How NFL Hall of Famers, PGA Tour Champions joined forces for brand new event
NFL Hall of Famer Ronde Barber, who spent 16 years playing Safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, loves golf as much as football. He cannot get enough of the sport, which explains why he serves as the Tournament Director of the Valspar Championship.
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But that event is for PGA Tour professionals only.
Barber wanted to find a way for his fellow Hall of Famers to play on the big stage and showcase their personalities during retirement. After all, seemingly every retired NFL star picks up the game of golf and immediately becomes addicted to it shortly thereafter.
So Barber had an idea: why not bridge together a golf tournament featuring NFL Hall of Famers and PGA Tour players?
Leaning on his well-established relationships within the golfing lexicon, Barber connected Pro Links Sports with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pro Links Sports is an event management company that also helps facilitate the Valspar Championship.
Ronde Barber helped bring everyone together for the inaugural James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational.
Shortly thereafter, James Hardie, a building materials company, came to the table, and the idea of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame quickly became a reality.
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It debuts this week on the PGA Tour Champions, with 78 of the world's best players aged 50 and over playing alongside 26 NFL legends in Boca Raton, Florida.
'It's a win-win situation for the Hall of Fame and the PGA Tour Champions too,' said former Buffalo Bill and Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Andre Reed to SB Nation.
Reed, a 9-handicap, is in this week's field at the Old Course at Broken Sound. But Reed, who has an infectious personality, explained how he is just as excited to play a PGA Tour-caliber course as he is to play in the tournament itself.
'You're not gonna play a cow pasture. You're gonna play a golf course,' Reed joked.
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'You're not gonna see cows out there on the sides of the fairways. You're playing a PGA-style course. Actually, two weeks ago I played in Frisco, Texas, at the [new Ranch Fields East] course in Frisco, and that's [where the PGA Championship is in 2027].
'I'm blessed, man.'
Andre Reed swings away during the Pro-Am.
Maybe his joke alludes to the rural landscapes that comprise a large part of Western New York. Maybe not. Regardless, Reed knows this tournament serves a greater purpose: supporting the community.
'I'm very involved with my own foundation and the things that I do with kids, the Boys and Girls Clubs,' Reed said.
'I know how important it is to give back to the community and for us to be involved with Habitat for Humanity, the First Tee, and Boca Raton Hospital Foundation, it means the world.'
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As a part of the tournament, James Hardie will donate $100 for every birdie made by professionals, Hall of Famers, and Pro-Am participants — with a guaranteed maximum of $100,000 — to support Habitat for Humanity's mission to build safe and affordable housing for those families in need.
'All of us at James Hardie are super passionate about, and we really strive to, again, live that purpose of building a better future for all in everything we do,' explained Noor Boyle, the Senior Director of Communications and Global Brand Management for James Hardie.
'James Hardie has been a longtime partner with Habitat for Humanity for decades. Over the past year, we've built over 300 homes in climate-devastated areas, and we will continue to do so going forward. So it was natural for us to bring Habitat for Humanity in as a key beneficiary for this tournament.'
James Hardie also helped construct homes in the Chicagoland area, where the company's U.S. business is based, and Canton, Ohio, which houses the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The company has built homes in the West Palm Beach community, too, where this week's tournament is being played.
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'James Hardie and the Pro Football Hall of Fame share a lot of the same values, we want to be involved in the community,' explained Jeff Shreve, who doubles as the Cleveland Browns Public Address Announcer and the Relations and Wellness Manager for the Hall of Fame.
'We want to be involved in charities, and so that's part of why so many of our guys are here from the Hall of Fame. We're talking about supporting charities, so when the guys hear that not only do they get to play in this great event, but they can help those who need it, we had no problem getting the Hall of Famers to buy in and play.'
Both the Hall of Fame and the PGA Tour Champions plan on facilitating this one-of-a-kind event for years to come. The Hall of Famers will play in a 36-hole competition alongside PGA Tour Champions professionals on Friday and Saturday. The senior pros will also play on Sunday, as is customary for the PGA Tour Champions.
Golf Channel will air second-round coverage of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational from 3:3o to 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. The network will air final round coverage on Sunday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET.
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The full list of Hall of Famers participating in the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational follows below:
Morten Andersen
Ronde Barber
Tony Boselli
Derrick Brooks
Tim Brown
Cris Carter
Terrell Davis
Richard Dent
Marshall Faulk
Dwight Freeney
Dan Hampton
Mike Haynes
Rickey Jackson
Will Shields
Jerome Bettis
Isaac Bruce
Dwight Stephenson
Thurman Thomas
Patrick Willis
Steve Hutchinson
Calvin Johnson
James Lofton
Randall McDaniel
Anthony Muñoz
Jonathan Ogden
Orlando Pace
John Randle
Andre Reed
Warren Sapp
Jan Stenerud
DeMarcus Ware
Roger Wehrli
Eric Dickerson
Devin Hester
Dan Fouts
Tom Mack
Lawrence Taylor
Kellen Winslow
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
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