Tiger Woods’ new Sun Day Red brand ambassador, Karl Vilips, is in Palm Beach Gardens playing in his second start on the PGA Tour after earning his card at the end of last year’s Korn Ferry Tour season. The sponsorship deal couldn’t have come at a better time for the Australian, who has made two cuts in as many tournaments ever since.
In not only making the cut at the Cognizant Classic, Vilips is chasing the first top-25 finish of his PGA Tour career. He is tied for 24th at 10-under after 54 holes, six shots behind leader Jake Knapp. But it is his partnership with Woods’ brand that continues to steal the headlines.
Speaking from the venue, the 23-year-old reflected on his brief experience as a Sun Day Red ambassador. He assured that it is a great honor to be the first player chosen for this role by Tiger Woods‘ brand.
“It came about throughout my connections with Taylor Made,” Vilips told the media. “I’m very close with those guys. 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 kind of just decided to make it happen, and very fortunate to have been chosen by the GOAT himself.”
“It was definitely unexpected at first,” he 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 debuted Sun Day Red apparel at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, where he made the cut and tied for 72nd with rounds of 74, 65, 76 and 69.
He fared much better at the Cognizant Classic thus far, shooting his first three rounds in the 60s.
On Thursday, Vilips carded four birdies and one bogey, a performance that improved the next day when he went bogey-free with seven birdies through the 14th hole. However, he was unable to maintain that pace and closed with a double bogey 15 and a bogey on the 18th to leave him at 7-under through 36 holes to make the cut by two shots.
Bring on the weekend. Karl Vilips is ready to meet the moment. #SunDayRed #CognizantClassic pic.twitter.com/Cw4EcO2eJw
— SUN DAY RED (@SunDayRed) February 28, 2025
Vilips began Moving Day in a tie for 25th place and continued to improve. His performance for the day included four birdies and one bogey to move up one spot on the leaderboard.
Karl Vilips reached the 12th spot in the world as an amateur before starting his professional career. He joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024, shortly after graduating from Stanford University, which is also Tiger Woods’ alma mater.
On the feeder circuit, Vilips had one win and one runner-up finish in just 10 events played. That earned him a top-30 finish on the points list and his PGA Tour card for 2025.
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