Why Did Pro Golfer Smylie Kaufman Retire from the PGA Tour?

Is Smylie Kaufman, a Retired Pro Turned Beloved Announcer, the PGA's Tony Romo?

"Maybe the only regret would be that I did have injuries and I really did have some serious tendonitis going on."

Mar. Eleven 2024, Published 4:35 p.m. ET

It is damn near unimaginable to change into a global elegance athlete. Thousands of other people, once in a while hundreds of thousands, are seeking to get your task. Millions more assume they can do it without leaving their sofa.

Why would somebody that’s one in every of the highest in the global forestall? Why did a golfer ranked in the top 50 around the global stop at an overly young age? Is it because they have the very best identify for a printed booth? Let's glance into why Smylie Kaufman determined to retire.

Why did Smylie Kaufman retire?

Why do most athletes retire? Smylie stepped away from the PGA Tour after the 2021 season before he even grew to become 30 years previous. On the Breakthrough podcast, Smylie mentioned what in particular began hurting. “I get out there and it’s the first time on the range that I’ve ever had any wrist discomfort. I am getting on the range and I start feeling something in my wrist.”

If you didn’t already know, wrists are fairly necessary in golfing. You desire a healthy wrist so as to swing. It’s form of foundational. You cannot properly swing a club if your wrist isn't running.

Later in the podcast, Smylie explained how the accidents ended in strolling away from the direction.

“Maybe the only regret could be that I did have injuries and I truly did have some serious tendonitis occurring," Smylie said. "It didn’t require surgical procedure nevertheless it was once a prolonged tendonitis in my wrist after which my left elbow. So there used to be probably moments where I will have taken six to 9 months off to really get wholesome, and it could have helped me, in that period of time, to calm down, press the brakes, almost have a golfing retreat with my team to get everyone again on the identical page."

Smylie didn’t retire from golf exactly, he retired from being a professional golfer competing at the highest levels. Rather than spend the day swinging on the links, he’s now spending even more time talking about the athletes taking those swings.

Smylie Kaufman has lots of reasons to be smiling right now.

Is Smylie the PGA version of the NFL’s Tony Romo? Similar to Tony, Smylie stepped away from the game at an age at which he could have kept playing. But rather than spend year after year not quite being good enough to be the best in the world, both men got in the broadcast booth the year after their retirement from playing in the game.

Another reason Smylie and Tony have been receiving the same accolades is their foresight in each respective sport. Both athletes have become fan favorites. Recently on the Golf Channel’s Fridays with Smylie PGA Tour tournament coverage Smylie had fellow golfer Jordan Spieth on the show. Jordan live called fellow golfer's Scottie Scheffler's chip-in eagle. It was the kind of laid back golf coverage you would not see 20-30 years ago.

You can catch Smylie calling and commenting on golf on NBC Sports and the Golf Channel and listen to his podcast, The Smylie Show, anywhere you find podcasts.

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