Golfers aren't quite as patched up as the hood of NASCAR stock cars, but they're certainly racking up the advertisements.
Throughout any major golf tournaments, fans will spot plenty of prominent brands on the shoulders, chest, hats and even collars of many of the best golfers in the world.
Cameron Young has a few advertisers, including sponsors Mutual of Omaha, Cisco, iCapital and Mastercard. But fans will also notice another logo on his outfits: Major League Baseball.
No, it's not for a specific team or a specific player. It's the standard MLB logo that adorns anything MLB-related.
Why does he have the MLB logo on his outfits? Here's what you need to know.
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Why does Cameron Young wear an MLB patch?
Major League Baseball has picked up interest in PGA Tour golf over the years, and sponsors several golfers. Young is one such golfer.
Young explained on the "No Laying Up" podcast in 2023 that his dad was the head pro at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club. Also a member at that club? MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. He said his family has known the Manfreds for some time, and that when Young went pro, the Manfreds took the Young family out to dinner.
"Afterward, Rob leaned in and said, 'Would you wear the MLB patch?'" Young recalled. "And at the time, I had just gotten [PGA Tour Canada] status or it was just before I got Canada status, so I was nothing, no status anywhere, essentially. And so I said, 'Absolutely, I'd love to.' And they've been there ever since and they've been an awesome partner."
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Young is not the first or only golfer to wear the patch. Others have worn it, though none as high profile as the No. 14-ranked golfer in the world.
The idea behind MLB sponsoring golfers came from agent Dave Parker, who had the idea in 2013 and brought it to the league, according to Golf.com. He thought it made sense for baseball fans (who also happen to be pro golfers) to wear the MLB's logo.
A deal was negotiated for Shawn Stefani, an Astros fan, to wear the logo and play golf with corporate partners for MLB. In exchange, Stefani earned free tickets to watch the Astros wherever and whenever he wanted, as well as the chance to talk with potential other sponsors during those golf outings with corporate partners.
There have been other sports involved as well. Golfers have been seen wearing logos for NHL and NFL teams in the past. As Buffalo Groupe CEO Kyle Ragsdale explained to Forbes, the NFL has the top crossover in fandom but baseball also has a strong intersection.
Anjali S. Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College, told Forbes she described MLB's decision to use golfers as brand ambassadors as "a strange choice." But over time, she said, she viewed it as "a strong marketing decision for a relatively low marketing expenditure."
She also noted that there was plenty of potential for crossover between the sports' fans, and pointed to the global outreach of golf could be a reason why it makes sense for MLB to enter a marketing deal with the PGA Tour.
"Numerous people tweeted and shared through social media that they noticed the MLB sponsorship when Young was advancing in the British Open," Bal said. "This meant the spread of the sponsorship was wider and the impressions were more significant. It made the sponsorship a talking point when normally it is not. The fact that it stood out meant that it broke through the noise."
Is Cameron Young a baseball fan?
Young is from the Bronx, and he grew up as a fan of the Yankees.
As for taking advantage of those free tickets, he told the podcast in 2023 he had not asked about them yet.
"We probably do [get tickets], but given the circumstances of when [the sponsorship] started, when I was playing mini-tours, I'm not going to task for any favors," Young said.
