June 30 & July 1, 2022: Icons Series Golf Tournament
Team USA secured a victory over Team ROTW in the 2022 Icons Series golf tournament Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The second and deciding day was broken into separate four-ball and singles events. At the halfway point, Team USA held a six-point lead thanks to wins from the pairs of J.R. Smith/Golden Tate, Ben Roethlisberger/Michael Phelps and Robbie Gould/Andrew Whitworth.
With 12 singles matchup, the window for a comeback remained open for Team ROTW. Australian Open champion Ash Barty did her part to help eat into Team USA’s deficit. But the U.S. notched the first singles win as Roethlisberger took down Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane. That foreshadowed a dominant showing by the host squad.
Team USA claimed eight singles win to coast to a 10-point triumph. Tate, Phelps, Gould, Michael Vick, Brice Butler and Michael Strahan all joined Roethlisberger and Smoltz by prevailing in the singles round. Gould had the biggest margin of victory, going 5 up on former cricketer Brian Lara.Phelps was involved in perhaps the most star-studded clash. He was 1-up on super middleweight boxing champion Canelo Alvarez.
Having conquered the pool, perhaps the 23-time Olympic gold medalist should look to get his tour card after going unbeaten over the two days.
Roethlisberger, who sports a 4 handicap, was also excellent at Liberty National. Now that he’s retired, there’s likely a lot more golf ahead for the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.