Lake Fong, Post-Gazette
	Shingo Katayama of Japan, above, was a striking figure as he strolled the fairways in a white cowboy hat, teal shirt and white pants. Click photo for larger image.
	Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette
	The courage of white pants was also the domain of the British and Europeans players such as Sergio Garcia of Spain, above. Click photo for larger image.
	Rebecca Droke, Post-Gazette
	White trousers, in fact, were worn almost strictly by foreign golfers with a couple of exceptions, notably Stewart Cink, above. Click photo for larger image.
	Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette
	Ian Poulter, above, competes in golfwear ensembles that can be counted on to add zing to the greens. Click photo for larger image.

Oleg Cassini once commented that "fashion anticipates and elegance is a state of mind, a mirror of the time in which we live, a translation of the future, and should never be static."

One need look no further than the apparel worn by golfers yesterday in the first round of the U.S. Open to see that the legendary fashion designer was correct on every point.

Golf, one of the original sports of gentleman, is distinctive from a fashion standpoint because it allows competitors to look like individuals. With tennis a close second, no other professional sport allows athletes the latitude to craft an individualized image and say something about themselves without having to open their mouths or move.

In sports ranging from football and basketball to baseball and hockey, the individual is necessarily lost in a sea of uniformity.

Golfers, unrestrained by uniform or any need to conform, compensate for the notoriety that can be won through more physical sports with personalities that shine through in body movements and fashion statements. In other words, while spectators can get to know LeBron James through reverse-spinning slam dunks, Ian Poulter's pastel ensembles can be counted on to add zing to the greens.

Golf wear always has been elegant. Although caps and visors have replaced brimmed hats and there's a profusion of color where neutrals once dominated, the look remains one of relaxed elegance. Golf is a rare sport where you can wear the clothes you compete in on the streets and not look out of place.

And so it is at the U.S. Open. This time around, most of the golfers are adhering to the formulaic country club aesthetic that has dominated for decades: the pleated khakis and a golf shirt.

Predictable and boring.

That's especially true among American golfers, who tend to be more conservative than their foreign counterparts. While U.S. golfers have grown less intimidated by color in recent years, they are no match for those from abroad who are much more comfortable with fashion-forward prints and garments tailored closer to the body.

"When they step up to the tee, without seeing their names, you can almost guess who's European and who's from the United States," Joseph Orlando, Jr., owner of Joseph Orlando men's store in Downtown Pittsburgh, observed from the gallery. "Their clothes are more fitted, more colorful, more stylish. I think the Europeans pay more attention to how they dress."

Consider that perhaps the three most interesting looks yesterday were sported by fellows from overseas and California, which is so progressive and uninhibited in its fashion ethos that it may as well be a foreign country.

Ricky Barnes of Stockton, Calif., offered a young and hip contrast to the ocean of staid, neutral-colored khakis and chinos in low-waisted, brown-plaid seersucker pants with a double-notch brown belt. With a tan golf shirt and black visor, he looked more cosmopolitan than most of the guys wearing bright color.

Then there was Paul Casey of England, who topped white trousers with a handsome orange shirt with gray and flesh-tone geometrical insets. And Shingo Katayama of Japan was a striking figure as he strolled the fairways in a white cowboy hat, teal shirt and white pants.

White trousers, in fact, were worn almost strictly by foreign golfers. With a couple of exceptions, notably Stewart Cink and Davis Love, III, both of Georgia. The courage of white pants was the domain of the British and Europeans: Rhys Davis of Wales, Sergio Garcia of Spain, Richard Ramsey and Martin Laird of Scotland, and Andrew Buckle of Australia.

One area of fashion where American golfers excel is branding. Sponsorship is a multimillion-dollar industry, with corporations paying golfers big bucks to wear their logos and clothes designed especially for the player. Branding may be the most ubiquitous golf fashion statement of all, with names such as Nike, adidas, Boss and Kenzo legible from a distance.

These are images that television cameras transport around the world, and they may be making a bigger impression on the public than any eye-popping color or new high-tech fabric.

And with many golfers following a wardrobe script during the tournament -- the entire season, even -- corporations find it money well spent as amateur golfers, wannabes and just plain old spectators seek to dress like Geoff Ogilvy or Tiger Woods.