For Pete's Sake

Royals’ Brady Singer will make Whit Merrifield fulfill obligation as part of unusual bet

May 27, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer (51) returns to the dugout against the Washington Nationals after the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer (51) returns to the dugout against the Washington Nationals after the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports USA TODAY Sports

Former Royals player Whit Merrifield is organizing the Pro Athlete Golf Tour tournament, which will take place Nov. 29-Dec. 2 in Orlando.

Merrifield, who is with the Blue Jays, talked about the event last week while on the Foul Territory podcast.

“I’m really excited about this,” Merrifield said. “I’ve been working on it since October. ... It’s going to be a full-on golf tournament for guys that love to play golf. It’s going to be a four-day event, three-day tournament.”

There is a $150,000 purse for the tournament aimed at professional athletes. Merrifield said the field will be capped at 48 players, and former Royals teammate Brad Keller already is scheduled to play.

When Merrifield steps to the first tee on the tournament’s opening round, he’ll be wearing something unusual — Brady Singer’s old Florida Gators jersey.

That’s because Merrifield, the former South Carolina star, lost a bet. The Gamecocks advanced to the NCAA Super Regional and faced Florida, which is Singer’s former team.

Ahead of the Super Regional, Merrifield proposed an unusual wager, which Singer accepted.

After the Gators won 5-4 in the opener of the three-game series, Singer made sure to let Merrifield know. Merrifield responded with a meme from “Happy Gilmore.”

The Twitter barbs ended after the Gators beat South Carolina 4-0 and swept the series.

But Singer said he intends to make sure Merrifield honors the bet.

“Oh yeah, for sure, he’s going to,” Singer said. “I’m going to find him and figure out how to do it.”

Singer added: “He’s doing a golf tournament and he’ll have to wear it on the first hole.”

When Merrifield fulfills the bet, let’s hope Singer posts a photo on his social media channels.

Pete Grathoff
The Kansas City Star
From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete Grathoff has done a little bit of everything since joining The Kansas City Star in 1997.
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