The American public started taking notice of NBA stars lighting up the greens after Michael Jordan’s obsession with the game of golf racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for him. Jordan’s gambling bets in the 90s made national headlines and had the league worried about the Chicago Bulls superstar’s public perception. Charles Barkley has attested to the rumors that MJ often put hundreds of thousands on the line for a single putt, ‘$1000’ bets for one shot were merely chump change. After being Jordan’s golf partner for the better part of the 90s, Barkley still invests his spare time to improve his golfing abilities, which became evident recently after he pulled off an incredible feat for the first time in his life.
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NBA stars didn’t have the brightest start to their offseason golf exploits after the Splash brothers lost to the NFL pairing of Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes in Capital One’s ‘The Match’ last month. But Steph Curry has turned it around after winning the American Century Championship tournament in Lake Tahoe recently. Charles Barkley has also grabbed the attention of fans for his performance in the celebrity golf tournament. In fact, the 1993 NBA MVP was recently interviewed after he bagged two back-to-back birdies for the first time in his life.
Charles Barkley bags two back-to-back birdies for the first time in his life
NBC’s Golf Channel interviewed Charles Barkley after he scored two back-to-back birdies on the course today. In a previous interview, the 11-time All-Star had admitted that he was feeling well today and is ready to put on a show for the crowd. He delivered on his promise and achieved the incredible birdie-birdie feat to set the tone for a promising day of golfing action.
“First time I’ve been birdie-birdie in my whole life, not just this tournament,” Barkley told Kira K. Dixon of NBC. “I still got some work to do…but I’m playing great. Got 10 more holes to go and Imma play well all day,” he added.
Not too long ago, Barkley’s faulty golf swing was the laughing stock of the whole NBA community. However, the Round Mound of Rebound decided to work on it, and now he’s probably one of the better golfers in the NBA circuit. The Chuckster has participated in a lot of celebrity amateur tournaments and has proved to have a decent hand in the craft.
Barkley and Jordan’s golf stint in 1993 sparked rumors
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley are not on speaking terms right now after the Bulls legend took offense to Barkley’s criticism of his management of the Charlotte Hornets franchise. However, the two former NBA superstars were the best of friends once.
Back in 1993, Barkley was Jordan’s golf buddy and witnessed the latter’s competitive fierceness first-hand. Many reports suggested that His Airness just pretended to be Barkley’s buddy to gain an edge in the 1993 NBA Finals, where the two superstars would face each other. MJ even gifted Barkley $20,000 ear rings for supposedly the same purpose.
However, Barkley always dismissed the prospect of him taking it easy on Jordan because of their off-court friendship. Whatever the case may be, the Chicago Bulls edged out the Phoenix Suns in six games to complete their first three-peat in the 1993 Finals.
