There’s nothing like the pressure that can be found on the PGA Tour. And not just final-round pressure faced by contenders, but the intense crucible Tour pros enter when trying to make the cut. Take it from former NFL quarterback Derek Anderson.
The 2007 Pro Bowler left the gridiron behind in 2018, and since then he’s been spending a lot of his time on the golf course, where he sometimes plays to a plus handicap.
Anderson has also dabbled in caddying. But this April, Anderson took his hobby to another level when he caddied for friend and PGA Tour pro Kevin Chappell in the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
What he may not have expected was that by Friday afternoon, he, Chappell and teammate Tom Hoge would be battling to make the cut. That’s when Anderson faced a level of competitive intensity he hasn’t seen since his NFL days.
PGA Tour cutline pressure
Anderson recently joined GOLF’s Subpar podcast, where he relived his Zurich Classic experience with hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.
With three holes left to play in the second round, Chappell and Hoge were one shot off the cutline. They needed one birdie in the closing stretch to make a paycheck and play the weekend.
Knost was there, too, performing his duties as a CBS Golf on-course reporter. When he saw the former NFL QB, Anderson turned to him and said, “This sh– is stressful!”
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“I knew we were somewhere close,” Anderson said of their cutline charge.
But the team failed to make birdie at 16, so when they made their way to 17 with only two holes to go, Anderson said his “hands started to sweat.”
On 17, Chappell hit an incredible approach shot to set up a birdie chance, and the former QB told the Subpar co-hosts that the feeling in that moment was like throwing a touchdown in the NFL.
“I kind of got the same juices as when you throw a touchdown,” Anderson said. “I know it sounds weird. The place was just packed with people, he’s hitting an impossible golf shot, soup left, I mean…”
He continued, “As soon as he hit it I went, ‘Fu– yeah!’ And then I look over and there was a microphone over there.”
To which Knost replied, “I love that you were feeling it.”
Unfortunately, Chappell’s ball rolled out to 33 feet and Hoge was unable to make the long birdie putt. But at 18, the pair got the birdie they needed. It was an emotional rollercoaster, and Anderson revealed that he felt it all right along with the pro he was looping for.
“I was going through the emotions with him as he went through it. I could feel when he got tense. You know when the pressure starts to come.”
Chappell and Hoge successfully made the cut on the number, eventually finishing in 36th.
To listen to Anderson’s entire Subpar interview, including his experience caddying in the same group as Rory McIlroy, click here.
