Donaldson, Curry among best golfers in pro sports

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry tries to stack golf balls. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Many professional athletes enjoy taking to the links during the off-season of their respective sports.

In October, Golf Digest released a top-100 list made up of professional athletes who also know their way around a green.

Given the athleticism and competitive mindset that it takes to become one of the best at any particular sport, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that some of the elite from the most popular sports leagues also excel at the game of golf.

Pros from many different sports made the list, however, the majority came from the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.

Those four leagues represent 78 of the 100 rankings with the NFL accounting for more than 25 per cent of the total list.

National Football League

Of the 28 pro-football players to make the cut, 16 of them are quarterbacks, the most challenging position on the gridiron.

Quarterbacks:

  1. 4th Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (+1.2)
  2. T-5th Derek Anderson, Carolina Panthers (+0.6)
  3. T-9th Sam Bradford, Philadelphia Eagles (0)
  4. T-22nd Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys (3)
  5. T-25th Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos (4)
  6. T-25th Brandon Weeden, Dallas Cowboys (4)
  7. 39th Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (5.5)
  8. 40th Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs (5.8)
  9. T-46th Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (7)
  10. T-46th Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (7)
  11. T-53rd Tom Brady, New England Patriots (8)
  12. T-53rd Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns (8)
  13. T-61st Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (9)
  14. T-68th Eli Manning, New York Giants (10.3)
  15. 71st Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers (10.9)
  16. T-97th Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans (30)

Adding to the NFL’s dominance is the presence within the top-10. Three quarterbacks as well as three players from other positions cracked the single-digit ranks, including No. 1 on the list, former Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Josh Scobee.

All Other Positions:

  1. 1st Josh Scobee, former Pittsburgh Steeler (free agent), K (+2.5)
  2. T-7th Kyle Williams, Buffalo Bills, DT (+0.4)
  3. T-9th Ryan Succop, Tennessee Titans, K (0)
  4. T-30th Patrick Peterson, Arizona Cardinals, CB (4.1)
  5. 33rd Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers, K (4.3)
  6. T-36th Steven Hauschka, Seattle Seahawks, K (5)
  7. T-64th Mark Ingram Jr., New Orleans Saints, RB (10)
  8. 79th Jared Allen, Carolina Panthers, DE (12.1)
  9. 85th Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals, WR (14.2)
  10. T-86th Eric Decker, New York Jets, WR (15)
  11. T-92nd Jermaine Kearse, Seattle Seahawks, WR (18)
  12. T-97th Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks, CB (30)

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the second-most represented, taking up 23 per cent, but only have one player inside the top-10 in free agent pitcher Tyler Clippard (second).

Similar to NFL quarterbacks, pitchers made up a significant amount of MLB’s ranked golfers.

Pitchers:

  1. 2nd Tyler Clippard, free agent, P (+1.9)
  2. 11th Kyle Lohse, Milwaukee Brewers, P (0.3)
  3. 13th Dan Otero, Philadelphia Phillies, P (1.1)
  4. 24th Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals, P (3.9)
  5. T-30th Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers, P (4.1)
  6. T-41st Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants, P (6)
  7. T-46th Shelby Miller, Atlanta Braves, P (7)
  8. T-75th Jeff Samardzija, free agent, P (12)
  9. T-80th Cole Hamels, Texas Rangers, P (13)

All Other Positions:

  1. T-19th Jeff Francoeur, Philadelphia Phillies, RF (2.2)
  2. T-19th Aaron Hicks, NewYork Yankees, CF (2.2)
  3. T-25th Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays, 3B (4)
  4. 34th Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers, 2B (4.5)
  5. T-36th Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals, RF (5)
  6. T-41st Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels, 1B (6)
  7. 52nd Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees, DH (7.9)
  8. T-53rd Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays, 3B (8)
  9. T-68th Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees, 1B (10.3)
  10. T-72nd Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins, 1B (11)
  11. T-72nd Chase Utley, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2B (11)
  12. T-80th Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets, LF (13)
  13. T-80th Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels, CF (13)
  14. 84th Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants, C (14)

National Hockey League

National Hockey League players reside in the No. 3 spot and also round out the remainder of the top-10.

Carolina Hurricanes defenceman John-Michael Liles (third) is the top-ranked NHLer of the 15 to earn mention. Not only is Liles the only defenceman represented, he is also the only player to have played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that has had more off-season time than most over the last decade.

All Positions:

  1. 3rd John-Michael Liles, Carolina Hurricanes, D (+1.6)
  2. T-5th Cal Clutterbuck, New York Islanders, F (+0.6)
  3. T-7th Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks, F (+0.4)
  4. 12th Jason Chimera, Washington Capitals, F (1)
  5. 15th Justin Williams, Washington Capitals, F (1.3)
  6. T-25th Kyle Okposo, New York Islanders, F (4)
  7. 32nd Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks, F (4.2)
  8. 35th T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals, F (4.7)
  9. T-41st Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, F (6)
  10. 59th Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, F (8.2)
  11. 60th Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings, F (8.4)
  12. T-64th Rick Nash, New York Rangers, F (10)
  13. T-64th Wayne Gretzky, retired, F (10)
  14. T-75th John Tavares, New York Islanders, F (12)
  15. 91st Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks, F (17)

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is slightly less noticeable than the NHL with 12 per cent of the slots filled by NBA pros, none of which ranked better than 14th.

Arguably the best player in basketball, Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry, controls the greens amongst his peers as well. The only baller to rank within 10 spots of Curry is retired NBA all-star Michael Jordan.

All Positions:

  1. 14th Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, PG (1.2)
  2. 18th Michael Jordan, retired, SG (1.9)
  3. T-25th Deron Williams, Dallas Mavericks, PG (4)
  4. T-46th Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies, PG (7)
  5. T-46th Gerald Henderson Jr., Portland Blazers, SG (7)
  6. T-46th J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers, SG/SF (7)
  7. T-53rd Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks, SG (8)
  8. T-64th Mike Miller, Denver Nuggets, SF/SG (10)
  9. T-68th Paul Pierce, Los Angeles Clippers, SF (10.3)
  10. T-75th Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, SG (12)
  11. 90th Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors, SF/SG (15.7)
  12. 94th Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers, PG (20)

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