He's a 47 year old golf professional, that is nothing remotely out of the ordinary. The fact that this golfer is making his pro debut on the Nationwide Tour three years before being eligible for the Champions Tour is most certainly outside of the ordinary.
Jerry Rice is 5 years on from his NFL retirement where he quite literally re-invented the position of wide receiver (there was no 'Yards after the catch' statistic before Rice came along). As I write this, he is on the practice range at TPC Stonebrae in preparation for round one of the Fresh Express Classic, the latest stop on the second level Nationwide Tour.
Rice would like to lead the Tour in yards after the shot
It would have been very easy for Rice to simply play in his charity pro-am on the Wednesday before the main event, but the offer of a sponsors invite to the main tournament was too tempting to turn down. So the former NFL legend begins a second professional sports career at the age that most normal human beings begin to contemplate their impending retirement options.
Rice has always pushed himself harder than any coach or trainer would, his off season conditioning program is legendary. It comes as no surprise to learn that the best receiver in the NFL today, Larry Fitzgerald, is a Rice devotee and has based his fitness program on the one that allowed Rice to play for two decades and four Superbowls. That same level of dedication will be needed if he can make the transition from a very talented amateur to touring professional.
Shooting 68 (his best ever round) in a pro-am is nothing to be sniffed at, but reproducing that type of score in consecutive rounds will be the very minimum that Rice will need to make the half way cut. One thing the future Hall of Famer is not short of is confidence and self belief, but does he have the technique, the repeatable swing and the short game to make any sort of dent in the leader board? I decided to scour YouTube to find out. While the video below, gives you some idea of his technique it does feature a midget challenging Michael Jordan to a game of one-on-one basketball and therefor it is a 'must see' clip.
Jerry Rice is 5 years on from his NFL retirement where he quite literally re-invented the position of wide receiver (there was no 'Yards after the catch' statistic before Rice came along). As I write this, he is on the practice range at TPC Stonebrae in preparation for round one of the Fresh Express Classic, the latest stop on the second level Nationwide Tour.
Rice would like to lead the Tour in yards after the shotIt would have been very easy for Rice to simply play in his charity pro-am on the Wednesday before the main event, but the offer of a sponsors invite to the main tournament was too tempting to turn down. So the former NFL legend begins a second professional sports career at the age that most normal human beings begin to contemplate their impending retirement options.
Rice has always pushed himself harder than any coach or trainer would, his off season conditioning program is legendary. It comes as no surprise to learn that the best receiver in the NFL today, Larry Fitzgerald, is a Rice devotee and has based his fitness program on the one that allowed Rice to play for two decades and four Superbowls. That same level of dedication will be needed if he can make the transition from a very talented amateur to touring professional.
Shooting 68 (his best ever round) in a pro-am is nothing to be sniffed at, but reproducing that type of score in consecutive rounds will be the very minimum that Rice will need to make the half way cut. One thing the future Hall of Famer is not short of is confidence and self belief, but does he have the technique, the repeatable swing and the short game to make any sort of dent in the leader board? I decided to scour YouTube to find out. While the video below, gives you some idea of his technique it does feature a midget challenging Michael Jordan to a game of one-on-one basketball and therefor it is a 'must see' clip.
Rice is approaching this endeavour with the same application that he displayed every time he put on pads and a helmet. Making the cut this weekend would be as remarkable as almost anything he ever accomplished on the football field.
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