USA Golf uniforms calculated to stir interest at 2024 Olympics

PARIS — Nobody at the Paris Olympics is going to stand out more, at least from a sartorial standpoint, than the men and women on the U.S. golf team.

Let’s call it a Scandinavian spin on the stars and stripes. American strength meets Swedish form and function. A wow factor worthy of both Stockholm and Shinnecock.

If you regularly watch the PGA Tour, you’re probably already familiar with J. Lindeberg, the Swedish clothing company that outfits world No. 7 Viktor Hovland in distinctive designs and colors that often border on the outrageous. Now, J. Lindeberg is making its next move in the sportswear space, partnering with USA Golf for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.

You may love the uniforms that will be worn this week by Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Nelly Korda and the rest of the Americans competing at Le Golf National just outside Paris. You may hate them. But you’re definitely going to notice – and that’s very much, pardon the pun, by design.

More: USA Today’s 2024 Olympics hub | How to watch | Full men’s field | Full women’s field

J. Lindeberg’s distinctly Scandinavian style isn’t for everyone. Week-to-week on the PGA Tour, for instance, Hovland’s outfits are almost as likely to be mocked on social media as they are praised. But they’re always noticed.

And for a niche brand that has been around since the late 1990s but is starting to gain a serious foothold in the American market, the opportunity to outfit golfers at the Olympics is a whole new level of visibility that might inspire, could possibly enrage and will almost assuredly sell a whole lot of product that you’ll be seeing at your local golf club.

You may love the Team USA golf uniforms that will be worn this week. You may hate them. But you’re definitely going to notice – and that’s by design.

J.Lindeberg Olympic gear 2024

Bold, distinctive look for USA Golf

But why J. Lindeberg? In a sportswear industry with so many American companies, how did a Swedish brand end up getting the Team USA contract for a traditional, perhaps even staid sport like golf?

Well, there was a bidding process, of course. But within that competition, according to PGA Tour and USA Golf executive Andy Levinson, was a desire to give American golfers a bold and distinctive look that would emphasize the fact that they’re athletes when they’re walking around the Olympic Village rubbing elbows with other athletes.

“I want as many people not being happy with what we’re doing as…