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Super Bowl: Golf’s Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and more NFL comparisons

With a resurgent Jordan Spieth squaring off against Xander Schauffele in the final group, golf fans couldn’t ask for a better Sunday showdown at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

That said, your friends at Golfweek know that no matter how much you love golf, chances are your eyes are split between TPC Scottsdale for “The People’s Open” and Tampa Bay for the Super Bowl.

A PGA Tour tweet featuring Spieth and Schauffele in front of Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady got us thinking … are there any other comparisons between football and golf?

Here’s a few that we came up with. What do you think?

Tom Brady – Tiger Woods

We'll start with a tap-in birdie putt here. Tom Brady has won six Super Bowls (most all-time by any player), three NFL MVP awards and is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time. Tiger Woods has 15 major championships, is tied for most PGA Tour wins of all time with an astounding 82 and there's a strong case he's the best golfer to ever swing a club. (Save it, Jack Nicklaus fans. That's a debate for another day.)

Tiger Woods Tom Brady
Tiger Woods Tom Brady

Tiger Woods and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady warm up on the practice green prior to The Match: Champions For Charity at Medalist Golf Club on May 24, 2020 in Hobe Sound, Florida. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Patrick Mahomes – Collin Morikawa

Patrick Mahomes was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, but NFL fans had their doubts about just how good Mahomes would be. In his first full season as a starter in 2018, Mahomes had a record-setting campaign and was named the league's MVP. Last season he led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl title and they're back to defend this season. Morikawa was a highly-respected player as an amateur thanks to a five-win career in four years as a Cal Bear, including the 2019 Pac-12 Championship. Morikawa made his PGA Tour debut in April 2019. He won for the first time on Tour at the Barracuda Championship three months later in July 2019, added a second win a year after that at last July's Workday Charity Open and won his first major in August at the PGA Championship, all within his first two seasons on Tour.

Super Bowl – Masters or Open Championship

Now let's get contentious, shall we? This one largely depends on which side of the pond you were born on. If you grew up playing golf in the states, you dreamed of playing Augusta National Golf Club on a Sunday in the spring and donning a green jacket to celebrate. If you're from Europe, the title of "Champion Golfer of the Year" after a stroll down the 18th fairway is the goal.

Shane Lowry Open Championship
Shane Lowry Open Championship

Open Champion and Irishman Shane Lowry celebrates on the 18th green during the final round of the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 21, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Patrick Reed – Tom Brady

Patrick Reed has a history of bending the Rules of Golf, causing a stir at the Hero World Challenge in 2019 and most recently at last week's Farmers Insurance Open. Tom Brady was at the center of the New England Patriots' DeflateGate and SpyGate scandals. Both players have run-ins with the rules that are low-hanging fruit, ripe for the picking, but if the FootJoy fits!

The par-3 16th hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open – Buffalo Bills tailgate

Pure anarchy, all the in the name of fun. The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is known for its shenanigans - just not this week thanks to the pandemic - as is a Sunday tailgate in western New York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mvDQwgmVGM

Seattle Seahawks home games – Ryder Cup first tee

In 1984 the Seattle Seahawks retired the No. 12 jersey in honor of its fans, who are referred to as a "12th man" due to the home-field advantage the fans provide. Before games for the last two decades, a fan will raise a No. 12 flag, sending the stadium into a frenzy. The Seahawks' 12s have set the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd noise — twice! — at a sporting event, first in September 2013 and again in December of the same year.

The video won't do it justice, but it's the closest thing we've got. The first tee at the Ryder Cup is a scene you can't truly appreciate unless you've seen it live. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjcaYxmn-NE