The Best Golfers from the Big 4 Sports
We'll never see another Bo Jackson. Brian Jordan was the last professional male athlete to earn All-Star distinction in more than one league. The closest we get to two-way football players these days is star free safety Earl Thomas flubbing punts.
So the narrative goes that the two-sport athlete is dead, right? Yes...and no.
In the nitpickiest, literal sense of the phrase, a majority of athletes in the Big Four leagues—NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL—are two-sport athletes. Their other sport just happens to be golf.
With exorbitant amounts of both expendable income and time, many athletes hit the links like a second job. Paul Pierce sits at the poker table, Tim Duncan plays Dungeons & Dragons and Larry Fitzgerald travels the world as a photographer. Be it for charity, preparation for early retirement or simply a way to pass the time, golf seems to trump all other "leisure activities" for the biggest sports stars.
With so many competitive individuals keeping score, bragging rights as a good amateur golfer seem to be a big deal for athletes. So much so that Golf Digest released a list in 2009 of the Top 150 Athlete Golfers. Which athletes in the Big Four leagues are the most impressive on the links?
(And no, Charles Barkley does not make the list, even as an honorable mention.)
Honorable Mention: Alex Ovechkin
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"Alex Ovechkin is a beautiful -34 on the year, too bad this isn't a golf tournament.
— Sean Murphy (@SeanMurphy_92) March 31, 2014
"
By all accounts NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin is a mediocre golfer. He did, however, hit a hole-in-one in his first-ever golf outing back in 2006. How do we know Ovie won't be trading in his stick for a club anytime soon? In the video of his amazing feat, the winning swing was preceded by several embarrassing misses.
And we haven't heard of him pacing the greens since. He seems to have more important things to do during the offseason.
"Most NHL players in the offseason play golf. Not Ovechkin, he goes and plays with tanks #Ovechkin pic.twitter.com/RtHEkvYymJ
— dusteo (@DatocDust) May 15, 2014"
Needless to say, his up-and-down performances on the ice over the years have made him the butt of some crossover jokes on Twitter:
"Ovechkin threatens to stay in Russia, says the golf courses there meet his early playoff exit needs better than the ones here.
— YinzerSports (@SportsYinzers) September 19, 2012"
Stephen Curry
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Any athlete with money, fame and a hankering for community work can host a golf tournament. As on the court, Stephen Curry takes it up a notch on the golf course in a few respects.
- Curry hosts TWO charity golf tournaments, the ThanksUSA Golf Tournament and Curry Celebrity Classic, earning him inclusion on Golf Digest's "Golfers Who Give Back" list in the December 2013 issue.
- He plays to an impressive two handicap.
Already one of the best pure shooters in NBA history, Curry excels in crunch situations on the green as well. He led entering the final round of and ultimately finished fourth in the 2013 American Century Championship, known as the premier celebrity golf tournament.
Curry's penchant for par didn't come out of nowhere; he told SportsGrid he played three years on his high school team to get out of doing homework. He certainly has the swing of a pro.
"Here's the swing of the leader heading into final day of @ACChampionship Golf Tourney. RT @stephencurry30: Round 2 http://t.co/MJkzuvrF5H
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) July 21, 2013"
J.R. Smith
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Word association with J.R. Smith usually turns up things like tattoos, ball hog and speeding tickets by the casual NBA fan.
As Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling recently publicized in a one-on-one interview with the New York Knicks shooting guard, Smith has developed a strong affection for golf over the last five years. Among the highlights, Smith spent 21 straight days on the green last offseason and surmises he's played six courses a week this summer following the PGA Tour.
The Tour even let him take over its Players Championship Twitter account.
"Guess who's back to watch golf again? @TheRealJRSmith is taking over @THEPLAYERSChamp with #JRtakeover tweets. pic.twitter.com/ptNF0OVXV0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 11, 2014 "
And he had some bold words.
""I plan on winning one of these after basketball!" - @NYKnicks guard @TheRealJRSmith #PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/CB3oQWWQ8d
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 10, 2014 "
Jokes aside, Smith boasts a 13 handicap and falling, despite only taking two lessons since first swatting a 300-yard drive all those years ago. He's just as big a talker on the course as the court, claiming to be one of the five best golfers in the NBA, according to Zwerling. Michael Jordan supposedly refuses to go a round with him.
The preps-to-pros star recently opened the J.R. Smith Learning Center, a three-hole course for disadvantaged youth without access to the sport. Suffice to say golf has become a way of life for the oft-troubled sharpshooter.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Ray Allen
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Yes, that's Ray Allen in the photo above on a golf outing with President Barack Obama and Ahmad Rashad. Who better to ask for advice on if/where he should return for one more season in the NBA? (Actually, President Obama probably just told him to sign with Chicago.)
Allen, a 17-year veteran with two rings, also has an accomplished golf game and his own charity tournament to go with it.
"Kudos @MiamiHeat's Ray Allen who raised roughly $500k for diabetes research & rocked orange shorts at golf event pic.twitter.com/0ziez3OJlp
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) January 28, 2014"
Per Zwerling, golf-obsessed J.R. Smith calls Allen one of the five best players in the NBA. A 1.6 handicap at TPC River Highlands, where the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship is held, certainly backs that up. Known for following one of the strictest pregame routines (that provides results), Allen curiously brings golf into the mix.
"Ray Allen says he falls asleep to The Golf Channel for his gameday afternoon NBA nap.
— Kevin Arnovitz (@kevinarnovitz) March 29, 2013"
It also reportedly played a role in his decision to leave Boston for Miami in 2012.
"One source close to Ray Allen said in past few hours, "Ray's thinking about another ring, golf, sun as a way to end his career."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 7, 2012"
Tony Romo
5 of 10
Forgive the hat. Tony Romo confused golf and fishing like he often does with his teammates and the defense in the playoffs...
In all seriousness, Romo has a legit golf game. He took the top spot on Golf Digest's Top 150 Athlete Golfers in 2009 after winning two tournaments and finishing runner-up in another. Granted the list is five years old, and Romo said to The Dallas Morning News (via Pro Football Talk) that he hasn't played a round since April 2013 to save his back for football.
But the guy nearly qualified for the U.S. freaking Open in 2010!
"star quarterback Tony Romo fails in bid to qualify for US Open http://bit.ly/cSBF7G #golf
— Golf.com (@golf_com) June 8, 2010"
With a handicap of plus-3.3 at his high point, Romo had the honor of playing with Tiger Woods in the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Talk about respect. He also entered that year's American Century Championship as the favorite after finishing second in each of the three years prior.
"Tony Romo favored at Tahoe celebrity golf tourney http://t.co/uKBH5cZn
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) July 11, 2012 "
It's safe to say he'll be back on the links in a big way when his football career is over
Josh Scobee
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When your season is pretty much guaranteed to end early every year and you live in Florida, there's no excuse as an NFL player not to spend an unnecessary amount of time golfing.
Jacksonville kicker Josh Scobee does just that, and he boasts quite the game.
"“@Jwhite1223: @JoshScobee10 what's your lowest round in golf ?”- 62 (-10)
— Josh Scobee (@JoshScobee10) October 15, 2013"
Scobee finished 20th at this year's American Century Championship after spending time on top of the leaderboard.
"scobee was winning celebrity golf tourney in tahoe..but a double on the par 5 3rd dropped him back..#goscobee
— Dan Hicken (@DanHicken) July 18, 2014"
He has hosted a charity tournament eight years in a row while sporting a plus-three handicap, according to Golf Digest. Scobee, like Romo and a handful of other players, has attempted and failed to qualify for the U.S. Open a few times.
"Good luck to @JoshScobee10 and @JaxsonDeVille as they try to qualify for 2014 US Open today!
— Big Cat Country (@BigCatCountry) May 5, 2014"
"Good Luck Josh! RT @usopengolf: @jaguarsinsider Kicker Josh Scobee (@JoshScobee10), 29, has filed a US Open entry for the 3rd straight yr
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) March 29, 2012"
"Bummed you didn't qualify, good round RT @JoshScobee10 Shot 74 today in the qualifier for US Open, low round was only 70 because of the wind
— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) May 16, 2011"
John-Michael Liles
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Once upon a time in 2009, John-Michael Liles was the top Colorado-based member of Golf Digest's list of Top 150 Athlete Golfers. He beat out John Elway, Joe Sakic, Mason Crosby and Jay Cutler by coming in 12th with a 0.8 handicap, though Liles mentioned in a video for the Colorado Avalanche's official site that his number has since dropped to around 2.2.
Now playing for the Carolina Hurricanes, Liles lettered in golf at Culver Military Academy. His name hasn't surfaced in the news for any golf-related accomplishments in the last several years, although according to the The Indy Star, Sports Illustrated reportedly named him the best golfer in the NHL in 2013. He also spent some time on the other side as an analyst for TSN.
"The new TSN Golf Panel with John-Michael Liles, Shane O'Brien and Joffrey Lupul breaks down the Ryder Cup for TSN.ca pic.twitter.com/ecNUVzOX
— Bob Weeks (@Bobatscoregolf) September 28, 2012"
Marc Savard
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Marc Savard hasn't stepped on the ice for an NHL team since suffering a pair of concussions in the 2010-11 season. The longtime center is still under contract with the Boston Bruins, though NESN.com's Nicholas Goss reported he is transitioning into a scouting position with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League.
In addition to winning the Stanley Cup and recording five 20-goal seasons, Savard is quite the golfer and has been around the game a while. He began playing the same year he entered the NHL, 1995, and caddied for Stewart Cink on a Tour event in 2005. In a video for NHL.com, Savard admits he loves golf just as much as hockey.
Few pro athletes can say they've place highly or won amateur tournaments like Savard.
"Congratulations to 2nd and 3rd place finishers, Kawartha's own Paul Stevens and Marc Savard @msavvy91 respectively. @Flagstick @nhlpa @nhl
— Kawartha Golf (@kawartha_golf) August 6, 2012 "
"I won golf tourney 74-68 wooooooo life is great
— marc savard (@MSavvy91) June 11, 2012 "
"Congrats to @MSavvy91 and Marilyn Self for our win at the @OPGA Pro Club Champions Event at Rattlesnake Point. @kawartha_golf
— Mark Ahrens (@mahrensgolf) May 7, 2013 "
And just a handful have participated in a pro event like Savard did on PGA Tour Canada this summer. Chalk it up to his plus-two handicap reported by the Winnipeg Sun, up from the 0.6 listed on the Golf Digest list from 2009.
Though updated numbers aren't available, that would put him in contention with Tony Romo for best active athlete golfer until he retires in the coming months.
Adam Wainwright
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A wild-child golfer growing up in Georgia, Adam Wainwright had a proper introduction to the game upon entering Major League Baseball. Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2000, he joined a legendary staff of pitcher-golfers in John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.
Boasting a 3.7 handicap as of last October, Wainwright admitted to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, Adam McCalvy and Chad Thornburg that he infuses lessons from golf into his pitching. Name a baseball player's celebrity tournament, and he's there, including his own.
".@UncleCharlie50 was accompanied by two of his daughters today at the Matt Holliday Celeb Golf Tourney.. adorable! -K pic.twitter.com/KfrUZbz3XE
— FSMidwestGirls (@FSMidwestGirls) August 4, 2014"
"Adam Wainwright tees off today at the Albert Pujols Celebrity Golf Outing http://twitpic.com/2ffmi9
— St. Louis Cardinals (@CardsInsider) August 16, 2010 "
"FCA Golf Tournament at St Simons Is. Thank you Adam Wainwright. pic.twitter.com/T3cm3vy5
— Brad Lane (@bradlane70) December 9, 2011"
The St. Louis Cardinals ace literally lives golf in the offseason. He's neighbors in St. Simons Island, Georgia, to pros Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker.
Kyle Lohse
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Kyle Lohse has something of a betting problem when it comes to golf. He has lost two very public bets recently. The first saw him join Twitter in April as a result.
"A (golf) bet is a bet: How #Brewers "Twitter Girl" @Cmoyer got P @KyleLohse26 to climb aboard the Twitter train. http://t.co/z3QVYYkECu
— Dean Witter (@i_am_deanwitter) April 16, 2014 "
The second, to pro Jason Dufner, was part of a Miller Park Challenge and resulted in this:
".@JasonDufner Next time bring your bat & see if you can hit my fastball. http://t.co/SSHFnJbCvN #ThisIsMajor pic.twitter.com/THuPbxjyqh
— Kyle Lohse (@KyleLohse26) June 6, 2014"
But Lohse has game, and he actually won one bet, requiring fellow Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Kintzler to serve as his bat boy during a March exhibition game.
"Kintzler is paying off a lost golf bet to Kyle Lohse from spring training.
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) March 29, 2014"
Despite never taking a lesson, Lohse's best handicap is an impressive 1.1, according to Golf Digest. He holds a 1.3 handicap index at his home course at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Depending on who you trust, Lohse used to dominate former teammate Adam Wainwright when the two pitched together in St. Louis.
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