Michael Jordan can often be larger than life and for many, that might be intimidating. But not for Charles Barkley. The Phoenix Suns legend was already accustomed to MJ’s stature but a golf tournament in 1999, really helped him come to terms with it.
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The name Michael Jordan helps trigger a frenzy in crowds. It is no secret, from the 1990s he was much larger than life. So when he retired again in 1999, crowds wanted to get a glimpse of him. Anywhere. And everywhere.
When he decided to play in the Bob Hope Classic, a crowd of 5000 people came to see him. Yes, an amateur golfer instead of the dozens of professionals plying their trade.
There was another amateur in the form of Charles Barkley and his quip was the best of the weekend.
“I want to thank my 10 fans for coming”: Charles Barkley was stunned by the presence of 5000 fans for Michael Jordan
Charles had this to say, ”I want to thank my 10 fans for coming, everybody else came to see Michael.”. He made the statement when he caught a glimpse of the crowd as MJ teed off.
And of course, we are well aware of Barkley’s own stature at the time. A bad boy of the NBA, he was no slouch when it came to pulling crowds. But that day was all about Michael.
Even seasoned golf pros were stunned by the crowd that showed up for Michael Jordan. But how exactly did he fare against the professionals?
Michael Jordan held his own, despite Barkley faltering
MJ, hit two birdies, eight pars, six bogeys, and two holes in the game. All of this while he was suffering from a finger injury. Jordan had to get surgery on Monday.
Whereas Charles Barkley was less than lackluster. Payne Stewert a pro golfer at the time had this to say, ”Michael’s got a beautiful rhythm, he’s an exceptional athlete and it kind of flows into his golf game. Charles might be beyond help.”.
Barkley hit a ridiculously bad shot on the 18th hole that went up and over the grandstand. MJ fell to the floor laughing.
