Gore-Tex Slams Ryder Cup Rain Gear

As the rain fell during Friday’s early round action at the Ryder Cup, the US uniform rain gear apparently failed—big time. The players were soaked, and rumor has it that team officials were running to the merchandise tent to buy replacements. No loss, really. Those rain suits were hideously ugly.

And then at PR Newswire, I spotted this hilarious press release from Gore Tex.

ELKTON, Md., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/—In response to news reports at the Ryder Cup regarding the malfunction of the U.S. Team’s rainwear, W.L. Gore & Associates today issued the following statement:

“It’s unfortunate that the U.S. team at the Ryder Cup was not wearing uniforms with the GORE-TEX® brand, especially if the faulty gear ultimately interfered with performance,” said Yvonne Erickson, marketing leader at W.L. Gore & Associates. “Gore has rigorous uncompromising standards in place to ensure that our products are of the highest quality, to back up our Guaranteed to Keep you Dry® promise to consumers. Gore and Sun Mountain Sports parted ways in 2006 and, therefore, GORE-TEX® brand technology was not used in the rain jackets and pants worn by the U.S. team this morning. We hope that the U.S. Ryder Cup Team will be wearing uniforms with GORE-TEX® product technology in the future.”