Cricket, footy stars who are also gun golfers... including freak talent who plays off 0.1

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It’s the other sport some elite Australian athletes would even give up their day jobs for.

Some 3.8 million Aussies played golf last year, with the Covid pandemic sparking a participation boom that continues to gain steam.

Many have caught the golfing bug, and professionals of other sports are definitely not immune.

“To be honest, I love playing golf as much as I love playing footy,” says GWS Giants gun Lachie Whitfield, a single figure handicapper and one of the many footy stars obsessed with golf.

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“... (Being a golf pro). Mate, I would do that without a shadow of a doubt.”

As would veteran Canberra Raiders prop Josh Papali’i.

“100%. And I still think I have a chance of going pro,” the impressive 7-handicapper only half-jokes.

Aussie women’s cricket captain Alyssa Healy — remarkably playing off 2 despite the sport “not being that high on my priority list” — also loves it fiercely, but for different reasons.

“I love the social aspect of it more than anything else,” she said.

“... I go out every week with a different group of ladies or men .. I’m getting a little bit competitive. I’m being active, in the sun, and social at the same time. Those three aspects do it for me.”

Aussie golfing icon Paul Gow — who has hosted more than 100 sports stars and celebrities on his popular Getting a Round In show — reckons golf presents the perfect storm for the competitive athlete.

“They can never beat it,” he says. “It’s like all golfers, you hit one good shot, and you think you can do it again and again. It sucks you in.

“They warm to it and it gives them down time. Golf’s a wonderful game because it gives you a walk and a hit, and the social side of playing with your friends.

“They love competition but the social aspect of it they love even more.”

To celebrate the 83rd edition of the Masters — and the first to be broadcast exclusively in Australia — we explored what golf means to some of the stars of Australia’s other codes.

AUSSIE YOUNG GUN LEADS BIG SHOW, HEALY

Perhaps most unsurprisingly given the crossover skills involved, many of Australia’s top cricketers are also very handy golfers.

Glenn Maxwell’s ‘Big Show’ reputation has carried onto the course but his scintillating 1.8 handicap has been surpassed in recent times by a new golfing king in the Australian set up — Jake Fraser-McGurk.

Rumours of the 22-year-old’s freakish talents were confirmed to foxsports.com.au by a reliable source this week who reported the explosive opener is currently on the cusp of playing off scratch at 0.1.

Australian men’s skipper Pat Cummins has been a big mover, the relative latecomer to golf slashing his handicap from around 20 not so long ago to an impressive 5.6 while all-rounder Beau Webster (6.5) has quickly made his mark on Aussie cricket’s golfing scene.

Healy’s gradual push towards becoming a scratch golfer is perhaps the most remarkable given she finds little, if any, time to practice outside of playing rounds.

But she’s surely benefited from the competitiveness in her regular battles with husband Mitchell Starc — himself a fantastic golfer playing off 7.5.

Healy may have won five of the past six ‘Stealy Cups’ — the annual battle between the pair that runs throughout the year — but the Aussie skipper believes her husband’s game is also trending upwards.

“It’s been very close. Last year I just pipped him in the last round so it’s highly competitive,” Healy said.

“He’s actually a very good golfer but just lets himself down a little bit around the greens. I reckon once he gets a bit more time at home and rhythm into his golf I feel like he’ll come down pretty quickly.

“He’s fully aware that my handicap has been a lot lower than his for a long period of time so it’s nothing new to him”, she adds with a cheeky laugh.

“And look, there’s always a beer at the end of the round, so no matter how competitive it gets — even if it might take 15 minutes to calm down — it’s always enjoyable.”

Alyssa Healy and Mitchell Starc on the course. Source: AAP

There is, of course, a rich history when it comes to talented Aussie cricket golfers.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting once played off a handicap of +3 amid suggestions he could have been a pro golfer — a legend that only grew with his spectacular showing at last month’s New Zealand Open Pro-Am.

AUSTRALIAN CRICKET GOLF HANDICAPS

Jake Fraser-McGurk - 0.1

Glenn Maxwell - 1.8

Alyssa Healy - 2.0

Daniel Vettori (assistant coach) – 3.6

Andrew McDonald (coach) - 3.7

Pat Cummins - 5.6

Matthew Renshaw - 5.9

Beau Webster - 6.5

Scott Boland - 7.1

Mitchell Starc - 7.5

Josh Hazlewood - 10

Usman Khawaja - 9.2

Alana King - 12

Mitchell Marsh - 12.7

Nathan Lyon - 14.6

FOX CRICKET TALENT HANDICAPS

David Warner - 3.2

Michael Vaughan - 8

Mark Waugh - 8

Brendon Julian - 8.9

Allan Border -13

Brett Lee - 18

‘SERIOUSLY AS COMPETITIVE AS FOOTY’

Golf is very much part of the fabric in the footy world too, with single figure handicappers — and hackers who just love the game — littered around the league.

The champion Brisbane Lions squad has around 15 keen golfers, from sharpshooters Dayne Zorko (8.1), Charles Cameron (10.3), Jarrod Berry (10.3) and Will Ashcroft (10.4) to high handicapper Luke Lloyd.

The Sydney Swans have as many Golf Australia-registered players and, remarkably, even have a golf simulator at their training base.

There are some seriously good AFL golfers too with Gow rating Hawthorn’s Mitch Lewis, a one handicap, as one of the best athletes he’s had on his show.

“What a golf swing. What a player,” Gow said.

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Whitfield, 30, is among the many who fully jumped into golf around the time of the Covid pandemic and he hasn’t looked back, grinding away at his handicap which is now down to an impressive career-best 7.8.

“I’ve lost all my golfing mates though ... Nick Haynes was the best at the Giants before he went to Carlton and I was playing with Isaac Cumming who went to the Crows,” Whitfield said.

“Harry Himmelberg in our four-ball just had a baby so I’m stretched out of mates at the moment but I’ve been playing with a few of the young boys of late and it’s been good fun.”

The former No.1 Draft pick is among those who fantasises what a pro golf career would have been like.

“The fact they get to travel the world ... We pay out of our a*** to play golf at all these nice courses they get paid to be there. I would love that.

“I love golf ... I watch heaps of golf .. and I think about it — the day before I play I get excited, like I would for a game. It takes up a lot of my life and my wife’s not super happy about it but she still lets me get out there pretty often

“You ride the highs and you hate the lows, it’s seriously as competitive as footy but at least you know if you walk of there and you play s*** it’s your own fault, you can’t really blame anyone else other than yourself. It’s a nice little mental grind.”

SELECTED AFL GOLF HANDICAPS

BRISBANE LIONS

Dayne Zorko – 8.1

Charles Cameron – 10.3

Jarrod Berry – 10.3

Will Ashcroft – 10.4

Hugh McCluggage – 11.7

Cam Rayner – 12.2

Zac Bailey – 13.3

Darragh Joyce – 13.5

Kai Lohmann – 13.7

Harris Andrews – 15.7

Shadeau Brain – 16.2

Conor McKenna – 16.7

Eric Hipwood – 16.8

Darcy Gardiner – 17.2

Luke Lloyd – 29.7

GOLD COAST SUNS

Touk Miller – 4.6

Tara Harrington (AFLW) - 7

Ben Ainsworth – 7.8

Nick Holman – 9.9

Sam Flanders – 11.9

GEELONG CATS

Jeremy Cameron 3.7

Jack Bowes 5.4

Cameron Guthrie 7.7

Brad Close 8.7

Tom Stewart 10.7

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ADELAIDE CROWS

Jordan Dawson 5

HAWTHORN HAWKS

Mitch Lewis — 1

NORTH MELBOURNE KANGAROOS

Bailey Scott 7

Cam Zurhaar 11

MELBOURNE DEMONS

Steven May 4.5

Jake Bowey 7.7

Judd Mcvee 8.2

GWS GIANTS

Lachie Whitfield – 7.8

Keiran Briggs – 8.5

Conor Stone – 14.1

SYDNEY SWANS

Matt Roberts — 4

Errol Gulden — 7.3

Ben Paton- 8

Chad Warner- 8

Robbie Fox – 12.6

CARLTON BLUES

Ollie Hollands — 5

COLLINGWOOD MAPGIES

Jeremy Howe — 4

Steele Sidebottom — 8)

Finlay Macrae — 9

FOX FOOTY TALENT HANDICAPS

Jon Ralph - 5.5

Matthew Pavlich - 10

Ben Dixon - 11

Alastair Lynch - 13

Dwayne Russell - 14

Adam Simpson - 17

Nathan Buckley - 18

Anthony Hudson - 18

BIG MEN WITH BIG GOLF GAMES

The NRL is also a hotbed for golfing talent and love, and forwards are somewhat-surprisingly prominent on the list, proving golf doesn’t discriminate when it comes to size.

Veteran 110kg forward Papali’i plays off 7.3 and isn’t the only prop in single figures, with North Queensland’s 116kg forward Coen Hess a very sharp 6. Gold Coast’s Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Parramatta’s Junior Paulo are other league big men known to be extremely tidy golfers.

Papali’i says he learnt from the best in former Raiders teammate Jordan Rapana, who played off 2.

“When you’re playing with Rapa you pick up this talent that’s called cheating ... a few foot wedges along the way,” jokes Papali’i.

“No, consistency (has been the key to lowering the handicap). My driving is pretty consistent, but my irons need work and putting is never there.”

Josh Papali'i has a power game ... in rugby league and golf. Source: Getty Images

Big-time NRL playmakers like Kalyn Ponga (7), Adam Reynolds (single figures), Nathan Cleary, Ryan Papenhuyzen (11) and Cameron Munster (12) are others who love to hit the course — the freakishly gifted Ponga was once even crowned the under-13 golf champion of New Zealand.

But the new kid on the rugby league golfing scene is Wallabies convert Carter Gordon who is said to play off scratch and has shocked some of his new Gold Coast Titans teammates since arriving.

“It’s amazing he went around in -4 the other day,” teammate AJ Brimson revealed to foxsports.com.au earlier this year.

“I told him I thought he must have been cheating but it was a comp so someone else scored him. So he’s a very, very good golfer.”

NRL 360 host Braith Anasta once flirted with a professional career, even taking part in the 2011 NSW PGA Championship, while Fox League’s Brian Fletcher caught the golfing bug post-career, wishing he took it up in his playing days but now playing once a week and recently lowerimg his handicap to 17.

“But it should be 1117,” he says.

SELECTED NRL GOLF HANDICAPS

Carter Gordon (Titans) - 0

Wayde Egan (Warriors) - 3

Coen Hess (Cowboys) - 6

Thomas Duffy (Cowboys) - 6

Josh Papali’i — (Raiders) - 7

Kalyn Ponga (Knights) - 7

Valentine Holmes (Dragons) - 8

Nick Meaney (Storm) - 8

Jackson Ford (Warriors) - 9

Ryan Papenhuyzen (Storm) – 11

Cameron Munster (Storm) - 12

Tom Starling (Raiders) - 12

Scott Drinkwater Cowboys) - 14

Sam McIntyre (Cowboys) - 14

Joe Tapine (Raiders) - 14

Corey Horsburgh (Raiders) - 15

Jake Clifford (Cowboys) - 15

FOX LEAGUE TALENT HANDICAPS

Warren Smith - 3

Braith Anasta - 5

Michael Ennis - 11

Greg Alexander - 12

Bryan Fletcher - 17

As for the best crossover athletes Gow has seen in any code?

There were honourable mentions for Scott Draper —the tennis star who actually did become a professional golfer — Pat Rafter, George Gregan and not-an-Aussie but surfing legend Kelly Slater (“He’s like a one-handicapper”).

“But the best ever is (cricketer) Greg Blewett. He is by far the best golfer among other sports people I’ve come across.”

The only place to watch the 2025 Masters LIVE is on FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports and Foxtel.

Broadcast schedule

Main Broadcast

Thursday 10 April: Par 3 Contest — 0400 - 0700

Friday 11 April: Round 1 — 0500 - 0930

Saturday 12 April: Round 2 — 0500 - 0930

Sunday 13 April: Round 3 — 0200 - 0900

Monday 14 April: Final Round — 0200 - 0900

Live From The Masters

Tuesday 8 April: 0400 - 0700

Tuesday 8 April: 0900 - 1100

Wednesday 9 April: 0900 - 1100

Thursday 10 April: 0800 - 1100

Friday 11 April: 0930 - 1130

Saturday 12 April: 0930 - 1130

Sunday 13 April: 0900 - 1100

Monday 14 April: 0900 - 1100

Amen Corner (also available in UHD)

Friday 11 April: Round 1 — 0045 - 0800

Saturday 12 April: Round 2 — 0045 - 0800

Sunday 13 April: Round 3 — 0145-0800

Monday 14 April: Final Round — 0145 - 0800

Featured Groups

Friday 11 April: Round 1 — 0030 - 0500

Saturday 12 April: Round 2 — 0030 - 0500

Sunday 13 April: Round 3 — 0000 - 0200

Monday 14 April: Final Round — 0000 - 0200

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