South Shore, Lake Tahoe, Nev. – Michael Phelps
stood on the tee at the par-3 164-yard seventh hole during Thursday’s
practice round at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course and came up well short
with his tee ball.
It
didn’t matter. The large crowd cheered and chanted USA in recognition
of the 18-time Olympic gold medal winner who is playing in his first
American Century Championship, beginning Thursday.
“This
is brutal,” said Phelps, who carries about an 18 handicap but has
carded a few good rounds in the mid-80s this year. “I don’t understand
how it can be that hard to hit this little tiny white ball and hit it
straight every time. But, it just doesn’t happen for me.
“It’s
been an eye-opening experience for me because I’ve usually been able to
pick everything up fairly quickly. I have a goal of being a low
handicap golfer. But for me to do that it’s going to take some time and
it’s going to take a lot of frustration. But I’m going to stay with it”
And
he is getting the help of famed teacher Hank Haney, who has instructed
some of the world’s best, including 14-time major golf championship
winner Tiger Woods.
In
between shots, Phelps took time to tape a commercial for the U.S. Golf
Association campaign against slow play and reiterated that he has no
plans to swim competitively again.
“There are no plans to head back to swim at Rio (in 2016),” said
Phelps. “I did everything that I really wanted to do and that’s how I
wanted to hang my suit up when I retired. I now enjoy just kind of being
on my own schedule and being able to play golf whenever I and being
able to travel whenever I want.”
The
event will be televised by NBC Sports Network from 4-7 p.m. (EDT) on
Friday and by NBC on Saturday and Sunday from 3-6 p.m. (EDT).
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