but athletes from other sports are not too old or beat up to play golf huh? hmmmmmmmm
That tells me all i need to know!
Do you know how hard it is to get your Q card? I'm sorry, I've played the 4 major sports (FB, baseball, and basketball in HS), and I played D1 CFB, golf is by far the hardest of them all.
Former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien once played in the Kemper Open. The Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the U.S. Open (with Drew Bledsoe on the bag). And Rich Barcelo, who played in the Little League World Series as a kid, is a member of the PGA Tour.
John Brodie: A quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers from 1957 through '73, Brodie threw for 31,548 yards and tossed 214 TDs in 201 career games. In 1970, he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. In 1990, he turned to competing on the Senior PGA Tour with some decent success. He earned a half-dozen top-10 finishes over the next three seasons, including his lone career victory, in 1991 at what is now the AT&T Classic.
Sam Byrd: An outfielder for the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds by trade, Byrd quit professional baseball in 1936 to take a crack at the PGA Tour. Smart move. Although his career on the diamond wasn't too memorable -- he batted .274 with 38 HR in eight full seasons and is known best as the pinch runner for Babe Ruth late in games (earning him the nickname "Babe Ruth's Legs") -- Byrd made more of an impact on the links. He won six tour events between 1942 and '45, including besting Byron Nelson at the Texas Open that final year, when Nelson won 18 tournaments.
Rick Rhoden: In 16 seasons as a pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees and Houston Astros, Rhoden compiled a 151-125 career mark. He was also among the game's best-hitting hurlers, turning that swing into a professional golf career after retiring from baseball. Starting as a pro on the celebrity tour, Rhoden became a part-time member of the Champions Tour in 2005 and played a full schedule last season. He earned $142,714 in 15 starts, including a season-best T-6 at the 3M Championship, leaving him 76th on the money list. He has yet to compete in a Champions event in 2007.
Frank Conner: Along with Ellsworth Vines, Conner is one of only two men to compete in both the tennis and golf versions of the U.S. Open. An All-American in tennis, he supported himself on mini-tours and by instructing others while making the five tries at Q-school it took for him to make his way onto the PGA Tour. Although Conner never won on the PGA or Senior tours, he did triumph at the 1982 King Hassan Open in Morocco and the unofficial 1988 Deposit Guaranty Classic. His hole-in-one at the 1979 PGA Championship is one of 35 in the year's final major since 1970.
Ralph Terry: Another former big league pitcher, Terry played for four teams during his career, most notably the Yankees, with whom he won back-to-back World Series titles in 1961 and '62. The latter season was his most noteworthy; he went 23-12 with a 3.19 ERA, though he is best-known for allowing a Series-winning home run to the Pirates' Bill Mazeroski in 1960. Terry later became the first former pro athlete to become a full-time member of the Senior tour, with a career-best finish of T-17 at the 1990 Newport Cup.
• Esteban Toledo: Toledo was a professional boxer with a 12-1 record when he was forced to retire after his appendix burst. He began tending bar at a nearby country club, playing golf on Mondays and, as he says, "I just don't know, I got very good at it." Now a member of the PGA and Nationwide tours, Toledo ranks 190th all-time in career earnings, with $3,606,324.
• Babe Didrikson Zaharias: A three-time All-American basketball player and three-time Olympic medalist in track and field, Babe is widely considered to be one of the greatest female athletes ever. It wasn't until after these accomplishments, however, that she took up golf -- and with equal, if not greater, success. Called "one of the 10 best golfers of all time, male or female," by Bobby Jones, Zaharias won 41 career LPGA events, including 10 major championships (which still ranks fourth on the all-time list).
Any more questions three jack? Now show me all the golfers who went on to make a living in other big 4 sports after being on the tour.
So here is your post- I disagree. A Mlb player and a soap actor could beat 1/4 to a 1/3 of the guys on tour. I wouldn't be so sure of that. Michael can play baseball too. What else does Tiger do again?...that is what I challenged on and all you did was prove me to be correct...so thank you. Once again, Rick Rhoden and Jack Wagner NEVER played on the tour. If you want to hang your hat on a baseball player from the 1940's in a vain attempt to wipe egg off your face because your post was wrong, go right ahead.
Most of the names you post above played on the celebrity tour or the Senior tour...the fact you equate that to the real tour is comical! Oh, wait Mark Rypien...perhaps you should have done a little more research on this one:
In 1992, Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien was given a sponsor's exemption into the tournament and shot rounds of 80-91. thanks for proving my point...sponsor exemption, finished last after two days...!!!
That's exactly it, Jimmy...he is drawing a parallel between the celebrity tour, the Senior tour, the Nationwide tour, the Nike tour...He has no idea how hard it is to get your PGA tour card. Anyone can go out and try to qualify for the US Open..that is why it is a freakin' OPEN!!!!! So what if Romo tried to make it.
I was in Palm Springs a month ago and he was there with all his buddies (and his babe, by the way) the week before the SB...he shot 87 at Mission Hills...80 freakin 7 on a public course and because an article says he tried out for the Open that is supposed to mean something...PUHLEEZE!!!
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