PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Eli Manning is figuring out that retiring at age 39 isn’t such a bad lot in life.
The former New York Giants quarterback is partnered this week with PGA Tour winner Kevin Chappell in his debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and playing alongside big brother, Peyton, 43, who already has this retirement thing down.
“I look forward to getting to hang out a little bit and do some of the things brothers get to do when they’re 40 years old, whatever that is,” Eli said. “I guess it is play golf.”
Both brothers can claim two Super Bowl titles, but this week they are battling to make the cut (25 teams advance) and play Sunday in the tournament’s final round at Pebble Beach.
Eli took Round 1 at Spyglass Hill by three strokes over Peyton and his partner, Luke Donald, but Peyton clipped his younger brother with a best-ball 65 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course. Manning-Chappell leads Manning-Donald by one stroke overall.
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“Manning vs. Manning is what it is going to come down to,” Peyton said.
Any wager?
“Yesterday, there was a little wager on who would find their ball first. Eli won that one. He was in another fairway and I was in the woods,” Peyton said. “We’ve sort of lowered the standards as we go.”
It was a bit of a struggle for Eli on Friday, and that didn’t stop big brother from applying the needle.
“He’s calling his swing coach and he doesn’t even have one, but thought it would be cool to say that,” Peyton said. “Can you imagine if Eli did an interview after a Giants game like a golfer? Just let’s say he had a bad game and said, ‘You know what? I had a great stretch. I got every hand-off, all my snaps were perfect, I threw four interceptions but for the most part I feel great about my game going into next week.’ I’m jealous of how positive golfers always sound.”
The Manning brothers aren’t the only quarterbacks here. There are six in all – Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan and Steve Young – and even Larry Fitzgerald, the only wide receiver in the field, would be hard-pressed to pick one he’d like to have throw to him. The proper answer is you can’t go wrong. But why so many QBs in the celebrity ranks?
QB on target. 🎯
Peyton Manning with the crowd-pleaser @ATTProAm. pic.twitter.com/EBmSqnPO9K
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 7, 2020
“They’re better looking and they have better swings,” said Harris Barton, the former offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers and regular at the Pro-Am. “Would you rather watch an offensive lineman or a quarterback if you’re a fan?”
Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, is a scratch golfer with aspirations of playing professionally. Romo said he expects to have a few starts on the PGA Tour, and show improvement over his missed cuts at the Puntacana Championship, the AT&T Byron Nelson and Safeway Open.
“I’m trying to see how good I can be,” he said. “I’ll have starts.”
When asked to explain why so many quarterbacks are attracted to golf, Romo said, “Throwing a football is like a craft sport. You’re always trying to improve your throwing mechanics and hitting a golf ball is like that too.”
Rodgers and partner Max Homa posted a second straight 64 and are T-11 through 36 holes heading into cut day. Rodgers has never made the cut here and sounded as if doing so would make up for falling short of a Super Bowl ring this season.
All the QBs are chasing Hall of Famer Steve Young on the pro-am leaderboard. Young, the local favorite from his glory days under center for the 49ers, is a 14 handicap who started playing in college, and is paired with Phil Mickelson, who picked apart MPCC to the tune of 7-under 64.
“He could’ve shot 60,” Young said. “There’s nothing like watching other athletes doing something special and making it look effortless – whether it is Jerry Rice catching a football or Michael Jordan dunking a ball.”
Young and Mickelson combined for a best-ball 13-under 58 and are tied for the lead at 19 under with two other teams, including that of Fitzgerald, a former champ, in the team competition. At last, it was Young, who best explained why QBs gravitate to golf.
“Because we don’t have to go to special team’s meetings,” Young said. “You never want to be the holder. You’ve got to be free to be able to play golf in the afternoon.”
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