Tiger Woods’ first Friday night outfit with his new green jacket should fill you with joy

On his first Friday night out as the reigning Masters champion, Tiger Woods rolled up to his own restaurant, The Woods - Jupiter, in his new green jacket, a dri-fit Nike t-shirt, and Oakland Raiders mesh shorts. This makes me so happy. It should make you so happy. I could not stop grinning when I saw it.

I would have been disappointed had his first Friday night out in the jacket been at some formal function or pre-arranged public appearance, the coat paired with a Robert Graham shirt, Bryan Colangelo-esque oversized collar, and expensive black jeans. But at The Woods in his Raiders shorts and dri-fit gear? You are going out of your way to make sure you have that damn jacket on when you’re dressed in gym clothes. It’s perfect. It’s spontaneous. I love it.

There may have been a time when winning the green jacket for Tiger would be a massive achievement, and it would also be just another jacket to add to the pile of trophies in pursuit of a larger goal to become the all-time majors record holder. That time is not now.

The jacket represents more than just one Masters victory. You’re not allowed to to take the jacket off the Augusta National property unless you’re the reigning champion. Then you get it for a year. Remember how Pat Reed caught some s**t last year for wearing it too much? Those criticisms were unfounded and probably had more to do with Reed’s arrogant and swaggering rep and people assigning that rep every time he popped up in public in his new jacket.

It’s impossible for Tiger, however, to wear this specific jacket, the one from 2019, the one that came after four back surgeries and every imaginable embarrassment, too much. I need him spearfishing in the thing. I need him on his couch in the middle of a Call of Duty bender in his boxers and green jacket. He needs to be in it at every one of his kids’ functions (the sign-off line on the transcript of his champions’ press conference is “I’m excited about show‑and‑tell at school”). Go on a SEAL ruck with the jacket.

Every time he leaves the house, whether it’s in Raiders shorts and sneakers or a fresh new mock turtleneck, it needs to be on his shoulders. Play all four rounds at next month’s PGA Championship in it. And every major after that this summer. Who is going to take it off him?

The fact that he’s prancing through his own restaurant in the most casual Friday night clothes imaginable with the most coveted piece of formal wear in golf is as endearing as Tiger gets. He is so happy to have this jacket back and no one is going to tell him how much he can wear it and what he should wear it with over the next year.

Longtime Augusta Chronicle writer and Masters ace Scott Michaux tweeted Friday night that he thought Tiger would be receiving a reminder about the proper dress code with the jacket.

Like hell. I want to see this attempt. I want to know and understand the mind of the person that tells Tiger that he’s not properly wearing the fifth jacket he won in what is arguably the greatest comeback ever.

Tiger has won five jackets. He’s won every event in the game, two and three and four times over. After you’ve won so much, that might dim the glow of having the green jacket for a year. This obviously neglects the context of all that happened between the fourth jacket and the fifth. As we’re often told by professional athletes themselves, not all titles are created equal. The 2016 Cavaliers or Cubs will testify to it.

You may not be a Tiger fan, but it’s charming to see someone who has accomplished everything act like he’s a rookie who just won his first major or a veteran who finally got one after 20 years of torturous close calls. So Tiger is going to live in this jacket for the next year, as he damn well should, even if it means tossing it over the usual dri-fit uniform on your way out the door to get some jalapeno poppers at your own “elevated sports bar.”