Many have tried, but few have been able to transition from the football field to the golf course.
But in 1991, one man didn’t just compete in a PGA Tour event, they won. And they beat the likes of Lee Trevino on their way to doing so.
Advertisement
At the Rancho Park Golf Course in Los Angeles, a 56-year-old man, known more for his ability to read a blitz than a breaking putt, stood over a 9-iron on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
He was a former NFL MVP, standing in a foreign land surrounded by men who had spent their entire lives mastering this sport. But he looked like he belonged and showed remarkable composure to lift the trophy.
Photo by Jeff McBride/PGA TOUR Archive
How John Brodie won a PGA Tour event
The man was John Brodie, the legendary San Francisco 49ers quarterback and the 1970 NFL MVP. In 1991, he achieved what remains one of the most improbable feats in sports history: winning a Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) event at the Security Pacific Senior Classic.
Advertisement
Brodie didn’t just win. He outdueled two of the greatest legends in the history of the game. After firing a final-round 68 to finish at 13-under-par, Brodie found himself in a three-way playoff against 1969 Masters champion George Archer and the World Golf Hall of Famer Chi Chi Rodriguez.
He’d already beaten six-time major winner Lee Trevino to make the bonus hole.
The playoff began on the 393-yard 14th hole. Many expected the grizzled golf veterans to see off the NFL veteran. Instead, Brodie hit a perfect drive, then stuck a 9-iron to within inches of the cup to leave the other two men shocked.
Rodriguez narrowly missed his birdie attempt, so Brodie tapped in for the win. He became the first athlete from another major sport to win a sanctioned PGA Tour event, earning a $75,000 paycheck and proving that his 1970 MVP season wasn’t his only masterpiece.
Advertisement
John Brodie’s dual sport mastery
Brodie’s victory was not a fluke. While at Stanford, he played both football and golf, appearing in two NCAA Golf Championships. Even during his 17-year NFL career, he would frequently play in PGA Tour events during the offseason, often rooming with major winner Tony Lema.
He didn’t just take up golf in retirement. He was a dual-threat athlete long before his PGA Tour win.
Many NFL quarterbacks, like Tony Romo, Patrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen, are exceptional golfers. That’s because the mechanics of a quarterback’s throw share similarities with the rotation needed in a golf swing, particularly in the use of the hips and core.
Advertisement
But Brodie remains the gold standard for cross-sport transitions, achieving something that has never been replicated by his contemporaries.
Read the full article here