An Australian golfing prodigy dubbed “Koala Karl” just equalled Seve Ballesteros with his maiden PGA Tour win, and all while wearing clothes designed by Tiger Woods.
The headlines almost write themselves.
“So, yeah, it’s pretty surreal,” 23-year-old Karl Vilips blushed after taking out the Puerto Rico Open on Monday.
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Karl Vilips of Australia poses with the winner’s trophy after winning the Puerto Rico Open. Getty
“It’s a dream come true… this is what we dreamed of when I was a kid.”
Vilips – born in Melbourne and raised in Perth – was a superstar junior, winning the US Kids Golf World Championship twice, and then the Callaway World Junior at ages 10 and 12.
He was 15 years old when he broke Woods’ record as the youngest ever winner of the Junior Orange Bowl.
He took that form into college at Stanford University and last year won on the Korn Ferry Tour – America’s reserve league – to earn a shot at the world-leading PGA Tour.
It took him four starts to win his first PGA Tour event.
He is only the 12th player to win a tournament on the tour inside their first four starts – Spanish icon Ballesteros is another.
More than that, Vilips shot a tournament record 26-under – with rounds of 65, 67, 66 and 64 – to beat Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen by three shots.
The victory netted him more than $1.1 million in prize money – the same that Jason Day earned for finishing eighth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – and a ticket to this week’s prestigious The Players Championship.
He also gets a start at the US Open this year and a two-year exemption to the PGA Tour.
Karl Vilips of Australia celebrates after winning the Puerto Rico Open. Getty
The Players – won by Australia’s Cameron Smith in 2022 – is worth $40m in total prize money and is colloquially referred to as golf’s fifth major.
If Vilips was relatively unknown to the wider sporting world on Monday, he has the chance to change that in a big way at The Players.
But he was certainly known to those within America.
So much so, he was the first professional player signed to Woods’ apparel company Sun Day Red, which launched last year.
Woods even left him a voicemail after his victory.
“I got on my phone after the round and I was just scrolling, like who was texting me? I think I got one from a random number that called me as well. Then there was a voicemail saying it’s Tiger and I couldn’t like process it in the moment,” Vilips laughed after the victory.
“I signed it three weeks ago, so not too long since a Sun Day Red player has gotten a win.
“I think it’s really special. I think it shows me that there’s a reason why they chose me to rep their brand and I’m just really happy to be able to do it in a way that’s, you know, as myself.
“It’s really cool and I know everyone at Sun Day Red team is going to be super happy. You’ve got to look good to play good, so yeah, it’s really cool.”
