What Peyton Manning is unbeatable at, former teammates and coach say

Medalist Golf Club has trees, sand traps and water, places where a player could find themselves receiving some heat.   

From Peyton Manning. 

“He’ll be jawing on the golf course … and he’s big on the rules and everything, so like if that thing is behind a tree, that thing is behind a tree; there’s no way around it. He almost wants a rules official out there,” former teammate Wes Welker said to ESPN this week. “… Like, ‘Hey, did you ground that club?’ “

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are well known for their golf heading into Sunday’s The Match: Champions for Charity event at Medalist. Woods has won 15 majors, Mickelson five. Their respective partners, Manning and Tom Brady, are well known for their football. Manning has two Super Bowl rings, Brady six. Manning is just as well known for his mouth, according to two former teammates and a coach. 

“Probably everything he was in football he is in golf, but with more stories – good stories, really good stories,” former teammate Brandon Stokley said to ESPN. 

Said former coach Mike Shanahan to ESPN: “He talks smack to everybody, especially if you act a little cocky or like you’ve got it all figured out. But he’s a fun guy, a lot of back and forth in between holes maybe or after, but he’s competing for every second, every shot. But if they get into talking in this one, I would expect him to give more than he gets with those guys.”

Expect Manning to hit more good shots than bad, too. 

Welker told ESPN that Manning is a “steady Eddie,” shooting in the high 70s and low 80s and never making a triple. Stokley told ESPN he’s played “hundreds” of rounds with Manning. Or more play against. Manning plays to win. 

“I just always expect him to make a big play on the course, that’s my mentality when you’re playing him,” he said. “ … I never want to be surprised – he’s going to make a 50-footer, or he’s going to chip in.”

And then he’ll let you know about it. 

During the round. Or even after. 

“We keep it respectful, but after the fact, we will send a text message or two to rub it in a little,” Stokley told ESPN.