The Olympic line of apparel will be designed next year and unveiled in early 2016, and will include layering pieces, polo shirts, outerwear and trousers that Adidas claims will be "designed and engineered to the highest levels of innovation the brand has ever developed".

As part of the new agreement with USA Golf, the German-based global sports equipment manufacturer will also design a USA Golf-branded line of apparel that will be available to buy to the public later this year.

Similar to the kit worn by US players at the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, the team uniforms will not feature the Adidas three-stripe logo, due to Olympic regulations that limit the amount of branding on the apparel.

"Adidas Golf not only has great products, they also have an extensive history in the Olympics," said executive director of USA Golf Andy Levinson.

"They were extremely prominent in London at the 2012 Games, and as I said, they've really showed a commitment and excitement to helping USA Golf as a new organisation and golf entity build our brand.

"We feel strongly that they're the best one for the job."

USA Golf is a collaboration of the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of America, the PGA Tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the United States Golf Association (USGA).

It is recognised by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Golf Federation (IGF) as the national governing body that will name the players and manage both the men's and women's US Olympic golf teams.

"We are elated that the game's best players will showcase their talents in our apparel on the world's greatest stage," said Adidas Golf President Ben Sharpe.

"The storied history of Adidas has long been associated with the greatest athletes in the world, and we're proud to support the athletes of the USA Golf team as they compete for their place in Olympic history."

Team USA hopefuls Jessica Korda and Dustin Johnson were in Miami at the announcement of the new deal between USA Golf and Adidas ©Getty Images



Adidas-sponsored players Dustin Johnson and Jessica Korda were present at the launch today in Miami.

Both will be hoping to be part of the 60-strong field in the men's and women's competitions in Rio, as golf returns to the Olympics for the first time since St Louis 1904.

On current form, world number 10 Johnson would secure the fourth and final spot on the  US men's team for 2016 while Korda, who sits 27th in the women's rankings, would miss out.

The field for Rio 2016 will be determined using the world rankings, with the top 15 players in both the men's and women's rankings qualifying automatically, with a limit of four players from one country.

Outside the top 15, players will be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.

If the US teams were selected today, Johnson would be joined on the men's side by world number one Tiger Woods, word number five Phil Mickelson and number eight Zach Johnson.

World number three Stacy Lewis would lead the women's challenge and would be joined by numbers nine and 10, Lexi Thompson and Paula Creamer, along with world number 12 Cristie Kerr.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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