Page 48 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Fall 2020

PROFILE

third in career-combined yardage. Possibly Allen’s best
season came in 1985 when he led the league with 1,759
rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He caught 67 passes
for 555 yards and caught three touchdown passes. He
also won the league MVP award.

In 1995, Marcus made NFL history when he became
the first player in league history to rush for over
10,000 yards and catch passes for 5,000 more. In one
of his more underrated game stats during his career,
Allen completed 12 of 27 passes for 282 yards and six
touchdowns.

A perk of his legendary status is the opportunity to
play with a who’s who of professional golfers and other
notables. His list includes Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer,
Payne Stewart, Michael Jordan, Mark O’ Meara, Curtis
Strange and many others. Some of those rounds were
played in Las Vegas. “The thing with Tiger is that he
was and is a rare breed," Allen says. Guys like that don't
come along very often. He’s obviously talented and
gifted, and he combines a technically beautiful swing
with this incredible strategic mind. He has a fearless-
ness. Playing with him is completely fun, but it’s also
kind of a complete observational experience because
you want to look at every single thing that he does and
how he does it. It’s special to observe his mastery of the
game.”

During one memorable trip around the course at Tiger
Jam (a Tiger Woods Foundation event) several years
ago when it was played at the Rees Jones-designed
Rio Secco, Allen took a challenge from Woods and… “I
heard this voice and it was Tiger, and he kind of called
me out and I looked at him like Robert De Niro in the
movie Taxi Driver; ‘You talkin’ to me?’” Allen remem-
bers. “Well, he was talking to me and he bet me on one
hole. I beat him and I'll never, ever, ever, bet him again.
What would be the point?”

Woods and Palmer both made lasting impressions on
Allen and observing each while playing with them was
a surreal experience. “Palmer is the game's greatest

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