Tariffs have dried up PGA Tour endorsement. Here are the latest deals
The 2026 PGA Tour season is one sleep away from beginning in earnest at the Sony Open in Hawaii and it’s all quiet on the western front in terms of announcements of player equipment endorsement deals.
From a survey of equipment reps and caddies on the range at Waialae Country Club in Oahu, longtime home of the Sony Open, it appears that PXG has grabbed a couple of up-and-coming stars. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based clubmaker signed South African Aldrich Potgieter, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and winner of the Rocket Classic, who previously played Titleist, and Marco Penge, a 27-year-old Englishman, who finished second in the Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour last season and earned a promotion to the PGA Tour.
Maverick McNealy and Sami Valimaki, who were both golf ball free agents last season, have signed ball-only deals with Titleist. Ben Griffin has a Maxfli bag deal – the first time the ball maker has had a bag on Tour since Fred Couples in the early 90s – Zach Johnson has a bag of his longtime sponsor John Deere and Austin Smotherman, a Korn Ferry Tour graduate, is sporting a LAB Golf bag from the upstart putter brand.
Those deals aside, we’re seeing a lot less movement than usual. For golf writers, it used to be a New Year’s Day tradition to wake up to an email inbox being bombarded with messages from equipment companies detailing their latest signings and brand ambassador announcements. This season, not so much.
There are several factors at play in why equipment companies have curtailed spending on exclusive, long-term contracts with Tour pros.
In recent years, equipment companies have devoted more dollars to promoting products on social media as well as hiring or partnering with influencers. In addition to that, this year, there is another overriding reason: tariffs. The moves by President Trump that took effect last April have significantly raised costs for OEMs because nearly all of them rely heavily on overseas manufacturing. Most metalwoods come from China or Thailand, many shafts are Japanese, and other components like grips are also often made outside the United States. Even golf balls, which are often manufactured in factories like Titleist’s and Callaway’s in Massachusetts, TaylorMade’s in South Carolina and Bridgestone’s in Georgia, rely on rubbers and other materials that are imported into the United States. A consequence of rising prices is that endorsement money has dried up. On the flip side, this may be an opportunity for non-golf brands to start sponsoring players and getting involved in sports marketing.
On the apparel front, there’s a few changes to report: Jake Knapp and J.T. Poston, formerly of Vineyard Vines, signed multi-year deals to wear Johnnie-O, while McNealy will be sporting Vuori, an activewear and performance company looking to make inroads into golf.
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