From Josh Allen to Mookie Betts, a look at celebs playing Pebble

We all have different reasons we were drawn to the game of golf. That includes the celebrities competing in this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Celebrities, they’re just like us.

Some followed a parent to the course. Others were seduced by that feeling of a solidly-struck shot. And some turned to the game after becoming famous, using it as a respite from the stresses of their careers.

We took a look at a few of the high-profile names competing at Pebble Beach this week, from an NFL quarterback to a Grammy-winning rapper, and their relationship with the game we all love.

RELATED:What clubs do the celebs play?

JOSH ALLEN

Buffalo Bills quarterback
Handicap: 9

The Buffalo Bills quarterback won’t be competing in the Pro Bowl this week. He’ll be playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am instead. In turning down his Pro Bowl invitation, Allen said he needed to “allow my body to rest and recover from the harshness of the season.” No better place to do that than one of the world’s most picturesque places.

Allen threw for 4,407 yards this season, the eighth-most in the NFL, to lead the Bills to their second consecutive AFC East title. The Bills’ season came to an end with a heartbreaking, overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Allen’s love for golf went viral late last year, when he dressed up as Phil Mickelson for Halloween, showing up to the Bills’ game wearing full golf attire, including a visor from Kiawah Island, where Mickelson won last year’s PGA Championship. Allen topped off the outfit by carrying a metal coffee container like Mickelson. It turns out that Mickelson had called the Bills in the preseason to offer an inspirational message.

“It was right after he won the PGA and he was right there with his trophy and the golf cart," Allen told reporters. "He was on the golf course, and he took about 30 minutes to talk to the team and it was really cool. I think it’s just self-knowledge, understanding who you are. I know I don’t play well when I’m frustrated, and again, hearing that from a Hall of Fame golfer, one of the best of all time, to say that type of thing, that resonated well with me, because that’s exactly kind of how I feel, too. It helped me today and hopefully it’ll help me in the future, too."

In 2020, after Allen became the first player in NFL history to record at least 4,000 passing yards, 30-plus passing touchdowns and at least eight rushing touchdowns in a season, he thanked his offensive linemen by buying them golf clubs and lessons.

Allen has even used golf analogies to describe his play on the gridiron. "The type of throws where I struggle are kind of the underneath patterns where I've got to tone down my arm a little bit,” he once said. “It's like I'm 100 yards out, and I have a 4-iron." Golf Digest estimated in 2018 that he was an 11 handicap.

MOOKIE BETTS

Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder
Handicap: 10

Betts’ love of golf went viral four years ago during Spring Training, when he walked through his golf swing while mic’d up during an exhibition game. Another video showed him discussing how changes to his ball position fixed his short-game struggles on Florida’s Bermudagrass. The right fielder’s demonstration was interrupted when he had to chase down a ball hit into the corner of the outfield.

Betts was with the Boston Red Sox when those videos went viral. He’s since become a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he appears to be taking advantage of Southern California’s strong lineup of courses. Betts was spotted at Riviera Country Club last week during media day for the upcoming Genesis Invitational. Betts’ appearance at Riviera was a thrill for Max Homa, the Genesis’ defending champion, who grew up in Southern California and is a diehard Dodgers fan.

“That’s a living legend. That’s the coolest dude on the planet right there,” Homa gushed after meeting Betts at Riviera. “He’s literally not a human. He’s unbelievable. He’s good at everything.”

Betts has a .296 career batting average and .890 OPS. He is a former MVP, five-time Gold Glove winner and four-time Silver Slugger. He led the American League in batting average (.346) and slugging percentage (.640) as a member of Boston Red Sox in 2018, the year he won the American League’s MVP award and led the Sox to the World Series title over the Dodgers.

Golf Digest estimated in 2018 that Betts was a 12 handicap. Given his incredible hand-eye coordination – Betts also is an accomplished bowler who has bowled multiple 300 games – his handicap has likely dropped since then.

“I haven’t seen him play (golf), but I’d be surprised if he’s not great,” Homa said. “He could probably make it on TOUR if he decided he wanted to do that, just judging by his athletic ability and skills. He’s incredible.”

Hopefully Betts won’t be driving a golf cart this week.A 2016 tweet of his showed a fully-submerged golf cart with the caption “Yea no more driving for me.”

MACKLEMORE

Rapper and songwriter
Handicap: 12

The Grammy-winning rapper and songwriter has a deep love for the game after getting hooked shortly after Thanksgiving 2018.

“I hit a 5-iron out of the sand and I hit it pure and I have been very addicted ever since,” he said at last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “I just want that feeling. I play as much as I possibly can, which with two kids is not that often, but that often is at least two to three times a week. So I'll take it.”

He’s developed his game rather quickly. A Morning Read article in October said he was an 11 handicap.

He’s even introduced his own line of golf clothing. His Bogey Boys line has a strong retro vibe. It looks like something Johnny Miller or Tom Watson may have worn in their primes. Macklemore looks through thrift shops and old golf magazines for inspiration.

“I love that feeling of hitting a great shot. I love hitting a green in regulation, piping a drive,” he said. “I love even just the ups and downs, the humility that the game brings, the swing of emotion, the mental fortitude that it takes, the patience, the spiritual practice of accepting whatever you just did and letting it go, the exercise, the camaraderie. I truly love everything about the sport.”

BILL MURRAY

Actor and comedian
Handicap: 16

Bill Murray’s biggest impact on golf will forever be his turn as disaffected greenskeeper Carl Spackler in the 1980s cult classic “Caddyshack.” But his second biggest impact has been as the most famous amateur at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Said to be a single-digit handicap, Murray never takes himself or his golf too seriously. When he first started playing in 1993, he connected with a spunky elderly woman for a dance in a bunker that ended with her tumbling into the sand. Although she was fine, it sparked a minor controversy. Soon, though, everyone realized he was good for the event, entertaining the masses and even donating his $14,000 from the Celebrity Challenge to the Salinas library system.

For a long time, his pro partner was the mustachioed Scott Simpson, who said that Murray, recognizing that everyone comes out to have a good time, “amps it up a notch … or 10.” Murray switched to D.A. Points in 2011, and with Murray helping him stave off nerves, Points, then 35, shot 17-under to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR after 128 starts. What’s more, Points and Murray won the pro-am.

Points, then the 166th ranked player in the world, said he would stick with Murray “for as long as he’ll have me.” Murray, who also has a golf clothing line and, with his brothers, Caddyshack restaurant, said, “I’m thinking of turning pro. I probably won’t. It’s really nice to play with a gentleman. He’s a good person. He’s from Illinois. He’s Lincoln-esque in stature and unfailingly polite.”

SCHOOLBOY Q

Rapper and songwriter
Handicap: 11

ScHoolboy Q was in the studio, working on a record, when golf highlights appeared on TV.

The rapper/songwriter remarked about golf’s lack of appeal, and a colleague issued a challenge.

“I’ll bet you $10,000 that you can’t make a birdie within two years,” Q recounted being told.

Within 10 rounds, Q cashed the bet, draining a 70-footer.

The artist from South Los Angeles overcame a stint in jail by channeling his energies into the rap genre, collaborating with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul and also finding success in solo work, including his major-label debut studio album, “Oxymoron,” which debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200.

While he’s not furthering his musical career or raising his two daughters, Q channels his energies into improving his golf game. This week, he makes his AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am debut, putting his skills to the test on the national spotlight.

Q, who notes Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau as his favorite TOUR pros, credits the golf culture for fostering a positive creative mindset that he carries to the rest of his life.

“Golf taught me patience,” he told GQ magazine. “You need that in the music industry, because this (stuff) is evil. Being in the house so much can drive you crazy.

“You can always bounce back. Hit a good chip shot, get a good putt, save the day, par. That’s life!”

AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM’S CELEBRITY FIELD (Handicap in parentheses)

Josh Allen (9)
Canelo Álvarez (13)
Bret Baier (3)
Mookie Betts
Don Cheadle (8)
Kira K. Dixon (14)
Josh Duhamel (8)
Scott Eastwood
Larry Fitzgerald (7)
Colt Ford (3)
Andy Garcia (7)
Macklemore (12)
Mia Hamm (10)
Thomas Keller (16)
Charles Kelley (5)
Michael Peña (5)
Bill Murray (16)
Lukas Nelson (8)
Chris O’Donnell (7)
Jake Owen (3)
ScHoolboy Q (11)
Alfonso Ribeiro (2)
Ray Romano (16)
Darius Rucker (7)
Alex Smith (8)
Clay Walker (10)
Steve Young (13)