Jerry Rice going pro-golf?

[Dpantherman]

By Jerry Potter, USA TODAY

Jerry Rice is 47 and four months from being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he remains a competitor.

Rice, whose hobby is golf, will tee it up Thursday in the Fresh Express Classic, a Nationwide Tour tournament at TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae in Hayward, Calif.

He's the official host, and his charity gets the benefits, but Rice has chosen to play as a pro, rather than a very visible amateur.

"I don't want to go out there and have these guys think this is a publicity stunt," said Rice of the Nationwide Tour players. "It's not. I respect the game of golf, and I work hard at it."

The Nationwide Tour, which is a training ground for PGA Tour players, is filled with young golfers who are just a step away from the big tour. They're powerful, and they routinely drive the ball 300 yards off the tee.

"I know I'm out of my court," he said. "I'll take one day at a time. My goal is to make the cut."

Rice took up golf early in his career with the San Francisco 49ers, whose practice facility was near a driving range.

"I became fascinated by trying to hit a stationary ball," he said. "I'd get up at 4 in the morning, be at the range by 6 and leave at 8:30 for practice. I'd go back to the range late in the afternoon."

He has played the PGA Tour's AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach about six times and other celebrity tournaments. He said his best score was a 68, but that was not in any pro competition.

Rice said he can't get too competitive with the touring pros because their game is power. "I have to hit the fairways," he said. "I can't miss fairways and then have to hack it out. If I can drive the ball in the fairway, I can use my short game."

He is not the first pro athlete from another sport to play a Nationwide Tour tournament. Others include hockey's Brett Hull, football's Mark Rypien and Al Del Greco, baseball's Ralph Terry and tennis' Ivan Lendl. Some played as pros; others as amateurs. Terry, a former New York Yankee, went on to play the Champions Tour from 1986 to 1996.

"I just want to see how it goes this year," said Rice when asked whether he hopes to become a touring pro. "This game is unbelievable because it has so many ups and downs. You have to learn to channel your emotions."

Rice would be eligible for the Champions Tour when he turns 50. Another ex-49er, John Brodie, played the Champions Tour from 1985 to 1998 and won the Security Pacific Classic in 1991.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/nationwide/2010-04-13-jerry-rice-tries-second-career_N.htm

[CharlotteBeer.com]

"I know I'm out of my court," he said. "I'll take one day at a time. My goal is to make the cut."

I fear that Jerry Rice has confused golf with tennis.