Tag playing golf

Denny Hamlin reviews Michael Jordan’s new golf course after playing it with Rickie Fowler

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The good news for NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is he didn’t lose any money playing golf against pro-Rickie Fowler this week. The bad news for him is he didn’t win any, either. Hamlin, Fowler and former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip visited Michael Jordan’s new exclusive golf course, Grove XXIII, in Hobe Sound, Florida (near Jupiter), and the defending Daytona 500 champion said he bet Fowler “a lot and ended up with nothing.” “I tied Rickie on the final hole,” Hamlin said Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway. “Thank goodness that got me back square, so that was a lot of fun. But it’s just amazing to see how good the pros are. You think you’ve seen people that are good at their craft; go see a professional athlete do his craft. And it’s just amazing to watch.” Although Hamlin is an avid golfer — he and some other NASCAR drivers are in an amateur (but super serious) league called The Golf Guys Tour — he, unsurprisingly, said Fowler has “an absurd unfair advantage” on the course. “Unfortunately, he uses the same clubs, and he has the same body type,” Hamlin said comparing…

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Ten years old juggles school work and golf balls

A 10-year-old’s liking for planes and golf has seen him play the sport in three countries. Jake Slater was second in the New Zealand Junior Open last year and is hoping to go one better in the event, at Millbrook, in November. The placing encouraged the Southland schoolboy to try his luck in the Australian Junior Open (Sydney, finished seventh) in February and in two July tournaments in the United States – Future Champions International Open (San Diego) and World Future Stars (Las Vegas). “I’m really happy I’m playing golf … I really like it and I like planes,” Jake said. He and his parents, Neil and Valerie Slater, moved from Queenstown to Riverton in June for a quieter lifestyle. They accompany Jake on trips, including taking him to activities of the Wakatipu Junior Golf Club. Jake is one of 132 members with ages ranging from 5 to 19. When not receiving coaching at the club, Jake practises and plays rounds of golf with Neil and others at the Riverton Golf Club. “If he keeps at it, he’ll be a scratch golfer … I have no doubt about that,” Neil said. A scratch golfer can…

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