Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank said having Jordan Spieth win the Masters on Sunday dressed head to toe in his brand was a "pinch me" moment.
"Thanks to Jordan, our company grew up today," Plank told ESPN.com. "He was challenged by the greatest players in the world on the biggest stage, looked them straight in the eye and never blinked. This is a global event and he's the leading trending athlete in the world right now."
The apparel and shoe company, which reached $3 billion in revenue for the first time in its history last year, signed Spieth to a four-year deal in January 2013 shortly before he played in his first professional tournament.
Motivated by his performance in his first two years, the company ripped up the first deal and signed him to a 10-year deal this January that assures no other company logo appears on his clothing or his shoes until after the 2025 season (Spieth does wear a Titleist glove).
As competitor Nike saw its most recent commercial come to life, with Rory McIlroy paired with Tiger Woods for the final round, Spieth spoiled the party with a wire-to-wire, four-shot victory at Augusta National. It was even sweeter since Spieth, in a way, was a product of Under Armour missing out on McIlroy.
Plank acknowledged Sunday his company was firmly in the game to sign Northern Ireland's McIlroy but needed an equipment partner in Titleist and Callaway to help beat the offer from Nike. It didn't happen.
"We were ready to write a big check," Plank said. "So when it didn't happen I asked our golf director Ryan Kuehl what we should do, and he came back with Jordan."
On the same day, in January 2013, Nike announced McIlroy with a worldwide satellite tour while Under Armour announced it had signed Spieth with significantly less fanfare and coverage.
Before Spieth, Under Armour's greatest presence on a golfer was with Hunter Mahan.
Although the company has come a long way since then -- including signing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bundchen, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and the University of Notre Dame -- Plank says he can't forget the stories of working hard to get its product out there.
Six years ago, Plank's team spotted a golfer at the Masters who wore an Under Armour shirt on Thursday and another company's shirt on Friday.
"When he made the cut, three of us had to team up so we could get $8,000 out of the ATM to pay him to wear our clothes for the weekend," Plank said. "That's who we were and who we are. We find an angle and we go after it, which is exactly what Jordan does."
Under Armour has had many big moments along the way that has allowed it to leapfrog Adidas as the second best-selling shoe and apparel company in the U.S. last year.
Plank, who founded the company on moisture wicking shirts developed in his grandmother's basement in 1996, distinctly remembers getting the call 16 years ago from Oliver Stone, who said he would use the brand in his movie, "Any Given Sunday."
This Sunday -- and the three days that proceeded it on a golf course in Georgia -- was another one.
Over the four days, Under Armour dressed the 21-year-old in what Plank called "a clean and classic look" that he said more easily translated to retail than the more flashy colors worn by others.
"He was like apple pie with a golf club," Plank said. "There was nothing more Americana than Jordan Spieth this weekend."
It's too early to know how well what Spieth wore was selling and a limited edition golf shoe that went on sale last week, called the Drive One, was sold out before Spieth won. But one thing that's conclusive is that everyone who was watching knew who Spieth was representing.
He had 16 Under Armour logos on him on Sunday: Three logos on his hat, three on his shirt, one on his pants, one on his belt and eight on his shoes.
Under Armour garnered $15.2 million in equivalent advertising time from the logos on Spieth during Sunday's final round, according to sports sponsorship analytics executive Eric Smallwood.