What would you do to play golf with Tiger Woods? We’re guessing just about anything, but a former baseball player’s tale might take the cake.
It didn’t cost Jeff Francoeur anything to tee it up with Tiger, but he still went to extreme lengths to make it happen. With the help of former Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox, who was always known as a golf-friendly skipper. Get ready for this wild tale.
Francoeur, now retired from playing at 40, is currently a TV analyst for Braves games and he revealed the hilarious story of him faking an injury on Tim Kurkjian’s podcast, Is This A Great Game, Or What? As Francoeur tells it, he had been invited to join a fourseome including Woods and fellow Braves pitcher—and accomplished golfer—John Smoltz, but Atlanta had a Spring Training game that day. Tough spot. That led to an amazing exchange with Cox, who cooked up quite a scheme!
“I was 22-years old. I’ve been playing for three months as a starter. I’m not going to go up to Bobby and be like, ‘Hey, I need the day off,’ right?” Francoeur says of the 1 p.m. game. “But he comes out to stretch and said, ‘Smoltzy said you had a chance to play with Tiger today. There was a 1:50 tee time.’ And I’m like, ‘Bobby, I’m fine. I’m playing today.”
We jump in here to commend the young ballplayer on putting his team and day job first in this situation. Most people would have bailed instantly. Anyway, back to Bobby Cox . . .
“He goes, ‘No, I’ll make you a deal. After your first at bat today, run through first base and kind of rub your ankle a little bit like you hurt your ankle.'”
Incredible. Francouer says Cox didn’t want to risk infielders getting hurt on Bradenton’s field so he wanted his young outfielder to come on that trip instead.
“‘So if you go to Bradenton, I’ll let you go play with Tiger today,'” Francouer said. Sounds like a great deal to us! Listen to Francouer tell it and about actually faking the injury on the field and having to rush to the course:
Just an all-time classic story right there. With a happy ending. Francouer says he got to the course with his playing partners out in the first fairway and he wound up playing 27 holes with the golf GOAT.
According to Francouer’s timing, this would have placed the round in March of 2006, so a few months before Woods went on his historic seven-tournament PGA Tour winning streak, including winning the British Open and PGA Championship.
“I’ve been lucky enough, I’ve met President Bush, President Obama,” Francoeur says. “I was not nearly as starstruck as I was when I met Tiger Woods for the first time.”
Imagine how much pressure Francouer felt on that first tee shot while trying to catch up? Anyway, shout-out to Bobby Cox for making that happen. Talk about a players coach.