Golfers in Underwear and Shirtless Pros. Our post on male tennis players in underwear is one of the more popular posts here on Famewatcher so we decided to do a similar post featuring professional golfers. Initially, we thought it would be a challenge considering that golfers don’t have a reputation for shirtlessness or for chucking off their trousers, but we did find some pro and amateur golfers who are doing just that. Let’s check them out, shall we?
First up is these group of college golfers from Bethany College who went au natural for a photoshoot back in 2011. Sadly for the team, the athletic director suspended them for three tournaments.
Not unexpectedly, the photo and the subsequent suspension sparked a debate which is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Where do we stand on this controversy? Well, we agree with a commenter who said this:
They’re college kids and men to boot. If this is the worst they do as young college men, then be happy. I’d rather read about stories like this, than reading about our younger generation committing robberies, rapes, burglaries and murders. Let’s put things into perspective here.
Undoubtedly, the younger generation of male golfers are more willing to bare skin than their older counterparts. We never imagined any golfer will be featured on ESPN Magazine’s controversial Body Edition but Colombian pro Camillo Villegas stripped all his clothes and proved that golfers can also be muscle gods.
Camillo Villegas Shirtless. How did he get that body? Work out, work out, and work out, of course.
This is how you build a six pack washboard abs.
Reports Details Magazine on Camillo’s workout:
He wakes every day at 6 A.M. and hits the gym of his Jupiter, Florida, home. “Hard work pays off,” he says, and he’s right. Villegas has spent more than 30 weeks in the top 10 since 2008 and averages 294 yards off the tee. “When your workouts are brutal and you see huge benefits, it is easy to stay motivated.”
Male Golfers in Underwear. Another golfer who proved to the world that golfers are hunks is Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson.
Why is he playing golf in his white boxers underwear? We blogged about that four years ago. Go check what we wrote then at Henrik Stenson’s Underwear.
It is worth nothing though that Henrik isn’t the first golfer to play in his underwear. The honor probably goes to Australian golfer and 1991 The Open Championship winner Ian Baker-Finch who stripped off his pants during the 1993 Colonial Open.
He talks about the incident in this interview with Golf Digest:
Your last competitive round on tour was at Colonial in 2001, where you won in 1989. But in 1993 you made headlines there by playing a shot in your boxers. Take us through what happened.
I still get a lot of ribbing about that. I hit it in the water at 13, down on the bank, but I could play it because the ball was on mud. I had really nice trousers on. In the summertime I never carried raingear because it was too hot to put it on; just used an umbrella. I realized I was going to get this gunk all over my trousers, and I thought, Ah, I’ve got boxers on. I took my pants off and jumped down over the bank. From then on, all the girls in the crowd followed me, and they kept singing out on every shot, “Hit it in the water! Hit it in the water!”
Unfortunately for us, there does not seem to be a picture of Ian golfing in his undies. If you happen to have a pic, do send it to us to share with your fellow Famewatchers.
Male Golfers in Underwear – Vintage Edition. Probably the most delightful find for us when it comes to pro golfers in their underwear would be the next one which features this quintet composed of Rex Caldwell, Payne Stewart, Keith Fergus, Greg Norman, and Peter Jacobsen.
What’s the story behind this photoshoot? Greg Norman tells us in a 2009 interview with Golf Magazine:
We were trying to project the image of the PGA Tour in a different light. So [the Tour] picked guys who had some personality, who people liked on the golf course… Back then, the Tour promoted itself well. It was tastefully done.
Shirtless Golfer from Australia. Projecting a different image for golfers is also the object of the Professional Golfers’ Association of Australia which has asked some of its members to go shirtless in their Pro Golf Exposed campaign. One of the golfers who supported the project is muscled hunk James McLean.
Asked what the objective of the project, PGA of Australia chief executive Brian Thorburn had this to say:
The idea is to break down some of the traditional stereotypes surrounding golf that can be prohibitive to new people taking up the game.
I think it will encourage more women to pick up a club, get a lesson or even watch the golf on TV this summer.
We doubt if women will suddenly become golfers simply because of some hot shirtless golfer guy but stranger things have happened. Hehe.
Golfers in Underwear: John Daly Models Slix Boxers. Anyhoo, another golfer who was photographed in his underwear is the ever enterprising John Daly (he of the psychedelic pants).
Unlike the others mentioned above who stripped to their undies either for fun or because they don’t want their golf pants to get dirty, our John dropped his trousers to promote Slix Underwear. He must have made oodles of money from this endorsem*nt deal, huh? Well, good for him, he is not the most enterprising golfer for nothing.
Another shirtless golfer who made our list is Tiger Woods whose shirtlessness became a Vanity Fair Magazine Cover.
Meanwhile, here’s a hunky and shirtless Ricky Barnes jumping with infectious glee. There must be a story behind this jump but we don’t know what it is.
Do golfers violate a clothing rule when they play shirtless or with nothing but their underwear? Apparently not. Doug Barron stripped off his shirt during the 2006 Chrysler Championship and wasn’t penalized for it.
ESPN clarifies the rules in this report:
For the record, there is no bylaw in the USGA’s Rules of Golf which states a player cannot hit a shot while shirtless, and PGA Tour officials said they did not know of any rule that prohibits a player from removing an article of clothing to play a shot.
Yay! Let’s have more shirtless golfers please!
Let’s end this post with a photo of a gorgeous man playing golf.
We think he is more of a “model” than a “golfer” but if he is a real pro golfer and you know who he is, do tell in the comments. Thank you.
Update: Oops, we almost forgot to upload this photo of world number one golfer Rory McIlroy. The pic was reportedly Tweeted by his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.
Last but not the list is this very interesting photo of American golfer Tom Kite. We guess he is playing Tarzan?
So who of the above shirtless pros and golfers in underwear is your favorite? Ours would be, without a doubt, Swedish hottie Henrik Stenson. No one beats a guy who can rock a pair of white boxer briefs.
Golfers in Underwear and Shirtless Pros posted 10 February 2013. Last updated: December 17, 2022 at 2:34 am.
