Upon retiring, many Premier League players transition into careers in management or punditry, however, professional golf is a far less commonly trodden path.
With that being said though, one former Premier League forward has officially joined the Professional Golfers’ Association with his sights set firmly on golfing greatness.
Golf has long been a favourite off-pitch pastime for footballers with players like Harry Kane and Gareth Bale famously championing the sport.
However, few go as far as this ex-Premier League cult hero.
Peter Odemwingie is now a professional golfer
I’m sure not many of you reading would have expected to hear about former West Brom and Stoke striker Peter Odemwimgie becoming a professional golf player today but, here we are, with the Nigerian teeing off on a whole new career.
The 43 year-old certainly has high ambitions, he told BBC Sport: “You have to have a dream and chase it, right?
“I’m going to play the Open qualifiers next year. It’s possible. I have the talent.”
He revealed that his love for golf developed during his time at Stoke City where he would spend time on the fairway alongside the likes of Peter Crouch, Glen Johnson and Charlie Adam.
“The magic of golf brought us together. The camaraderie grew a lot in the dressing room.
“We took that on to the pitch and had lots of success together as footballers.”
The Nigerian sees plenty of similarities between the two sports.
“Sometimes the weight of the pass in football is as important as how hard you hit a putt in golf, so [it’s] not just all about power,” Odemwingie said.
“I loved scoring goals, especially in the last minute of the game, and with golf it’s like sinking a putt on the 18th hole to win a tournament.
“It’s like watching David Beckham bend one with his right foot and Roberto Carlos doing it with his other foot.”
Odemwingie’s Premier League career
Odemwingie has become something of a cult hero for his time in England’s top flight where he had stints at West Brom, Stoke City and Cardiff City.
The Nigerian carved out a solid career for himself, becoming West Bromwich Albion’s all time Premier League record goalscorer and winning the Premier League Player of The Month award on three separate occasions.
The forward ended his career with 36 goals in England’s top flight, including a memorable hat-trick in the Black Country derby against Wolves at Molineux for West Brom in a 5-1 win.
Odemwingie joined the Baggies from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2010, scoring 15 goals in his debut season.
However, his most notable contribution to the Premier League was perhaps on transfer deadline day in 2013, following his failed move to Queens Park Rangers.
The Nigerian was even filmed driving to Loftus Road and expressed his excitement about joining the West London club despite earlier reports revealing that the deal had collapsed.
Odemwingie certainly had an eventful footballing career and it remains to be seen whether his journey in golf will be just as memorable.
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