Why More Brands Should Leverage LPGA Athletes as Ambassadors (And What it Will Mean)

There have been two very interesting moves that were made in the last week or so that absolutely need to be on your radar. Nike just signed an up-and-coming star in women's golf to its roster and PXG is dabbling in the women's style space signing an LPGA ambassador of their own.

Kicking things off with Nike, earlier this week Gianna Clemente, the teenage golfing phenom, took to IG to announce that she has joined the Swoosh family and will be rocking the apparel as she embarks on her first full season as a professional golfer.

Clemente first made waves as a 14-year-old who Monday qualified for three LPGA events in a row, and since then she's had a steady rise to the pro circuit. She needed special permission from LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler to compete at the Final Stage of Q School, where she narrowly missed out on her playing card, but she will be competing on the Epson Tour full time in 2026.

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With this partnership, Clemente joins 16-time LPGA winner and World No. 2 Nelly Korda as one of the brand's women's golf ambassadors. While signing a new athlete on a developmental tour isn't groundbreaking, this specific move with this specific player shows me that Nike is looking to play the long game.

Clemente is soon to be 18 years of age—her presence is novel, she's the new and exciting player in her generation—and the potential to create her as a symbol of the new era runs deep. She's established herself as an elite amateur, and she's ready to take things to the next level, similar to brand's identity within the golf space. The next iteration of what it means to be an ambassador is more than just outfitting a player, but helping to create a narrative around them with the vehicle of style.

It's why player exclusive products are such a big deal. Bespoke pieces are a story, they are a clear message from athlete to brand to the consumer.

RELATED: Nelly Korda’s Player Exclusive Golf Shoe Is All Charm, All Confidence

While making her 2026 LPGA debut this week, Clemente told the Tour that this felt new partnership with Nike feels like the perfect next step for her. "I hope I'm that successful in the future, but I’m just sticking to my process, and hopefully, that will come about eventually, but I got an amazing team around me, and then to add Nike to that team as well is really cool. I'm just happy to be a part of it. I was able to go to Portland and go to headquarters a couple of weeks ago, and it was the most amazing weekend. I’m super excited to be a Nike athlete and join the family."

As a junior golfer, Clemente was involved in Nike’s junior program, which are a series of nationwide, skill-intensive camps for kids between the ages of 5–18 to have the opportunity to learn form PGA and LPGA professionals.

There's a past, present and future with this team up, and I'm eager to see what comes from it.

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As for PXG, this move is interesting one to me, and I'll even go as far to say that it excites me, because it feels like a debut.

For the past year, the brand known for kickass clubs has quietly delivered some fun twists on women's golf apparel—think asymmetrical collars, boatneck polos, and nylon rompers—and I've been pleasantly surprised by their pieces as of late. I haven't seen too much of it in action, but it's worth taking note of.

What's even more interesting is that PXG has a few LPGA players in their orbit like major winner Celine Boutier and Megan Khang who use their clubs, but they haven't really dabbled in the realm of apparel ambassadors...until now.

Olivia Cowan, isn't a huge name in the U.S., she primarily competes on the LET, but she has all the bones to big a rising star and beloved face in the women's game. She's got a great swing, and though she's not among the longest on Tour, her accuracy is impressive, hovering around 78% in driving accuracy in 2025.

But what I really dig about the 29-year-old, is that she has style, and she leans into the content creation arm that is becoming more prevalent for professional athletes.

With her personal, off-course fashion being super modish and trendy, she's the perfect person to style PXG looks for the course in a refreshed way.

She gave us a taste last week in Riyadh for the LET's season opening event, and each outfit had the right balance of playful and performance.

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What these two moves are revealing to me is that brands are finding ways to leverage women's golf to be the forefront of their next chapters. Both Nike and PXG are established brands within our sport, they don't have to break into the mold, but rather are finding ways to refresh it. And what makes the most sense is to lean into the current and growing trend of women's golf and the LPGA. The Tour wants its players being exposed to the greater audience, and brands want their product front and center—it's a win-win.

The idea that only top players and performers are the ones that sell product isn't wrong, but it is dated. Now we're beginning to see a focus on individuals who have a loyal and engaged following to be what pushes the needle, and both Gianna and Olivia have the potential to tap into audiences, merging style, performance and lifestyle content.

It'll take time to take shape, but this is something that we should all be paying attention to as the 2026 season unfolds, and how professional ambassadors will impact the commerce we consumers will be paying attention to.

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