Golf
Farrell Evans, Golf 9y

Ex-Bruin Olson playing for (golf) title

Golf

On Dec. 8 at the Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, California, Drew Olson, a 31-year-old former UCLA quarterback and NFL backup, made eight birdies on his ball in 22 holes to advance with his partner, David Reneker, through sectional qualifying to the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in May.

Olson's caddie was Spencer Levin, a 30-year-old PGA Tour player and Sacramento native.

Levin and Olson met in 2002, when they were UCLA freshmen. Levin's roommate was Marcedes Lewis, one of Olson's frequent targets at UCLA and now a tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Prior to the four-ball qualifier, Levin had not seen Olson's game since he started taking golf seriously after his retirement in 2008 from the NFL, where he played parts of three seasons with three teams, including the San Francisco 49ers.

Levin was very impressed with what he saw from his old friend.

"Drew is a good player," said Levin, now in his seventh year on the tour. "He is a legitimate plus handicap. You hear that all the time from good amateurs and you go like, whatever. But Drew really is that good.

"Drew has plenty of distance off the tee, he putts well and hits his irons solid."

Olson, who actually has a plus-4 handicap, works in commercial real estate in San Francisco, a profession that allows him ample time for client golf and practice at the California Golf Club.

"Being able to work and play golf has definitely allowed me to progress as a player," said Olson, who took up the game when he was 7 years old in his native Piedmont, California, near Oakland.

Olson began shooting in the mid-70s when he was at UCLA, but his focus was solidly on football. Olson closed out his college career ranked second on the Bruins' all-time passing list, and he finished eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting in his senior year in 2005.

In his NFL offseasons, he would work out in the morning and play golf in the afternoons. It was during this time, he said, that he took his handicap down to 0. And since joining the California Golf Club over a year and half ago, his game has risen to a new level. He qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2012 and 2013. It's not uncommon for athletes from other sports, particularly quarterbacks, to excel at golf. John Brody, a former 49ers QB, had success on the Champions Tour, winning the 1991 Security Pacific Senior Classic.

"Golf is all about your hips," said Olson, who often plays golf at his club with former San Francisco Giants infielder J.T. Snow and ex-NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer. "When a quarterback throws a football, his hips rotate identically to how a golfer rotates through impact. That's why most quarterbacks are good golfers."

Olson isn't ruling out his bid to play professional golf.

"I have played with a couple of tour players and I think that I could get my game to that level," he said. "That's a lifestyle decision that if you are going to do it you just have to go full bore. It's not daunting if I were going to do [it], but I just haven't given it a lot of thought."

Olson and his partner, Reneker, a multiple club champion at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles, were attracted to the inaugural USGA Four-Ball Championship by its venue, the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

"Being California-based and very familiar with Olympic is going to give us an advantage in the tournament," Olson said.

At the Del Paso sectional, the duo secured the third and final spot in a four-hole playoff. Qualifying for the championship ends in March.

"Our philosophy is to just keep two balls in play and have 2 putts for birdie on every hole," Olson said. "I played my best football at UCLA when I was really relaxed and just let it fly. That's kind of translated to golf. If I hit a bad shot, I don't let it bother me too much.

"I'm serious the 20 seconds that I'm trying to hit a shot and the rest of the time I'm talking and trying to have fun."

Olson has asked Levin to caddie for him when stroke play begins at Olympic on May 2. But Levin plans to be in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, that week for the Players Championship. "You can skip the Players and come caddie for me," Olson said.

"I think that purse is pretty important," Levin replied.

Olson and Reneker won't have a $10 million purse to play for, but they will have a chance to become the first winners of the United States Four-Ball Championship.

That's pretty important, too.

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