Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt (99) Jan 1, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt (99) on the field prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

While J.J. Watt has recently invested in a soccer club across the pond, don’t expect the future Pro Football Hall of Famer to make the transition to another sports league anytime soon. Yes, Watt has frequently hit the golf course since his retirement from the National Football League. And while it’s usually the natural recourse for athletes like Watt after retirement, he doesn’t think he has any shot in the world at cracking a professional golf tour. 

“I’m trying to crack 100, that’s what I’m trying to crack,” Watt quipped during a recent interview with Sports Illustrated. “I don’t think I’m headed to the PGA Tour or LIV [Golf] anytime soon. I got out there and I golf with [Jon] Rahm and I watch him and I’m like, ‘You can beat me on 18 when I play nine.’ It is unbelievable how good those guys are.”

Rahm has had quite a few interactions with professional football players like Watt in the past. In fact, he blamed Watt’s former Arizona Cardinals teammate, Zach Ertz, for a blunder that took place during the Masters. Of course, Rahm went on to be victorious at Augusta National, but there’s clearly a relationship there between him and Ertz, as well as Watt.

Watt weighed in on what makes a professional golfer like Rahm so different from an amateur golfer like himself.

“That’s what’s so frustrating is like, I consider myself to be a pretty good athlete,” Watt said. “I mean, I played in the NFL for a while. I go out there, none of it matters. It doesn’t matter how strong I am. It doesn’t matter how fast I can run, or how high I can jump. Take that club and it slices to the right every single time. And then I watch Jon step up and just dead straight, dead straight, dead straight.

“So, I get more frustrated, and if you’re a golfer you know, that only hurts your game. It’s just a cycle of not good golf, but I would like to get good at it.”

[Sports Illustrated]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.