Ex-baseball star Kuwata suffers knock

By Reuters

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Last update The 26/05/2011 at 15:57 - Published on 26/05/2011 at 20:53

By Reuters - The 26/05/2011 at 15:57

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Masumi Kuwata's hopes of joining Japan's professional golf tour suffered an early setback when he hacked his way to a 21-over-par 93 in his first round of a JGTO-sanctioned tournament.

The 43-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates player was forced to make a walk of shame back to the clubhouse after an embarrassing debut at the Fuji Challenge Cup, the lowest point of his round an ugly nine at the par-4 16th hole.

"It's been a while since I have hit so many balls," a red-faced Kuwata told reporters in Japan's central Gifu Prefecture.

"I was incredibly nervous and haven't felt that in a long time," added Kuwata, who played for Pittsburgh briefly in 2007 after 20 years with Japan's Yomiuri Giants.

"Golf is like pitching two games of baseball in one day. I'd like to aim to turn professional by the time I'm 50 years old."