Jerry Rice

[plugged]

I really don't see the allure of trying to play in a pro tournament when you clearly don't have the game. Amateur competition IMO is what golf is all about anyway.

[JetFan1983]

Jerry Rice shoots 92 in golf tournament
Published: May 13, 2010
Source: Golf.com

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Hall-of-Fame receiver Jerry Rice set another record Thursday, although this wasn't one he'd hoped for at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.

Rice shot a 92, the highest score ever since this Nationwide Tour event began in South Carolina's Upstate in 1992.

Rice talked before the tournament of buying Cristal for everyone if he'd reached his goal and made the cut. He saw those hopes doused early when he couldn't avoid the water at The Carolina Country Club.

He put three shots into the water on the par-4 second hole for a 10. Things never improved from there. His 20-over finish was two shots worse than the 90 put up by Shawn McCaughley in 2006 at The Cliffs Valley Course.

Rice signed autographs for about 15 minutes after finishing No. 18. He then bypassed several TV cameras and media waiting to discuss his round.

"I don't want to talk about golf right now," Rice said before getting in his car. "Had enough."

Rice had hoped to put on a better show his second time as a Nationwide pro than he did in his tour debut last month at the Fresh Express Classic. Rice went 83-76 to miss the cut and had worked hard on his game since then.

Rice played like a seasoned pro at first, sticking a crisp approach to about 5 feet on No. 1. However, he spun out the birdie putt and settled for par.

That's when Rice's serious problems began. He put his tee shot into the water on the right, then saw two pitch attempts wind up wet on the way to a 10. Two holes later, Rice needed three swings to get out of a bunker fronting the green. "Last time," he told his playing partners, laughing after his second muff.

Rice's bright spot on the front came on the par-4 seventh when he converted a 6-foot putt for his only birdie of the day.

But the former NFL star known for his matchless clutch ability could not get a rally going. His tee shot on No. 8 rolled in a creek to the right of the green.

Rice steadied himself somewhat on the back nine. His worst hole, a triple-bogey on the par-5 13th was as much the result of bad luck as bad play. Rice's shot seemed perfect, hitting about 8 feet left of the flagstick to set up a birdie try. However, it spun back just enough to catch a slope and roll into the water.

"You could tell he was frustrated," said Clint Jensen, a pro grouped with Rice.

But there is good news for Rice.

He'll remain at the BMW event longer than at his last tournament. The celebrity competition calls for pros to play each of three courses in North and South Carolina before cutting to the top 60 and ties for Sunday's final round.

And Rice has a big hole to climb out of. He's 28 shots behind first-round co-leaders Martin Piller and Ted Potter Jr., who each shot 64, and will likely need an old-style Tiger Woods' rally to stick around past Saturday.

Rice kept his good nature on the course and with fans. He continually cut up with his playing partners between holes and stopped to sign several autographs. One boy with Rice's San Francisco 49ers jersey caught the players' attention and he signed the back of the shirt.

"He's a professional, no matter what he's doing," said Jensen, who'll play with Rice the next two rounds as well.

Rice has said he gained a passion for golf while starting his All-Pro football career with San Francisco. It wasn't unusual for Rice to begin and end his day pounding golf balls at the driving range before and after football workouts.

That dedication made Rice one of the game's all-time greats and, upon his retirement in 2005, the career leader in catches, TD receptions and receiving yards. He won three Super Bowls with the 49ers and an AFC championship in Oakland.

Rice was voted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January. This round likely won't make it into his acceptance speech or on his bust in Canton.

Jensen, 35, says he's struggled for 12 years to make a life in pro golf. He spoke with Rice about blocking out bad shots and pushing forward. "It's hard and he's just kind of starting out," Jensen said. "It takes a while."

[Shindig]

Yeah... I had high hopes for Jerry Rice. I realize this is just his third professional tournament round, but... I'll let most of you finish that sentence.

[yimpydimpy]

Man. I had high hopes too for him but golf is tough. If you really haven't been competing at it your whole life its just that much harder. Maybe Smotlz is watching this and is having second thoughts?

[Three Putt]

Jerry's love of the game and to compete is 100%...his swing is awful..he tries to lift the ball at impact. He's a 8 hcap.

Much luck to him, his work ethic will improve his game, he needs a good coach to straighten out his swing flaws...and putting.

[atrapasuenos]

Jerry's love of the game and to compete is 100%...his swing is awful..he tries to lift the ball at impact. He's a 8 hcap.

He is an 8 hc? Really?

Greetings!

[trumpetgolf]

On Trump's show, I think Jerry said he played to a 2 handicap? Either way, his swing is hideous and there are plenty of +-.-- handicap players out there that can't make it on the Nationwide.

[IcemanYVR]

big difference between a 2 handicap and playing in a Nationwide Tour event...

I like Jerry Rice, but I think it's time he step away from the professional ranks... at least for now.

[Shorty]

This guy is making a complete fool of himself.
He has demonstrated that he just doesn't understand that professionals are playing a different game.
He may be an all-time great in another sport, and that's to be commended, but let's hope that after this tournament he realises that he's made an embarrassing mistake, and leave it at that.
There is no way that he will ever come close to making a cut in a professional tournament.

[shaun]

Rice can't play golf. He's not a two index. And he shouldn't be out there.

[Shorty]

Well he can do what he wants to do. He doesn't have to worry about money so maybe he can get a good coach and make it on the champions tour.

Yes. He will find it much easier competing against Kenny Perry and Tom Watson and Tom Kite and Fred Couples, and Vijay Sing, Fred Funk, Nick Price and Calcavechia etc. Should be a breeze!

[JWL1957]

Big Jerry Rice football fan here. Not a Jerry Rice fan on the pro golf circuit. Although I think its fine for him to play in his own tourney, he shouldnt be at other tourneys taking away a spots from a players who can really play. I dont know where plays to get that kind of hdcp, but Ive seen 20 hdcp. players with better swings.

[JetFan1983]

Rice disqualified at Nationwide
Published: May 14, 2010
Source: Golf.com

MILL SPRING, N.C. (AP) — Maybe Jerry Rice should have stuck to football.

The Hall of Fame receiver was disqualified from the Nationwide Tour event Friday because his caddie used a range-finding scope to check yardages. The disqualification came a day after Rice shot a 92, the highest round ever since the BMW Charity Pro-Am began in 1992.

"A rookie mistake that I made," Rice said with a smile. "So I got DQed."

Rice announced after a second-round 82 that he's done competing on golf's Triple-A circuit.

"Because I can't commit to golf the way I want to, this is probably my last Nationwide Tour" event, Rice said. "These guys, they're working their butts off and they deserve to be out here."

The error by his caddie means that Rice won't take part in Saturday's third round, the last before the celebrity event cuts the field for Sunday's finale.

Rice was in violation of Rule 14.3, which prevents competitors from using a yardage measuring device. His caddie checked the yardage scope several times during the round at The Carolina Country Club.

Rice was told in the scorer's tent after improving to an 82 at Bright's Creek Golf Club. The BMW Charity Pro-Am is played over three courses in North and South Carolina.

"It's OK," he said. "I had a great time meeting friends and seeing fans."

Rice made his tour debut last month at the Fresh Express Classic, going 83-76 to miss the cut. Rice had hoped to make major strides at the BMW and vowed earlier this week to buy Cristal for the house if he made it to Sunday.

That ended dramatically in the first round, when he played the first nine holds in 13 over. He took a 10 on the par-4 second hole.

There were no such blowups on Friday. He had just one double bogey at Bright's Creek compared with six holes of double bogey or worse on Thursday.

His worst mistake of the second round came on his 16th hole, the seventh, when he needed two swings to get out of a greenside bunker. Other than that, Rice kept his drives straight and his approach shots mostly on target.

"It was a little bit better than yesterday but I'm learning a lot," Rice said. "I made mistakes yesterday and I tried to come back and redeem myself a little bit."

Rice was gracious and jovial with his partners and the fans, some who had his famous No. 80 San Francisco jersey for him to sign.

Rice, who'll be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, looked like he could still wear out cornerbacks and safeties with his precise routes.

One time on the 618-yard 17th hole, Rice was walking to his ball way to the right of the fairway when his pro partner Clint Jensen cautioned the football star to be careful not to slip crossing a small creek.

"You don't think I can make that?" Rice said with a sly grin. He cleared it with ease.

It's pro golf that's not so easy for Rice. He said he saw how hard the players work at their profession, something he did for 20 seasons to become one of football's greats.

"If I can't fully commit to it, even though I really enjoy it," he's not going to enter, Rice said. "There are some good golfers that really need to get on this course."

Rice wouldn't rule out returning to the BMW Charity Pro-Am as a celebrity competitor, like baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice, Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and actor Kurt Russell - all who took part this week.

Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, the former "Big Break" champion who shot a 64 Friday, says competitors like Rice bring attention and prestige to the Nationwide Tour. "Plus he looks like he could still lace them up" for football, Gainey said.

Right now, Rice thinks his golf future is purely recreational. He's glad for the chance to try and the inside-the-ropes perspective he received from other pros.

"Like I said, this was not a publicity stunt," Rice said. "I came out here, I played hard and I tried my best."

[shaun]

So, he's a cheat a well.

"These guys, they're working their butts off and they deserve to be out here."

Yeah, I'm sure the guys on the Nationwide Tour were really grateful to have their lives validated by Rice, a wannabe hack that couldn't be bothered even looking up the rules. Actually, his ignorance here is telling: any golfer good enough to play in elite events would know that rangefinders generally aren't permitted at that level.

[Shorty]

The Hall of Fame receiver was disqualified from the Nationwide Tour event Friday because his caddie used a range-finding scope to check yardages. The disqualification came a day after Rice shot a 92, the highest round ever since the BMW Charity Pro-Am began in 1992.

This just confirms what a delusional moron this guy is. How could you not know that rule? The fact that he thought he had enough game to compete shows that he knows nothing about the game and the fact that he and/or his caddy made a mistake like this is just laughable.

And all this complete abnd utter bullshit about "playing to a 2". I guess it's different when you aren't taking mulligans and giving yourself 6 footers. What a jerk. As for calling the range finder issue a "rookie mistake". Maybe if you are a stupid rookie or a rookie who thinks that rules are for other people.

[Shanks A Million]

Actually, I have no doubt he plays to a 2 handicap, that's not a big deal. Even scratch golfers will look like hackers on the Nationwide Tour. The sad fact is just how ignorant most people are to the general difficulty of professional golf. I recently did some calculations to determine just how hard a low level PGA tour event really is...

I recently played Disney's Magnolia golf course. I found it interesting that there was something on the score card I've never seen before... The tour course has a slope and rating. Several websites have had people arguing that a 10 handicap could break 100 at the Masters. Think again.

Now, the Children's Miracle Network Classic is considered a low profile tournament, with almost no elite players in the field. The field scoring average was 70.81, not bad, right? But if that was the average score, how good do you need to be to be average on the PGA tour?

Well, here's the rating and slope. 76/141. That's right, 76. A scratch golfer is expected to shoot +4 on this course. That's on a fall series golf course, mind you, not even a regular season event, and certainly not a major. The average handicap of the course, therefore, is about +3.8.

Here's where it really gets interesting. The +3.8 handicap number assumes handicaps were an average! They're not. If we assume that high scores get thrown away like a regular handicap, we'd find the average handicap of a low level tour pro to be better than +5. So, a 2 handicap, on his best days, would average 7 shots more than a tour pro, + the slope. Jerry Rice played better than I thought he would to be honest. Breaking 90 on a tour course is not an easy feat. These are not winners, either, they're guys barely hanging on to their cards, Monday qualifying.

So, next time you start to get the idea that a scratch golfer would last 30 seconds on the Nationwide tour, slap yourself, cause you're dreaming. Scratch is nothing. Scratch is not even good enough to play on mini tours, and it's miles away from even the most unknown, dog food eating, hotel room sharing, low ranked tour pro.

And before you start with the comments about how he looked so bad out there, walk a mile in his shoes first. If you were placed in the middle of a tour event, you'd look a lot worse, and don't even try to argue that point. Maybe you all can learn to have some respect for these guys who scrape away on the tours.

[shaun]

So, next time you start to get the idea that a scratch golfer would last 30 seconds on the Nationwide tour, slap yourself, cause you're dreaming. Scratch is nothing. Scratch is not even good enough to play on mini tours, and it's miles away from even the most unknown, dog food eating, hotel room sharing, low ranked tour pro.

I don't think many people are really going to disagree with you. The point is that Rice shouldn't have been out there. It doesn't matter how we'd look in the middle of a tour event; we're not out there. It's precisely because we know how good these guys are, and how hard they've had to work to get even to that level, that we're so critical of freeriders like Rice.

[Shorty]

And before you start with the comments about how he looked so bad out there, walk a mile in his shoes first. If you were placed in the middle of a tour event, you'd look a lot worse, and don't even try to argue that point. Maybe you all can learn to have some respect for these guys who scrape away on the tours.

But that is the point. Rice, in my opinion, has no respect for the other pros because after goodness knows how many years he's been playing and loving the game, he hasn't actually noticed the gap between himself and the guys sleeping in their cars trying to win a few dollars on mini tours, let alone those on the Nationwide Tour.

What is even crazier, is people on this forum, who, despite never having competed at any amateur level think that when they turn 50, they can jump onto the Champions' Tour and sternly warn the naysayers by saying that "nothing will stop them". Not even Freddie Couples and the dozens of touring pros who'll be 50 within the next few years. I've said it before, and I'll keep on saying it. Go to a pro event and watch these guys hit balls for five minutes. You'll realise that you are playing a different game. Tom Coyne was right. Scratch is shit. That shouldn't discourage anyone from trying to play at the highrest level they can, but why do I not read about people aiming up to win their B Grade Club Championship? Or break par in an amateur event? Everyone wants to be a pro, and little details like lack of ability are seen as obstacles that passion and desire can ovecome. If only.