John Smoltz was not only a Hall-of-Fame starting pitching and closer in Major League Baseball, but he's also an accomplished golfer.
Now he's getting a chance to play on PGA Tour Champions with three exemptions.
The 51-year-old will make his debut March 1-3 at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz. From April 19-21, Smotlz will be in the Atlanta area for the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf. His final start will be in Madison, Wis., at the American Family Insurance Championship from June 21-23. PGA Tour Champions events have no cut, so Smoltz is guaranteed three rounds in each event.
“I got some calls with these opportunities, looked at my schedule, and besides being super excited, looked at how I could fit it in. That is exactly what has worked out,” Smoltz said. “I have a lot of guys that I know, a lot of friends on the Tour, and I have the upmost respect for every single one of them that have played this game their whole career. I just look forward to the challenge.”
Smoltz is certainly no slouch as a golfer. He qualified for the 2018 US Senior Open and won plenty of celebrity golf events in his post-baseball life, including the LPGA's 2019 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions celebrity competition in January. He was in the top 10 in the last two American Century Championships in Lake Tahoe.
Now the lead analyst for Major League Baseball cover on Fox Sports, Smoltz is the only pitcher in MLB history to record 200 wins and 150 saves, and he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, his first year of eligibility.
