Josh Allen had little issue shouldering the majority of the offensive effort for the Buffalo Bills during the second half of the NFL season and a brief but memorable run in the AFC playoffs.
While teamed with Keith Mitchell at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, held recently outside Monterey, he planned to do more of the same on the links.
The duo, however, fell four strokes shy of the cutline at 15 under in the legendary event.
Struggling in such a lovely location wasn’t easy for Allen, who loves the game so much that he got everyone of his offensive linemen new clubs as a Christmas present two years ago. The cannon-wielding quarterback, on the other hand, learnt to cope with the discomfort.
Allen told USA Today’s Mackenzie Salmon on Radio Row ahead of this week’s Super Bowl battle, “I’m so competitive that I was just so frustrated the whole week and not playing well.” “But it was hard to be mad when I looked out the window and saw the beach and the water, and it was 70 degrees at 10 a.m. with the sun pouring down on my face.”
Allen’s golf game may not yet be where he wants it to be, but given his competitive personality and work ethic, it won’t be unexpected if his innate skill ultimately comes through. He already has a connection to one of the game’s legends. Allen dressed up as 2021 PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson before a game against the Miami Dolphins and says the two have spoken a few times.
“I’m not the best player in the world, and I’m not going to tell you that I am, but when I can hit it, I’ll hit it far and wide.” “And it’s something I enjoy doing, though,” he remarked ahead of the Pebble Beach event. “Aside from football, my favorite thing to do is go out on the golf course and knock some shots while hanging out with the guys and having a good time.”
“As a kid, I used to play a little bit.” Every now and again, my father and mother would take me out. But it wasn’t until college that I truly got into it. That’s when I realized I enjoyed it and wanted to do it as much as possible.”
Allen emphasized that the nerves that come with hitting a ball in front of a large crowd are nothing like the butterflies he experiences during an NFL game.
“Isn’t it the polar opposite?” Instead of adopting a silent cadence where you can’t hear your own thoughts, your thoughts will be the loudest thing you hear on the golf course,” Allen explained. “And it’s almost as scary as it is when it’s really loud.”
“But just the mental toughness that you have to have as a golfer and the ability to come back after a shot, after an interception…” You can’t allow your previous shoot or throw determine your next shot or throw, and you’ve got to be good at letting things go and just trying to figure out how to best go forward.”
