“He kind of sucks the air out of the room, you kind of have to impress him, right?” - 6x PGA Tour winner on playing golf with Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is known for being extremely competitive, be it on the basketball court, the golf course or the blackjack table. Countless stories have been told about Jordan's mentality on the basketball court and his love of gambling, and six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan recently shared a crazy story about Jordan on the green.
Mahan was a guest on a recent episode of the "Subpar" podcast, where he told a story of playing with "His Airness" during the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla. The pro golfer revealed that it felt surreal to be in the presence of the Chicago Bulls superstar.
"It's so surreal when he’s around," Mahan said. "He kind of sucks the air out of the room. You kind of have to impress him, right? How many opportunities do you have to do that?"
Mahan also told the story of Jordan being the honorary captain at the 2009 Presidents Cup. The six-time PGA Tour winner was up against Camilo Villegas when he conceded a short putt early in the match. Jordan proceeded to shout at him and give him an intense pep talk.
"You know, you are kind of nice at that point, so I gave him a putt," Mahan said. "I think I was one down through three or something. So I was walking off, and MJ just looks at me, like intense, like super intense, like he was playing or something. And he's like, 'Don't give him that s**t! Don't give him that s**t!' And slapped me on the ass."
The intense shouting worked as Mahan defeated Villegas in the end. The United States defeated the International Team 19.5-14.5.
"I'm one of the few that can say I beat him at a couple of things" - Anthony Anderson on golf match against Michael Jordan
One of Michael Jordan's good friends is actor and comedian Anthony Anderson. Jordan and Anderson have been friends for more than a decade, and in an interview with Steve Baltin of Forbes, the actor shared a story of how he managed to beat the six-time NBA MVP in golf.
The "To Tell the Truth" host told Baltin that Jordan got mad at him and started cursing.
"I was just on fire, and I took $900 off of him," Anderson said. "And at the end of the round, he threw the money at me, and he used an expletive that I'm not gonna use right now in this interview. He said, 'Motherf****r, you're never getting your strokes again, we're playing straight up.'"
"And so that's our relationship, he's very competitive, and I'm one of the few that can say I beat him at a couple of things."
Q&A: Anthony Anderson On Life After ‘Black-Ish,’ Golf, Michael Jordan And His Love Of The Outdoors trib.al/wOXyJyA https://t.co/w6Invh5a0q
Jordan and Anderson became friends when the actor caught the NBA superstar's attention during a trip to the Bahamas. Anderson had custom Jumpman dominoes and used it to play. The comedian won their game and Jordan ignored him for the rest of the trip.