These professional athletes, who are also great golfers, may have made their name on the ice, hardwood, diamond, or gridiron. But if they did decide to quit their day job, their efforts at the tee box might have given them another fruitful career.
Ice in His Veins: Brett Hull
If Wayne Gretzky were the subject of a game of six degrees of separation, it wouldn’t take long before you got to Brett Hull. Brett—the son of the legendary Bobby Hull—was Gretzky’s teammate briefly in the 1995-96 season with the St. Louis Blues, but the pair have a connection more remarkable than the 18 games Gretzky donned the same jersey.
Brett Hull’s 86 goals in 1990-91 are second only to “The Great One’s” seasons of 87 and 92 when he was with the Edmonton Oilers. Even though Gretzky’s daughter married a champion golfer, Dustin Johnson, last year, Hull has a leg up on him on the greens. Hull has a plus-one handicap, which helped him win the Tillinghast Cup at one-under par in 2003.
From Way Downtown: Stephen Curry
Michael Jordan may have been the greatest guard to lace up a pair of basketball shoes, yet his golf game isn’t on par with other hoopsters, particularly the shooter with unlimited range behind the arc and his approach shots. Stephen Curry, the four-time NBA champion guard for the Golden State Warriors, proves that not all basketball players are poor on the links.
As Curry blew past the leaders on the three-point leaderboard, he also blows by the competition at most Pro-Am tournaments, including the Ellie Mae Classic twice. Curry’s plus-1.5 handicap signifies he’s better than a scratch golfer, leading to believe he would have a successful career on the professional golf scene.
Swung On, Belted: Rick Rhoden
Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson walked so Rick Rhoden could run. Harrelson, the former polarizing baseball announcer and 1968 RBI champion, quit baseball to hit the professional tour. Hawk had minor successes during his three-and-a-half-year stint, such as playing in the 1972 British Open and missing the cut by one. Harrelson won a few non-tour events, but it doesn’t hold a candle compared to Rhoden.
As his career .238 batting average illustrates, the former NL All-Star pitcher demonstrated he was good with something in his hands. If you saw Rhoden at a celebrity tournament, it was almost a foregone conclusion that he would be the victor. No doubt capitalizing on the similarities between a baseball and a golf swing, Rhoden has won over 50 Celebrity Players Tour championships, becoming golf’s all-time celebrity money winner.
I’m Great With a Putter, Jim: Tony Romo
Tony Romo’s transition from the NFL to the booth didn’t hurt his golf game. Romo won the American Century Championships back-to-back in 2018-2019, and the two wins couldn’t have been more different. His first title was due to a late-round charge with a 68 that sprung him atop the leaderboard. The following year, Romo didn’t want a dramatic finish like the year before, winning the tournament by 10 strokes.
When many think of two-sport athletes, their minds may immediately go to Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, and deservedly so. Nevertheless, these professional athletes who were also great golfers revealed that more than the two-sport athletes played football and baseball simultaneously.
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