New York Jets star Sauce Gardner takes up golf ... and TOUR players are here for it

New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner has taken a liking to a new offseason hobby.

While he's typically seen on the football field locking down the NFL wide receivers, Gardner recently has swapped out his shoulder pads and football cleats for golf clubs and golf shoes.

Gardner's followers on X have seen his passion for golf bloom over the past week in his social media posts, and fans have shared words of encouragement with the new golfer. But what do PGA TOUR professionals have to say about his abilities in the sport that they have nearly come to perfect?

Following Round 1 of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, players weighed in on several of the videos that Sauce has shared on X and reaction has been positive.

"I mean if Sauce is just getting going," Rickie Fowler commented. "I like the possibilities."

Will Zalatoris took a liking to Gardner's abilities, too, saying: "He's got some speed for one. I mean the dude's an athlete, we know that, but I mean that's pretty impressive. Clean up a little bit of the short game there and he's going to be pretty good, pretty quick."

Cameron Young, in search of his first TOUR win this week at the Rocket Mortgage, feels like Gardner is solid off the tee. "He doesn't need a ton of help from me on the driver," said Young, who shared Zalatoris' view on Gardner's short game, "Short game – we need a little more weight forward, little bit steeper. But pretty good."

Gardner is entering his third season in the NFL, and it's safe to say he's already made plenty of noise on the football field in his short career. He won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2022 by a wide margin, receiving 46 of 50 first-place votes for the award.

Chris Kirk said he was impressed by Gardner's quick success on the course: "Yeah, that looked pretty good. You said he just started? A couple weeks ago? He doesn't need any help from me, he's a lot better than I was two weeks into playing golf."

Taylor Montgomery, who opened in 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club, could not contain his shock when finding out Gardner has only been playing for two weeks. "What? That's crazy," Montgomery said with amusement. "If he needs swing tips, I'd tell him to go to somebody else, but I'll give him some putting or around-the-green tips if he wants."

After watching Gardner drain a putt, Montgomery noted: "Ah, I just saw him make a putt, I guess he doesn't need any putting tips."