A 23-year-old Australian golfer just landed his first PGA Tour win – and got a surprise call from Tiger Woods himself.
Karl Vilips shot an incredible eight-under 64 in the final round of the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday, finishing at 26-under to win by three shots over Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
But it’s what happened after the tournament that really got people talking.
While checking his phone after the victory, Vilips noticed a missed call and voicemail from an unknown number. The message? “It’s Tiger.”
“I couldn’t process it in the moment,” Vilips said, still looking stunned at his post-win press conference. “I was just like – I’ll get back to that later. That’s pretty cool.”
The call wasn’t completely out of the blue. Just three weeks ago, Vilips became the first brand ambassador for Sun Day Red, Woods’ new clothing line that launched in February. He’s already proved it was a smart pick – becoming the brand’s first PGA Tour winner.
The win is life-changing for the Perth native. He’s now got a spot in this week’s Players Championship, an invitation to the PGA Championship in May, and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
It’s been a meteoric rise for Vilips since turning pro last summer. He won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship in just his fourth start as a pro, earned his PGA Tour card, and now has a victory in only his fourth PGA Tour event.
Woods saw this coming. When signing Vilips to Sun Day Red, he praised the young Australian’s “relentless work ethic” and called him “one of the game’s future stars.”
The two share a Stanford connection – both attended the prestigious university before turning pro.
“I think it’s really special,” Vilips said about representing Woods’ brand. “There’s a reason why they chose me to rep their brand and I’m just really happy to be able to do it as myself.”
He added with a smile: “You’ve got to look good to play good.”
Based on this weekend’s performance, both the clothes and the game are working just fine.
