Lots of laughs — and good golf — as Jason Kelce tees it up during the pro-am event at the Cricket Club
The former Eagles center has apparently been getting sound advice as he hit some good shots and putts during Wednesday's pro-am.
The bravest people in the world, Shane Lowry said to Jason Kelce as they walked the path between the 14th and 15th holes at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, are spectators at the Wednesday pro-am events that precede a PGA Tour tournament.
Kelce had just knocked in a birdie putt a few seconds earlier, but it was Lowry’s shot the group was using in a modified scramble format. Kelce’s tee shot on the short, par-3 14th was hit hard but not high enough, and a “fore” call gave a group around the third tee box a bit of a scare.
“I gave someone a haircut over there,” Kelce quipped after pulling his tee from the ground.
There were plenty of laughs Wednesday morning as Kelce teed it up with Lowry, a popular Irish PGA Tour player, and two other amateurs during a nine-hole round. But that skull over the 14th green was a rarity for Kelce. The Eagles center turned media star apparently has been a good listener after soliciting advice on his golf swing on Reddit before playing in the pro-am.
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It was good staff work, too, by whoever put the pairings together — Lowry and Kelce are both bearded big men. Kelce said he would have been happy playing with anyone in the Truist Championship field, but Lowry was a perfect choice.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Shane for a long time,” said Kelce, 37. “He’s got one of the most infectious personalities on tour, so being able to play nine like that was awesome.”
Their personalities shined throughout the day.
On the group’s first hole, Kelce blew a putt past the hole and asked: “What’s the stimpmeter again?”
He got it down fast. On the 11th hole, normally the club’s closing 18th by the clubhouse when it’s not rerouted for this week’s event, the group used Kelce’s dead-center drive, and then Kelce stuck one on the green. His first putt came up short, but he rolled in a 10-footer and walked after it before it hit the bottom of the hole. Lowry walked over for a fist bump. Then Kelce pointed to his old-school bull’s-eye putter head and called it a “fingerling potato.”
Along the way, Kelce stopped for pictures with fans and signed autographs on photos, hats, and jerseys.
On the 423-yard, par-4 13th hole, the group’s fourth, Lowry — who hit from the tournament tees while the amateurs played the normal men’s tees — put a perfect tee shot in the fairway. Kelce pulled an iron, but Lowry told him to pull out the driver and send one, hoping Kelce could blast the ball past his and set the group up in an even better position.
Kelce let one loose, and a group of Eagles fans yelled, “Go Birds,” but the ball was too high and not far enough, prompting Lowry to turn around and say: “That might’ve hit some birds.”
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On the par-3 16th, Lowry put the group about 12 feet left of the hole. After their playing partners missed their putts from the spot, Kelce knocked in the birdie before Lowry had his chance to putt.
“It’s easy when Shane tells you where to putt it,” Kelce said.
One hole later, Kelce made a nice up-and-down after his second shot put him beyond the green and forced him to make a delicate chip shot to keep the ball on the right level.
Then, on the long, par-4 18th, Kelce launched a tee shot that placed the group in perfect position on the left side of the fairway past a fairway bunker. He then knocked his second shot to the back-left portion of the green before a two-putt par to finish the round.
It was a good day on the course for Kelce, who played another nine holes with tour player Stephan Jaeger, but he didn’t want to take much credit for the state of his game.
“It’s a lot easier to be comfortable and there are not a lot of repercussions for teeing it up and letting it eat on the drives,” Kelce said. “Shane was like, ‘I want you to get one really out there. I’ve been waiting for you to do it.’ I’m happy that last one worked out.”
One Reddit commenter responded to Kelce posting videos of his swing this week by saying: “It’s not Aaron Donald. You don’t have to hit it so hard. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”
“I’ve been getting good advice online,” Kelce said. “We’re doing all right.”