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Former Atlanta Braves star John Smoltz has three sponsor exemptions to play on the PGA Tour Champions this year, and he鈥檚 using the first one in 蜜柚直播.

Smoltz, who qualified for last year鈥檚 U.S. Senior Open, will be part of the field for the Cologuard Classic, which is scheduled for March 1-3 at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort. Later this year, Smoltz will play in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic near Atlanta and the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wisconsin.

After a 22-year career in which he won 213 games and saved 154, Smoltz became the lead MLB analyst for Fox Sports. He also works for the MLB Network.

While broadcasting remains his day job, golf has become Smoltz鈥檚 obsession.

鈥淚 love it,鈥� Smoltz, 51, said during a conference call Tuesday. 鈥淚 used to hate it. I didn鈥檛 understand anything about it. I didn鈥檛 think it was a sport, and my gosh, my whole backyard is dedicated to golf. I have nine tees, three greens, and that is where I spent most (of) my time when I was done playing. I am always trying to improve.鈥�

Smoltz craves competition, and the Champions Tour provides a handful of opportunities to compete with himself and some of the best golfers of all time. Smoltz missed the cut at the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, his Champions Tour debut. He won the celebrity portion of last month鈥檚 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, defeating fellow former major-leaguer Mark Mulder by three points under the modified Stableford scoring system.

鈥淚 had two dreams in my life,鈥� Smoltz said. 鈥淎t 7, to play Major League Baseball. Not a lot of people believe that 鈥� not when you are a musician playing the accordion in a family of musicians.

鈥淭hen when I was mid-30s, I decided I would play until a certain age and start concentrating on competitive golf. I never thought I would be a broadcaster. A lot of things have changed. My desires haven鈥檛, though. I want to see what level I can take golf to. I am not afraid to fail. I am not afraid to expose myself. And I am not afraid of a challenge.鈥�

Smoltz discussed his ties to 蜜柚直播, his friendship with Tiger Woods and the state of his game during the conference call. Here鈥檚 a portion of that conversation, which has been lightly edited for context and clarity:

Why is 蜜柚直播 your first stop?

A: 鈥淭here are a lot of reasons for me. My parents live in Phoenix. 鈥楽pring Training 30/30,鈥� which is something I have to do anyways (for MLB Network), that works out great in my schedule. I will be in five different camps the week before, and as soon as my jobs are done, I鈥檒l be at the range to hit balls or play golf.

鈥淚 have always loved 蜜柚直播. I (had) never been to spring training in 蜜柚直播 until a couple years ago while working for the network. That is going to be a lot of fun for me. I wish it was next week.鈥�

You鈥檝e played with U of A All-American and LPGA Tour legend Annika Sorenstam. Can you tell the story of how that came to be?

A: 鈥淚 had the pleasure of playing golf with Tiger Woods quite a bit being in Orlando, where our spring training site was. Any chance I could tee it up with him was a blast. The night before we had scheduled to play at Isleworth, he said Annika is going to play in our group, and I was like, 鈥極h my gosh, this is going to be incredible. I am going to play with two of the No. 1 players in the world.鈥�

鈥淚 just remember wanting to have this challenge to where I thought maybe I could beat Annika from the same tees, and I told Tiger that I was going to beat her. Of course, he made a big deal about it on the first tee and put the match right out there in the open. Luckily for me that day, I was able to beat her.

鈥淚 got more notoriety for beating Annika in golf than (anything) I had done in baseball, it seemed like. Not too much longer (after that) we played again, and she crushed me.

鈥淚 got a chance to play with her in the same group in the American Century Championship when they invited her the one year (in 2014). She was the most unbelievable ball striker I have ever seen, especially in the LPGA.

鈥淚 just can鈥檛 think of a bigger treat (than) to play with the two No. 1s in the respective sports in the same day; it was the first time she had played with Tiger. She was obviously nervous, and she played all the way back at Isleworth, which is not an easy feat.

鈥淚 learned a lot watching Annika and Tiger practice. I went to the range with them, and they did some amazing stuff.鈥�

You mentioned Tiger. What鈥檚 the background of your friendship with him? Are you still close?

A: 鈥淲e met at a grand opening at an All-Star Caf茅. He was just embarking on the tour, and we were moving from West Palm Beach to Orlando. So I just literally gave him my number, and I just said, 鈥業f you are looking to play golf, come to spring training, whatever.鈥� And we had a pretty good friendship from that point. He hit off me in a simulated game. He took me to Augusta two weeks before the Masters.

鈥淭here was about an eight-year period where things went different ways. We 鈥� have not played golf in a long time. But I have been able to connect with him. He reached out to me and congratulated me when I qualified for the Senior Open, which was incredible.

鈥淭V doesn鈥檛 do it justice when you get a chance to play with Tiger Woods. You see things you just can鈥檛 believe.鈥�

Unlike the U.S. Open, the events you鈥檙e playing in don鈥檛 have a cut. What is the barometer you are using to measure your performance?

A: 鈥淚 always use, 鈥楬ow far up the ladder can I go?鈥� I don鈥檛 care what it is, who it is or where I am playing. To compete is to try to do absolutely your best.

鈥淲hen I look at this opportunity, I look at it as a stair-stepping thing to get as prepared as I can for the first one. And then to learn whatever I need to learn, any areas that could get tightened up. And then, to the best of my ability, with the time frames I have, do that, giving myself the best chance I can.

鈥淲hen I tee up the first round, I鈥檓 sure there will be nerves, and then I hope to just play golf.

鈥淲hen I teed it up in the U.S. Senior Open, I did not play golf at any point until the second round because it was such an out-of-body experience. No matter what my past prepared me for, these conditions, this golf course, that atmosphere did not feel normal at all. That is what I think will be different.

鈥淢y simplest goal is to release the golf club and let it go. Easier said than done. These guys do it every day. They step up to the first tee, and they are going to do it every time. That is what I want to get closer to.鈥�