Baseball legend Derek Jeter is dipping his toes in the golf pond and finally having a friendly match with Tiger Woods. The former New York Yankees captain and the golf superstar are old buddies, having started their careers at around the same time.
Both Woods and Jeter were rising stars in their respective sports in the late 90s and have since played a match or two in each other’s sport. Now that Jeter is retired from baseball, the former shortstop is pouring his energy into another game.
Captain clutch is not entirely unfamiliar with the rules of golf. He has held a charity golf tournament before but did not play more than one shot because he didn’t want to embarrass himself. But now that he has started swinging his club, it doesn’t seem like Jeter wants to stop.
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Tiger Woods only has words of praise for Derek Jeter
Despite being pals for decades, Woods and Jeter didn’t get a chance to play a round till after Jeter retired. But perhaps that is exactly what drives Jeter to do better at golf. As his fans might know, Jeter has never been one to boast about himself.
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And noticing his keenness to play, Woods said, “He likes to practice. He likes to play. He tries to get better…You can tell he’s analyzing, he’s watching, he’s asking questions. He asked me a bunch of technical questions about the game…” Woods added, “He wants to know. He’s one of the best athletes who ever lived. He wants to learn. He asks the right questions.”
Coming from one of the greatest golfers of all time, these words speak volumes. Woods has numerous titles to his name and was even inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Jeter appeared to be having fun, as he commented, “This is a blast. You’re playing with Tiger Woods. Doesn’t get any better than that.”
The first golfer ever to hold the four major championships at the same time, Woods has the titles of five Masters Tournaments, three U.S. Open Championships, four PGA Championships, and three British Open Championships under his belt.
Jeter says golf quenches his “competitive thirst”
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Trying out a new thing can be challenging for anyone, but from the looks of it, Jeter is smoothly getting a grasp of things. At the first game between the two friends, the baseball superstar said it was “probably the most frustrating thing I’ve done because the ball’s not moving, man, [and] you should be able to hit it.”
But after pulling off a tee shot with a perfect trajectory, no one can say Jeter doesn’t have a knack for it. “I can hit it, it just doesn’t go where I want it to go,’’ said Jeter. “So yeah, I guess I’m addicted to improve, that’s the best way to put it.”
Jeter is apparently a natural at whatever sport he tries and, according to him, golf is slightly easier to play than baseball. The reason is, there’s no one to watch him play like in a stadium. The former shortstop has reduced his handicap to a 10. Given enough time, he will probably be playing well enough to not be embarrassed to play in public.
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It’s always interesting to see stars from one field taking a gander at another one. And Derek Jeter certainly seems to be enjoying it the most. Who says you can’t find new passions and interests after a certain age?
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