where we are?
It has been a journey indeed! We are largely where we are today due to our loyal customers and the decisive leadership from our department heads and store managers. In retail terms, although it seems longer to many that we have been operating stores, eGolf is still a young company with only six years since opening our first physical retail store in Dubai. 

This month in particular commemorates the anniversary of 10 years since eGolf’s first customer, an online sale which took place when eGolf was a start-up from home. A lot has changed since then, for sure, and we are very thankful for our customers and their ongoing support towards the eGolf Megastore brand, we’ve been fortunate and caught a few lucky breaks in between.

You have recently expanded your Al Quoz flagship store. What was the thinking, demand and vision behind this?
Customer feedback over the past couple of years was that our club-fitting area had gotten too busy and the lack of physical space was having an impact on their overall experience in the store. It became clear that our once subscribed notion of making the area ‘cosy’ for our customers had since become too ‘cosy’ to continue to offer a first-class fitting experience. So with that in mind, the decision to increase the number of club fitting bays from two to four and modernise the area allowed us to keep pace with the growing demand and offer a premium fitting experience that our customers were looking for.

The eGolf flagship store has expanded to help cater to demands

The technology you now have in store is cutting edge. Tell us a bit about your latest arrivals and how your team help cater to each golfer’s individual needs and playing style.
Our latest arrival is a SST PURE Shaft Alignment machine which is a rare piece of technology present at every Tour event and is the company’s largest capital investment into its club fitting technology to date. SST ‘Pureing’ is a process which is used by more than 75 per cent of players on the PGA Tour including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland for greater consistency, accuracy and distance from the golf clubs and has seen over $2 billion made by players on the PGA Tour using the technology. In its simplest terms, all golf shafts have imperfections caused by the manufacturing process and these imperfections are known to cause off-line twisting and bending during the golf swing. When a shaft is analysed by the SST PURE machine, its most stable or ‘Pure’ position is identified and marked before it is installed into the clubhead. Anyone who plays golf can benefit consistency and accuracy gains from the SST process, not just the elite and tour players who use SST ‘Pureing’ on their own clubs each year.

What other changes and technologies have you introduced to the new extension area?
We have also introduced the first Accredited Quintic Ball Roll Putting Lab in the UAE to offer advanced-level putter fittings. Quintic Ball Roll System is often referred to as the ‘Trackman for Putting’ and utilises a high-speed camera which tracks an significant amount of club and ball roll data the first 20 inches. Quintic is the preferred putting analysis software used by the major club manufacturers including TaylorMade, Callaway, Bettinardi, SIK and Ping during product development and Tour-player putter fitting. The addition of our new Quintic Putting Lab is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that golfers in the region have access to the very best Tour-level technology which is available in other markets around the world.  

You recently opened the J.Lindeberg store at Dubai Mall, which their CEO referred to as the new global flagship store during his recent visit to Dubai. What was the thinking here and why open a single brand only store?
J.Lindeberg has been one of the top selling golf apparel brands in the Middle East over the past couple of years. Its popularity continues to rise following the injection of new executive management, design and production teams under the direction of new Chief Executive Officer, Hans-Christian Meyer. Coupled with this, rising stars such as Viktor Hovland and Nelly Korda have brought additional focus and attention to the brand with their ascension into the top five and world No. 1 rankings respectively. As one of the world’s most desirable fashion-forward brands, our decision to open a new global flagship store at the Dubai Mall allows us to introduce J.Lindeberg’s luxury fashion, athleisure, ski and racquet lines to the Middle East and the high-volume of tourists that visit the Dubai Mall each year, and we’re very excited about the new store.

eGolf boss Dean Cheesley with J.Lindeberg CEO Hans-Christian Meyer at The Dubai Mall store

What has been your biggest learning about the UAE golf retail landscape over the past decade?
Today the consumer is far more astute than they have ever been. Before coming into our stores, customers are well read up about the latest products and brand offerings and have high expectations around product knowledge, service levels and in-store experience. This bodes well for the continued evolution of the golf retail space in the UAE, as eGolf Megastore will continue to elevate its standards to meet and exceed our customer demands.

You might also like:
New twist in LIV Golf tale
Sensational finish at Dubai Golf Trophy
Sergio Garcia ‘can’t wait to quit PGA Tour’
LIV Golf: Bland’s British Masters title defence takes a twist
Westwood and ‘many more’ request release to play LIV Golf Invitational Series
Look: Phil Mickelson spotted on golf course
Tiger Woods plays Southern Hills ahead of PGA Championship
LIV Golf Invitational Series continues to take shape
Trump to host LIV finale
Greg Norman rejected by R&A for Open Championship
Report: First PGA Tour player request to play LIV Golf events

The post Get in the groove: eGolf Megastore helps make the game simpler for all, thanks to ground-breaking technology and new store appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By GolfDigestME.com
One of the biggest-selling golf apparel brands in the UAE, J.Lindeberg, is putting down solid foundations in the Emirates as it launched its global flagship store in The Dubai Mall on Thursday, with plans already in place to expand across the UAE.

Located on the ground level in the world’s largest and most famous shopping mall, the 270sqm retail outlet stocks the full range of J.Lindeberg’s sport and fashion collections that include golf, racket, ski, outdoor, active and leisure collections, and is the first store globally to showcase the brand’s new interior direction. The store celebrates the brand’s Scandinavian heritage with a sophisticated and clean aesthetic and has been inspired by the iconic J.Lindeberg logo.

The first stand-alone store for J.Lindeberg in the Middle East marks an exciting new era under the leadership of CEO Hans-Christian Meyer.

“J.Lindeberg’s goal is to inspire the UAE’s energetic urbanites to aim higher and live life to the fullest. Every part of the brand’s new flagship store lives and breathes the brand’s sophisticated sporting energy and brings to life the Scandinavian progressiveness that we stand for,” he said.

“Dubai is renowned for its booming retail and fashion offering, and we wanted to offer shoppers from around the world access to the full J.Lindeberg retail experience. As one of the world’s most desirable function and fashion brands, it only seemed natural for us to launch the brand’s flagship store in one of the most famous shopping destinations in the world.”

More
Morikawa can’t stop dunking from off the green
Highlights from Day 1 of Zurich Classic
DP World Tour heads back to where it all began 50 years ago
Is Ash Barty aiming for a shot at a golf career?
Your Zurich Classic tee times
Our 11 favourite teams at Zurich Classic
Report: First PGA Tour player request to play LIV Golf events
LIV Golf ready to go live as tickets go on sale
WATCH: Dylan Frittelli in bizarre rules gaffe

The post Leading golf brand J.Lindeberg opens global flagship store in Dubai Mall appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.