http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/28/2717823/away-from-tennis-court-rafael .html Golf spotlight Away from tennis court, Rafael Nadal seeks a golf course By Bill Van Smith Special to The Miami Herald Whack! That’s Rafael Nadal and there goes the ball, hard and true down the middle. Yes, Rafael Nadal is pretty good, but we’re not talking tennis. We’re talking golf. If Nadal needs to get away from the grind of tennis, guess where he heads — straight to the golf course. While playing in the Sony Ericsson Open the past eight days, Nadal — the Spaniard who is the world’s No. 2-ranked player, expressed his love for the little, white, dimpled ball as opposed to the larger, yellow ball that he makes his living off of. “I love the game of golf in general, no?” Nadal said. Sometimes, Nadal’s focus — when it is the appropriate time — might be on golf rather than tennis. This past Sunday, he said, “I was watching all the afternoon the last round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational [which Tiger Woods won]. I am a big fan of sport in general, and golf is one of my favorites.” The peaceful setting is part of Nadal’s affection for golf. “Golf is great, because you are always in beautiful places when you are playing,” he said. Nadal, 25, has made a nice living playing tennis, somewhere above the $55 million mark. That’s just tournament winnings, and not endorsements. In golf, he hasn’t made quite as much. Maybe a few bucks from a $2 Nassau, and no endorsements that we know of. Money doesn’t make happiness, however. And Nadal is plenty happy on the golf course. “Most important,” he said, “is you can spend three, four, 4½ hours with good company, with friends, with family. Spending time with friends, family, that’s great. That makes the round good.” Another advantage for Nadal and his golf-playing tennis friends is that you chase down the ball in a motorized cart rather than having to run after it. And, finally, Nadal pointed out one other reason he loves golf. “The risk for injury, as you know, is very small,” he said. So, for Nadal, either serving it up or teeing it up works just fine. The money earned is not equivalent, but the enjoyment received seems to be pretty close. Golf and tennis are big crossover sports for the professionals in those sports, particularly tennis players seeking out a golf course during their travels. Less so than golfers crossing over to tennis for recreation and peace of mind. Don’t get the wrong impression that Nadal is all laughs and giggles on the golf course. Nadal once wrote that before a round, “I look hard at my golfing pals and say, ‘Hostile match, right?’ I know they laugh at me behind my back, but I am not going to change.” Other prominent golfers on the tennis tour include Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Mardy Fish. Golf and tennis even have crossover romance. Top young golfer Rory McIlroy is the boyfriend of top young tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. Recently, McIlroy was attending a tennis exhibition between Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova at Madison Square Garden. Just after becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world, which he later relinquished to Luke Donald, McIlroy was sitting in the stands having a fun ol ’ time watching girlfriend Wozniacki play. Then, Wozniacki coaxed McIlroy to come on the court and play a point against Sharapova. “It was really entertaining to get him out there and play a point,” Sharapova said after a match at the Sony Ericsson this week. Then she added with a smile, “Of course, I had to let him have the point. I had to let the guy win a point in Madison Square Garden. I know he’s not gonna play golf in there, so ...” How would Sharapova fare against McIlroy in golf? “Never have played,” she said. Then she corrected herself. “Yes I have, mini-golf.’’ --

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