Ian Rapoport reveals the golfer he’d like to trade lives with for a day

NFL insider Ian Rapoport has a pretty enviable gig, but he says there’s actually one person — a golfer! — he would be open to trading lives with for a day.

In case you weren’t aware, Rapoport — who commands a Twitter following of 3.5 million people — is an avid golfer and fan of the game. He’s attended several big tournaments, including the U.S. Open at Shinnecock and the Travelers Championship in Connecticut. He once even served as a standard-bearer for Phil Mickelson’s group.

Rapoport says he’s always locked-in on the TV coverage during major weeks, and likes to have tournament broadcasts on in the background when he’s at home. Growing up, he says he loved watching both Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, but he says he hasn’t yet caught them in action on the LIV Tour.

With all that background in mind, it should come as no surprise who Rapoport would be open to trading lives with for a day. On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Rapoport revealed the name of the player to hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.

“I would say, probably Phil [Mickelson] in his prime,” Rapoport said. “Because Tiger in his prime probably dealt with a lot of stuff. I don’t know that Tiger had a lot of fun when he was in his prime. He was winning a lot of tournaments. I don’t know that he had a lot of fun. He seemed very tormented. Phil it seemed like soaked it up and had a lot of fun.

“So even though I’d have to play lefty, which is just such a nightmare — anytime you have to play with a lefty, it’s always just awful — I would say probably Phil in his prime.”

For more from Rapoport, including the sneaky NFL team to watch out for this year, and his favorite courses, check out the full interview below.

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As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.