Harold Varner III. Saudi International 2023/Oisin Keniry
Last September in Boston, LIV Golf caused a bit of a stir — on top of all their other stirs — by permitting players to wear shorts while competing in its events.
While this may seem like a trivial matter, shorts have been a subject of debate for a number of years in men’s golf. Women have sported shorts in tournaments for decades, but they’ve been banned on the men’s side since, well, the days of Old Tom Morris.
RELATED: Shorts – LIV Golf’s greatest weapon
For some, it has seemed like an archaic tradition, considering the swampy heat the players face at many summer venues.
Caddies have been spared and wearing shorts on the PGA Tour since 1999. So, why not their bosses?
Well, now the Asian Tour has joined the growing call to allow golfers to expose their calves on game day, with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson and defending champion Harold Varner III all letting their legs breathe at the season-opening Saudi International this week.
“We just started it this week,” revealed Asian Tour CEO Cho Minn Thant to Golf Digest Middle East on Friday. “It is a new rule that has come about through our new TPC, which is selected every two years, and the current one just said: ‘Look, we are playing in destinations where it is very warm.’ They have taken a look at the LIV players last year and how it looks on TV and they were OK with it.
“Obviously there is the debate about: ‘Do shorts make us look less professional?’ But in a climate like tropical South East Asia, destinations in the Middle East, it just makes sense.
“It is a Tour rule that they are allowed to wear shorts — there may be some countries where the golf association, clubs or sponsors don’t allow it, but largely, it will be up to the players.”
Is it a move to get away from the image of golf as a stuffy game?
“If you look at tennis and the All England Club, that is a prestigious event and they wear shorts. So we are OK with it.”
