We’re used to seeing some big hitting on the gridiron, but the NFL’s all-star players showed they could also give the golf ball a healthy whack during their Pro Bowl Longest Drive competition in Las Vegas – which was won with an impressive hit of 320 yards.
Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer is known for his big hits on the field, and he left his golf ball wishing it had worn shoulder pads (can golf balls have shoulders?) after he smoked his final effort 320 yards to grab a dramatic victory on the very last swing of the competition.
The NFL Pro Bowl Games see a collection of skills competitions played out over the weekend as the AFC and NFC all-star teams gather for a more fun and relaxed weekend than the previous half-hearted full game on the field.
Things like the greatest catch and dodgeball have been introduced, but to reflect how many NFL stars are now taking up golf, a longest drive competition has been introduced with team captains Peyton and Eli Manning selecting five players each to represent them on the tee.
Ability ranges were vast, from Poyer and Minnesota Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson battling it out for top spot, to Hockenson’s team-mate Za’Darius Smith – who revealed just before the off that this was his first trime golfing.
Smith said he had watched YouTube videos in preparation – but those videos must all have been Happy Gilmore as he attempted the run-up before having a big swipe at the ball a couple of times, and mainly catching nothing but thin air.
The big fella almost injured himself on one occasion, but then did magically connect with the ball, and when someone of Smith’s size connects the ball stays hit – to the tune of 275 yards. Not bad for a novice.
The was some brutal hitting all around from a collection of rather large NFL stars, before Hockenson stepped up as the penultimate competitor to take the lead with a bomb of 316 yards, leaving just Poyer left to play.
Poyer, who says he is a member at Coral Ridge Country Club in South Florida, then proclaimed in his intro “during the (NFL) season my handicap’s at 18, during the offseason it’s at three!”.
And Poyer showed the variety in his game, launching his opening effort 295 yards with a high fade, before over cooking his second and carving it miles out of bounds to the right, before the money shot and the last swing of the event.
Poyer put a lovely swing on it, with that bit of extra juice in the follow-through that projected a hammer blow all the way down the…
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