Golf

NBA guard J.R. Smith is gunning to take his talents to the links -- the hooper has enrolled at an HBCU in hopes of making it on the golf team!!

35-year-old Smith -- who skipped college ball for the NBA Draft in 2004 -- is taking full advantage of his newly acquired free time by becoming a student at North Carolina A&T.

Of course, the 2-time NBA champ has not played in the league since winning a ring with LeBron James and the L.A. Lakers in 2020 ... going all last season without a team.

Now, J.R. is looking to join another team -- A&T's golf team.

"Golf is one of those games that can have you feeling really high or it can bring you down to your knees and humble you," Smith told WFMY.

"To have that feeling and knowing that all of the game is pretty much on my own hands and I don’t have to worry about teammates to pass the ball to, receiving passes and playing defense -- I can just play my game and have fun."

Smith says he learned the game from Hall of Famer Moses Malone ... and is waiting on the NCAA to sort out his eligibility, according to ESPN.

Forget eagles and birdies ... baby bears are now clearly the best animal you'll see on a golf course -- 'cause 3 invaded a North Carolina green this month, and it was ADORABLE!!!

The cute scene all went down last Friday in Lake Toxaway ... when a course employee caught three cubs causing quite the scene on one of the holes.

In the footage, you can see as 2 bears wrestled ... another picked a fight with the flagstick, rolling around with the pin and biting the hell out of it!

The shenanigans went on for about a minute ... with the 3 stomping all over the carefully curated grass without a care in the world.

Eventually, the trio of cubs ran off ... which was probably the best news for all of the golfers on the course, as the person who shot the vid said the bears' Mom was close by.

Morgan Wallen's loyal fans are gonna love this ... he's out and about, taking a golf trip with buddies -- but it's another strong sign he's getting ready to come out of hiding.

Morgan and friends were on the links Wednesday down in Puerto Vallarta, so there's a good chance the country music superstar is gonna be getting sand in his boots again. Whether that's on a beach or in a bunker ... who knows?

The way he was grinning while riding around in his golf cart -- he stands out in that hot pink trucker cap -- we'd guess Morgan was hitting 'em straight during this round and generally having a good ol' time.

It's been a while since he's had reason to smile.

The trip down Mexico way comes on the heels of Morgan's sit down with Michael Strahan ... where he finally spoke out about the night he casually dropped the n-word to friends at the end of a drunken night out in Nashville. He apologized, said he'd been to rehab and got council from Black leaders about the pain associated with the epithet.

Positive update from Tiger Woods ... the golf star is now putting significant weight on his surgically repaired leg -- just five months after the limb was nearly lost in a car crash.

El Tigre was seen in Los Angeles this week with his girlfriend, Erica Herman, and while he's still crutching around and wearing a protective sleeve ... the 45-year-old showed he's clearly able to put most -- if not all of -- his body weight on the leg.

Woods was spotted outside of his Beverly Hills-area hotel standing on the leg, and even appearing to walk a bit on it as well.

Of course, it's great news for Tiger ... 'cause after his rollover crash in L.A. on Feb. 23 -- many wondered if he'd ever be able to use his right leg properly again.

Woods suffered comminuted open fractures during the accident, and needed a rod, screws and pins to repair the damage.

Woods has spent most of his time recovering in Florida ... though he has now made at least two return trips to L.A. since the accident.

Tiger Woods showed absolutely no signs of personal strife just 1 day before his February car crash ... laughing and joking with Jada Pinkett Smith out on a golf course.

New footage from Golf Digest shows Tiger was in great spirits less than 24 hours before he badly broke his leg in the roll-over accident ... playing golf and enjoying life.

Tiger was helping the actress with her swing ... and at one point, he even got her to make a birdie -- and celebrated with her with a fist bump and a giant smile.

The two had long conversations about life during the lesson ... ones in which Tiger opened up about his son, Charlie, and his daughter, Sam.

Tiger, at one point, even revealed to Pinkett Smith that he loves to freedive in his time away from golf ... explaining he very much enjoys being in the water.

What's interesting ... 45-year-old Tiger also complained to Pinkett Smith about getting older -- saying his body just isn't holding up the way it used to.

"The body," Tiger told Pinkett Smith, while stretching out his surgically repaired back. "I've had 10 operations."

Golf Digest posted the video Tuesday with officials noting, "This series was filmed on February 22, 2021, the day before Tiger Woods' car accident."

"We're sharing this content with the blessing of Tiger and his guests. We thank everyone for their involvement and wish Tiger a continued speedy recovery."

As we previously reported, Tiger crashed in L.A. county on Feb. 23 ... and suffered severe injuries to his right leg.

He needed a rod, screws and pins to repair the damage ... and he's since called the rehab process "more painful than anything I have ever experienced."

While Tiger has been spotted recently moving around fairly well on crutches ... it's unclear if he has plans to ever play competitive golf again.

Golf star Tyrrell Hatton melted down on the course at The Open on Friday ... snapping his club in half in a wild temper tantrum that was all caught on broadcast cameras.

The 29-year-old -- who's currently the #10-ranked golfer in the world -- completely lost his cool on the 18th hole at Royal St. George's Golf Course at the end of his second round.

Hatton hit his approach shot into the green about a dozen yards off target ... and after the poor shot -- he took his anger out on his iron.

Cameras captured the dude going BALLISTIC ... stomping on his club twice, before breaking it in half with his hands.

Somehow, despite the outburst, Hatton was able to get up-and-down for par ... but it likely won't matter, 'cause the dude is probably still going to miss the cut with a +2 score.

It seemed Hatton figured that was likely going to be a reality throughout his round on Friday ... 'cause the club snap was just one of THREE incidents he had on the course.

In a prior hole, cameras caught him flipping off somebody near the green.

And, at another point in the round, hot mics also captured the England native dropping an F-bomb.

A golf fan was booted from the Scottish Open on Friday ... after he stole Rory McIlroy's club straight out of the star's bag and began playing with it on a tee box.

The bizarre scene was captured on video ... and you can see in the footage, as Rory was gearing up to hit a tee shot on hole #10 at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick -- a fan casually walked up to the 32-year-old's bag and rummaged through it.

The guy initially tried to pull out Rory's driver ... but when it got stuck, he went back into the bag and snagged one of McIlroy's irons.

The man then began lining up as if he were going to swing ... all while Rory, Jon Rahm and their caddies looked on with perplexed expressions on their faces.

Eventually, event officials got the guy to give back the club ... but he still tried to walk off with Rory's famous dog headcover.

Security, though, was able to wrestle it away from the man ... before booting him from the area.

"Let me put it this way: you could smell the reason why he did what he did," Rahm said of the incident afterward, according to The Scotsman. "He was clearly not sober. I'm going to say it was vodka. I'm no expert, but he had a long night for sure."

Rahm added, "He probably thought it was a fun idea. And, to be fair, it was quite funny."

An event official said police are now investigating the incident.

Steph Curry stared death in the eye once again -- with the NBA superstar finally getting his sparring rematch against Canelo Alvarez ... and shock, shock -- it ended in a big, fat L!!

Remember, Curry first faced off against the boxing champ a year ago -- when he playfully squared up with Alvarez at the celeb American Century Championship tournament in Lake Tahoe.

33-year-old Curry narrowly escaped catastrophe in their initial encounter, and the dude never got over it ... 'cause when he peeped Canelo at the Edgewood Tahoe resort on Wednesday, it was ON!!

The 2 tangoed for about 10 seconds, with Curry throwing a quick jab before getting caught with the 30-year-old's fast counter ... and just like that, rematch OVER!!!

"I tried the champ Canelo again," Curry said afterward. "It didn't go well again!"

But, Chef Curry had a few takeaways to go home with this time around ... saying, "Footwork was solid though just saying. #stayinmyweightclass."

Curry was definitely moving compared to last year's match where he looked stiff and didn't throw any punches .. so, definitely an improvement.

Let's see if a Curry-Alvarez trilogy happens next year .. 'cause third times a charm, right?

PGA Tour star Angel Cabrera -- who won the 2009 Masters -- was sentenced to 2 years behind bars on Wednesday ... after he was convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

The 51-year-old learned of the prison sentence at an Argentinian court.

Officials say the golfer -- known as "El Pato" on the Tour -- roughed up, threatened and harassed his former partner.

Cabrera had denied the allegations during his trial.

As we previously reported, several women had accused Cabrera of being violent with them ... with one of the women alleging he had punched her in the face and tried to run over her with his car in 2016.

Cabrera had been arrested in Brazil in January ... and he was extradited to Argentina in June.

Cabrera is slated to serve his sentence right away.

Cabrera is one of the more decorated pro golfers in the history of the sport ... he famously beat out Tiger Woods for the trophy at the 2007 U.S. Open -- and he later went on to win the 2009 Masters.

Packers fans are going to HATE this ...

Aaron Rodgers would NOT commit to playing for Green Bay in 2021 ... saying on Tuesday not much more than "we'll see" when he was questioned about his future as a Packer.

The star quarterback was in the middle of his golf round against Tom Brady at "The Match" in Montana ... when he was asked TWICE about the upcoming season.

Both times, Rodgers ducked the questions ... being as non-committal as ever about his future under center in Green Bay.

"Yeah, I don't know," Rodgers said when asked about playing against the Chicago Bears this season. "We'll see. We'll see, won't we?"

Rodgers added after being asked about the Packers' season-opener against the Saints, "I don't know. We'll see."

Of course, Rodgers is in the middle of a tiff with Green Bay's front office ... reportedly upset over his contract situation and some of the team's recent personnel moves.

The Packers have vowed to try to do everything in their power to repair the relationship ... but Aaron's icy comments Tuesday have to have the team worried.

Here's Tom Brady proving he's bad at absolutely nothing ... smoking a tee shot so far on Tuesday, even Barack Obama couldn't help but be floored by the swing!!!

The insane stroke all went down during the third hole of Tuesday's "The Match" ... when Tom crushed a drive so well, it traveled 390 yards and landed just feet from the pin!

Obama happened to be commenting on the hole for TNT's broadcast during the swing ... and he was left darn-near speechless, saying nothing more than "wow!"

The most impressive part about the swing? Tom and his partner, Phil Mickelson, needed it desperately after Bryson DeChambeau had just buried his tee shot a few feet away from the cup.

Mickelson ended up missing the eagle putt, but Brady and the golf superstar still won the hole ... as both Aaron Rodgers and DeChambeau missed their putts.

Phil later told Tom on the next tee box it was one of the best drives he'd EVER seen ... and yeah, watch the clip -- it's hard to argue with that.

"The Match" is all tied up through three-plus holes so far ... and the smack talk is just heating up -- with Phil already clowning Bryson for a bad tee shot on #4.

A Georgia golf pro was killed on the 10th hole of a country club over the weekend ... and witnesses say the scene was absolutely terrifying.

Gene Siller -- the director of golf at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw -- was working Saturday when someone drove a white pickup truck onto the course before stalling near one of the hole's greens.

Witnesses tell WXIA when Siller showed up to the hole to investigate ... he was shot and killed by the driver.

One witness near the scene on the course said he heard five gunshots ... explaining, "everyone was trying to figure out what was going on."

Police say Siller was shot in the head ... adding that the alleged gunman fled the scene and is still currently on the loose.

What makes the story even more horrifying ... cops say they found two more people dead from gunshot wounds inside of the bed of the pickup truck.

Police have not yet released any sort of motive for the alleged attack ... and have still not made any arrests.

46-year-old Siller left behind a wife and two children. A GoFundMe set up in his honor has already amassed over $424,000.

If you needed further proof pro golfers are flat-out better at the sport than you ... here's Bubba Watson snapping his driver on a tee shot -- and still somehow hitting the fairway!!

The golf superstar made the incredible swing in his 2nd round at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut on Friday ... and video of it all is WILD.

You can see in the footage, as Bubba's famous pink driver made contact with his ball on hole #2 at the TPC River Highlands course -- it obliterated, with the driver head separating from the shaft and flying dozens of yards away.

"That was crazy," one of the announcers said.

Yet, somehow, the ball still managed to go nearly 300 yards -- and land perfectly in the short grass!!

And, to make things even MORE impressive, Bubba went on to birdie the hole despite it all!!!

Under golf's rules, Bubba would be able to replace the driver mid-round if he could fix it ... although when his caddie tried to make it repairable -- it didn't seem to be going well.

Bubba's currently feasting on the course regardless ... he's the tournament's leader so far, sitting at 9-under par.

Jon Rahm chugged from his U.S. Open trophy and then punished a glow-in-the-dark golf ball to the moon ... and the awesome scene was all captured on video!!

The golf superstar -- who just took home the U.S. Open crown after an amazing four days at Torrey Pines last weekend -- hit up a restaurant patio somewhere in the world this week ... and then magic ensued.

Check out the video ... Rahm slurped down some sort of drink (odds are pretty solid it was an alcoholic beverage) and then he absolutely hit a missile off the floor!!!

Seriously, watch that golf ball go ... it was annihilated.

Of course, Rahm has every reason to celebrate this way ... the U.S. Open title was his first-ever major victory -- so keep on chuggin', Jon!

By the way, if this all looks familiar ... it's 'cause it kind of is -- Phil Mickelson famously drank out his PGA Championship trophy earlier this month just days after winning it.

Tiger Woods is back in Los Angeles just 4 months after that horrific crash -- and for a guy who almost lost his leg, he seems to be moving around pretty well!

The golf legend's private jet touched down at an L.A. airport on Monday -- he was joined by his girlfriend, Erica Herman.

Once they deplaned, 45-year-old Tiger -- sporting a black compression sleeve on his right leg -- was moving around on his own, using a pair of crutches.

You can see in the video ... there are moments where Tiger is putting some pressure on the injured leg, though he's still moving with a noticeable limp, as expected.

No word on why Tiger is in town -- it's possible he's here for follow-up treatments with some of the doctors who initially worked on the leg, but we just don't know.

As we previously reported, Woods was very badly hurt during the Feb. 23 crash -- suffering comminuted open fractures in his right leg, which means the bone was shattered in at least 2 places and broke through the skin.

The crash report described the injuries in detail -- "knocked unconscious, laceration to the lower front jaw, bruised right and left rib cage, fractured right tibia and fibula, possible right ankle injury."

A team of surgeons used a rod, screws and pins to stabilize the injuries -- and after weeks of treatment, he was discharged and allowed to go home in mid-March.

He's been recovering at his home in Florida ever since -- but now he clearly feels well enough to travel.

Woods told Golf Digest in May the rehab process is "more painful than anything I have ever experienced."

Tom Brady just hit Aaron Rodgers below the belt -- jabbing at the Packers star over his sad loss in their NFC Championship Game -- and the hilarious dig was all captured on video!

TB12 made the joke while promoting his upcoming golf match against Rodgers ... ribbing Aaron for not being allowed to go for it on that famous 4th down play back in January.

The set-up was great ... Rodgers' partner for the golf match, Bryson DeChambeau, was talking about their strategy for the big event, when Brady interrupted to poke fun at AR.

"I do think you have a partner that would probably have liked to GO FOR IT a little more often than he has in the past," Brady told DeChambeau with a wry smile on his face.

"So, Bryson, I'm glad you're encouraging him to kind of GO FOR IT when it's on the line rather than, you know, just not getting to the fairway or something like that and try to play for the next shot."

You'll recall, during Brady's battle with Rodgers in the big game ... Aaron was down at the Buccaneers' 8-yard line, trailing by 8 with just minutes remaining, but rather than going for it, Green Bay opted to kick the field goal.

Of course, Rodgers never got the ball back, and Brady went on to win the game and then his SEVENTH Super Bowl ring.

But, Rodgers took the trolling in stride Tuesday ... laughing off Brady's barb and saying, "I usually don't get the option [to go for it] in my experience."

Dig at Packers' coach Matt LaFleur??? Sure seems like it!

Tom laughed and responded, "I know the pain!"

All the guys let out a big laugh ... and good times were had by all.