The first balls Greg Kinnear and Alfonso Ribeiro hit on Saturday missed the fairway. Kinnear鈥檚 shot went left and Ribeiro鈥檚, well, let鈥檚 just say, it was out of the field of play.
They both got a mulligan. And it just added to the fun.
The jabs had already started between the actors 鈥 that鈥檚 Ribeiro, of 鈥淭he Fresh Prince of Bel Air鈥 fame, and the television and movie star Kinnear 鈥 and their opponents in Saturday鈥檚 Cologuard Classic Celebrity Challenge, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya and former NFL and UA standout Chuck Cecil.
鈥淜eep in mind we鈥檙e ex-athletes,鈥 said De La Hoya.
Ribeiro replied, 鈥淲e鈥檙e still working actors.鈥
The athletes prevailed on Saturday, edging the actors in a charity 2-on-2 showdown at Omni 蜜柚直播 National. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance received a $50,000 donation in the name of the winning team. De La Hoya promised to donate $100,000 from his company, Golden Boy Productions, to the same cause.
People are also reading…
The Star sat down with the foursome 鈥 and former UA golf coach Rick LaRose, who caddied for Cecil 鈥 during their lunch break Saturday:
How was the front nine?
Kinnear: 鈥淵ou missed it. I was incredible. Eagled on numbers one, four, seven鈥︹
Ribeiro: 鈥淭he things you did out there were shocking, amazing, awesome.鈥
John Smoltz said if he got the hole-in-one on No. 16, the charity hole, he would jump in the drink. What would you do if you aced it?
Ribeiro: 鈥淚鈥檓 going to call him and tell him to jump in the drink.鈥
De La Hoya: 鈥淚 said I would match it.鈥
So you would jump?
De La Hoya: 鈥淣o, I would donate. I can鈥檛 swim.鈥
Kinnear: 鈥淪o here鈥檚 the problem with jumping in the drink, I鈥檇 go to the bottom. And, then that means someone else has gotta jump in it.鈥
Cecil: 鈥淚sn鈥檛 it enough that I got a hole-in-one on 16 that I don鈥檛 have to do anything? Isn鈥檛 that my moment to savor? I鈥檇 like to suggest that I don鈥檛 have to jump, do any more hoops or anything. I just got a hole-in-one. I鈥檓 doing nothing. Drinks on the house.鈥
Oscar de la Hoya laughs with Alfonso Ribeiro, left, on the No. 18 green during the second round of the 2019 Cologuard Classic.
Chuck, rumor is that you were a caddy when you played for the Green Bay Packers 鈥
Cecil: 鈥淵es, I caddied over in South Africa for my best friend Willie Kane. He was on the UA golf team and played in the South African Tour. I started and played in Phoenix on a Sunday, the last game of the year, and on Wednesday I was in Johannesburg, South Africa, caddying 鈥 looping 鈥 for three months. This was after my rookie year and my second year. By the way, these were two of the best experiences in my life. Without a doubt.鈥
Ribeiro: 鈥淚 said this the other day, I would love to caddy one time on the PGA Tour. Just do a week, carry a friend鈥檚 bag. I鈥檇 like to go through all of the preparation work that a caddy does to really be prepared for the pro.鈥
La Rose: 鈥淚鈥檝e caddied five Masters and it鈥檚 really a lot more work than you think. The course is so hard鈥︹
Ribeiro: 鈥淲ell, especially at Augusta. That鈥檚 different. I want to try a flat spot. Can I do something really close to altitude, but flat?鈥
Cecil: 鈥淚t鈥檚 funny, I wound up caddying for Tommy (Armour) in the LA Open at 鈥楻iv,鈥 and it was Tiger鈥檚 first year鈥︹
Ribeiro: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not an easy spot, because you walk down and then you walk back up.鈥
Chuck, did you ever think 鈥榤aybe I鈥檒l just do this and not go back to football鈥?
Cecil: 鈥淣o. You don鈥檛 get to run into anything when you caddy. That鈥檚 the only thing I was really good at.鈥
Greg, how did you get invited to play here today?
Kinnear: 鈥淚 got a call from (auto dealer) Jim Click: 鈥楬i everybody this is Jim Click, come on down here, my boompa says if you make it here by 4 o鈥檆lock, you can play some golf.鈥 Great guy, actually. I remember I was waiting at a restaurant in college called Carlos Murphy鈥檚, which was a Mexican-Irish combination 鈥︹
Ribeiro: 鈥淗耻丑!鈥
Kinnear: 鈥淵es, an interesting concept, Al.鈥
De La Hoya: 鈥淭equila and whiskey 鈥 combined.鈥
Kinnear: 鈥淚t was after I was fired from about six other establishments. Jim came in with his family and he was about as nice a guy as I remember and he left me a really big tip. And it wasn鈥檛 because I was a good waiter. He was nice enough to call me up and say come on out, we have a spot. Plus, I think the team needed me.鈥
Ribeiro: 鈥淎bsolutely! I need you.鈥
Actor Greg Kinnear pumps his fist after finishing on No. 18 during the second round of the 2019 Cologuard Classic PGA Champions Tour event at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Golf Resort, 2727 W. Club Dr., March 2, 2019, in 蜜柚直播, Ariz. Stroke play continues through Sunday.
Alfonso, how many times have people asked you about your dance?
Ribeiro: 鈥淏asically every day I leave my house, I get asked to dance.鈥
When you created 鈥楾he Carlton,鈥 did you think that people would be asking you to do it for the rest of your life?
Ribeiro: 鈥I absolutely had no clue that 30 years later we鈥檇 still be talking about that dance. I always say there is absolutely zero percent chance I will do it if you ask me to do it. But I feel the love because obviously that dance has impacted people in such a positive way that by asking me to do it, it鈥檚 not rude. They are actually trying to share a little bit of the joy and love that the dance has given them. So I always appreciate it. But I ain鈥檛 dancing.鈥
Have you danced yet today?
Ribeiro: 鈥淎n eagle might get it.鈥
Kinnear: 鈥淣ot yet. He鈥檚 been talking about Number 16.鈥
Have you done any other dances on the course? You were on 鈥淒ancing with the Stars鈥 and have all of them down 鈥
Ribeiro: 鈥淚 always say that dancing is for the dance floor and golfing is for the golf course. It a very weird thing that people think I would just be dancing all the time. Like a very odd thought in my mind. Like somewhere in people鈥檚 brains they think, 鈥楧ude, I just know when I meet him he鈥檚 just going to be dancing all day.鈥 No. No.鈥
Oscar, obviously golfing is much different than boxing 鈥
Kinnear: 鈥淣ot so much in my game.鈥
Ribeiro: 鈥淚t all depends on where he鈥檚 at on the golf course. You see he is used to slipping and dipping. And if he stands in front of me he鈥檚 going to slip and dip.鈥
When you are boxing your hands are confined. when you are on the golf course, do you feel free?
De La Hoya: 鈥淚n golf, if you are tense you are going to shank it, slice it. And to make your putt, you have to be loosey-goosey.鈥
How do you think boxing helps you in golf?
De La Hoya: 鈥淚 think strategy. Strategy goes a long way, right? You just can鈥檛 grip it and rip it and hope for the best. You have to strategize. In boxing you have 12 rounds. In golf you have 18, almost similar. Every round you reset, every hole you reset. You forget about the first hole go on to the second. You have to have that mentality. Lot of similarities. That鈥檚 why I love golf.鈥
What鈥檚 the best part of playing with these guys?
De La Hoya: 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun. With Alfonso, you never know what he鈥檚 going to say.鈥
Ribeiro: 鈥淲e鈥檙e out here to entertain. At the end of the day鈥︹
De La Hoya: 鈥淚鈥檓 here to win.鈥
Ribeiro: 鈥淚 always say you entertain the most when you are winning. It鈥檚 for a great cause, for cancer research. We all win because they win that money.鈥
