AVONDALE, La. – In this live-under-par day and age on the PGA Tour, it’s no surprise that professionals have hobbies and interests other than golf.
Some like fishing and hunting. Others enjoy playing other sports, such as basketball and racquetball. Most, of course, love themselves some adult libations. And one team even appreciates a good shopping spree – for men’s bracelets.
It’s an eclectic bunch here at TPC Louisiana. OK, so maybe not as much as what one would find Saturday at midnight on Bourbon Street, but why not have a little fun, break up the monotony of another week on Tour and find out what these players think they’re best at?
“Deer hunting and bow hunting,” said Sam Burns. His partner, Cameron Champ, nodded his head.
Burns grew up in Shreveport, La., and has spent many hours in deer stands, a lot of them alongside David Toms’ son, Carter. Champ, who grew up in Sacramento, has adapted to the Texas culture ever since he started college at Texas A&M. It helped that he had a hunting prodigy, current Aggies senior Chandler Phillips, to learn from.
The two have plenty of competition on the hunting front.
“Patton Kizzire is pretty good,” Burns said. “He’d be one of our biggest challengers.”
Nicholas Lindheim and Richy Werenski like how they’d stack up with a rod and reel in their hands.
“Redfish. Snook. We’d do well in both,” Lindheim said.
The South Florida residents’ bait of choice?
“Vudu shrimp,” Werenski said.
Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown are confident in their outdoor abilities, as well.
“We could have a bow-and-arrow shooting contest,” Kisner said. “We’d probably wax some people with that.”
Added Brown: “Maybe a bass-fishing contest?”
To which Kisner replied: “There’s some good rednecks out here, though. You’ve got to watch out for them.”
Said Brown: “Yeah, we’d be top 10 for sure.”
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There would undoubtedly be a huge pool for a Redneck Olympics out of this field. Scott Stallings and Trey Mullinax consider themselves podium-worthy, but there’s another sport that they may excel at.
“We got into racquetball a pretty good bit last year,” Mullinax said.
Then he remembered: “Seamus Power is like a professional racquetball player, so I don’t think we can really say that.”
J.T. Poston doesn’t consider himself a professional tennis player, but with Daniel Berger and Matt Kuchar not in the field, he likes his chances in doubles alongside partner Stephan Jaeger.
“But I’m not really that good,” Jaeger chimed in.
Poston, who used to play against his stepsister’s ex-boyfriend (a former No. 1 player at North Carolina), still believes in he and Jaeger in doubles.
“He’s quick and can get all over the court,” Poston said of Jaeger.
Not as quick as Harold Varner III, if you ask Harold Varner III.
“If we had to run sprints, I’d smoke everyone out on this Tour,” Varner said.
Added his partner, Tom Lovelady: “I can do the timing.”
“At least your 40 time is better than Darren Rovell’s,” Varner quipped to Lovelady.
But Lovelady had a better idea.
“Basketball,” Lovelady said. “I can shoot.”
And Varner? “I just play scrappy defense,” he said.
Don’t count on Graeme McDowell to control the paint, but feel free to sign he and partner Henrik Stenson up for the Dad Olympics. Stenson and McDowell are both fathers of three.
“Back in the day, it was changing diapers,” Stenson said. “I didn’t step down in that discipline. I was pretty decent.”
Added McDowell: “I’m just about out of that, as well, but I would say probably noise control. Getting them to be quiet. Getting them to bed at night.”
Andrew Landry can grill himself a mean steak, so he’ll welcome all challengers in a grill-off with his aptly-named partner, Austin Cook, who isn’t a bad chef himself.
“He wouldn’t let me season the pork chops back in the day,” Cook said of Landry, his fellow Arkansas alum, “but now it’s good.”
On the menu: Steaks, pork chops, potatoes.
“And I love to smoke some ribs,” Cook said.
From the dinner table to the blackjack table, that’s where Keegan Bradley and Jon Curran think they could flex their muscles.
“We always team up,” Bradley said. “We lose more than we win, but we have a lot of fun doing it.”
If the Razorbacks are doing the cooking and the New Englanders are at the table, then Joel Dahmen and Brandon Harkins will clean up - literally - better than anyone on Tour.
“We team up a lot in doing the dishes,” Dahmen said.
Added Harkins: “Our wives cook. We do the dishes.”
Speaking of wives, Brian Gay and Rory Sabbatini may get more of a challenge from Tour players’ spouses.
Their supreme skill? “Shopping for bracelets,” Sabbatini said. “We always have our unique style of bracelets.”
Gay said he’s spent as much as $2,000 on a men’s bracelet. And no turf is safe, either, as Gay and Sabbatini rattled off their preferred retailers.
“Saks [Fifth Avenue].”
“Neiman [Marcus].”
“Tribal Hollywood.”
“David Yurman.”
Boo Weekley doesn’t have nearly as many favorite beers.
“Natural Light,” Weekley said.
But he also admits he’ll drink anything. Same goes for his partner, Colt Knost.
“We’re not picky,” Knost said. “Though I will switch to tequila at some point.”
The heavy-hitters know how to keep it real.
“There sure ain’t another athletic competition that we could compete in,” Knost said.
Beer drinking, though? That’s a different story.
They’d likely have some stout competition.
“Whoever Ernie [Els] is with,” Weekley quickly stated.
Colt stepped in – “Ernie’s with Trevor Immelman,” he added – and then stopped to think about what he had just said.
“I can take Immelman,” Knost said, before turning to Weekley. “You got Ernie.”
Weekley could only laugh.
These guys certainly know how to live under par.