6 tour pros who could have made it in other sports 

If being good at golf wasn’t hard enough, what about nailing another sport? 

Well, that is the lucky case for some of the best golfers on the planet.  

The world knows this lot for their work on the fairways, but here are six tour pros who could have made the grade elsewhere. 

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Xander Schauffele 

Sport: Football 

In the immediate aftermath of his Open win at Royal Troon, Schauffele’s dad Stefan told bunkered.co.uk that golf wasn’t his first love.

“He was an excellent soccer player,” Stefan said. “It was astonishing the talent he had. When he was four, half-volleys, both legs, left and right. I thought he would rescue the American soccer team.” 

He turned his attention to golf aged 14 after not being able to play in his preferred position – attacking midfielder, since you ask. 

Keegan Bradley 

Sport: Skiing 

The 2025 US Ryder Cup captain grew up in Vermont, which is far more famous for its slopes than its golf courses. 

And according to his mum, the 2011 PGA champion started skiing when he was only 19 months old (!) and took part in his first race at the age of six, finishing second. 

He went on to ski competitively throughout high school but eventually devoted his time to golf, his ‘summer sport’. 

Daniel Berger 

Sport: Tennis 

If he hadn’t been a pro golfer, Berger insists he would have tried his luck as a tennis player. No great surprise given his dad, Jay, is a former Davis Cup player and renowned coach. 

Incidentally, he’s not the only top golfer with a tennis pro parent. Jessica and Nelly Korda’s father, Petr, won the Australian Open in 1998. 

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Brooks Koepka 

Sport: Baseball 

Young Brooks dreamt of following in the footsteps of his uncle, Dick Groat, a Major League Baseball star who won the World Series twice with two different teams. 

However, he sustained injuries in a car crash when he was ten, and he was warned off playing contact sports. That led Koepka to golf and the rest is history. 

Despite winning five majors, though, he wonders what might have been. “If I could do it over again,” he once said, “I’d play baseball. 100%. No doubt.” 

Hale Irwin 

Sport: American football 

Three times a major champion, Irwin was a University of Colorado letterman in both American football and golf. 

After starting out as a quarterback, he switched to cornerback and racked up an impressive list of achievements before deciding to leave the gridiron and focus on golf. 

Rickie Fowler 

Sport: Motorcross 

The Ryder Cup star grew up riding dirt bikes and dune buggies in Southern California and, according to local reports, was a “serious motorcross rider” right up until his freshman year at high school. 

But he broke his foot in three places in a racing accident and decided to switch his attention to golf. Of course, he still takes a keen interest in motorsports.