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She’s already conquered one sport, but U.S. women’s soccer icon Brandi Chastain was tackling another sport on Wednesday as she participated in the pro-am before The American Express PGA event which begins Thursday.
Chastain, the two-time women’s World Cup and two-time Olympic gold champion, played 18 holes alongside pro golfer Danny Walker and three other amateurs at PGA West in La Quinta.
Chastain said her grandfather got her into the sport as a kid, and golf has been a big part of her life since. She’s played in several pro-ams before, but this was her first time at this event and her first time on this course.
How into golf is she? Chastain is a part investor in The Bay Golf Club team of the new TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League) which combines tech-heavy simulation with actual golf that has buy-in from the PGA and aired its second event Tuesday night.
The Desert Sun caught up with Chastain after her round Wednesday. Oh by the way, her team finished second in the 30-team pro-am event.
The Desert Sun: Well, how was it out there?
Brandi Chastain: “Well, first and foremost golf is always fun. It beats a lot of other things we could be doing. No complaints there. The course obviously is in beautiful shape and today’s weather couldn’t have been any nicer, so all the elements were perfect and we had a great round. Wonderful group of people to play with and this is why I think golf is so contagious. I was hitting it well off the tee, but the second shot and into the green not as much.”
TDS: Is golf a big part of your life?
BC: “Yes since I was little. My grandfather really loved golf and being from Northern California, he’d take me out to Pebble Beach and he’d tell me all about all the golfers and I just loved being with him. So for me, I would listen to the stories and, you know, and so I just think the game is great and it has such value. And I think for women, especially, it’s been such a one-sided gender sport for a long time and I think it’s really important for women to get involved in golf because, you know, it’s where a lot of things happen. A lot of great conversations, whether that’s with your kids or your family or your friends, with work so many things happen out on the golf course, so I just want to encourage more women to participate.”
TDS: Do you have a favorite pro golfer?
BC: “That’s a really hard one. I’m in love with all the old school, the ones that my grandfather loved, you know the Jacks and the Arnies, and one summer I was doing the commentary for the Olympics in 2012 and Gary Player was right in front of me and I just couldn’t pass up the chance to ask him for a tip and he so graciously put down his bags and he talked to me. I just love old-school golfers, but I think there’s so many amazing golfers right now, too. And I’m an investor in TGL and the Bay Golf Club, so for me, those are my guys right now. (The Bay Golf Club team consists of Ludvig Åberg, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee and Shane Lowry)”
TDS: Have you had a chance to try out the TGL set-up yourself?
BC: “No. but I am super-excited. I watched it last night and uh, sorry Tiger, but that was a hard one. But it’s great. I think it will appeal to more people, and I think that’s why it will be successful. Everybody can’t come out to a beautiful course like this. Whether it’s too far away geographically or it’s too expensive, but they could possible go to a place like that and play and get a feeling of what golf is about.”
TDS: Is there anything from your soccer past and those abilities that translate to the golf course?
BC: “Absolutely. In both sports you have to manipulate the ball, right? It has to go right to left, it has to go up and down, you have to be able to stop it, you have to be able to understand the space and what does that terrain give you. So there’s a lot of parallels for soccer.”
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Brandi Chastain played golf in The American Express pro-am Wednesday