Former New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks fired a 6-under 66 on Friday to grab a two-stroke lead in the celebrity division at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions heading into Saturday’s round at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida.
The 36-year-old free agent brought MLB power to the golf course with video game swing numbers. According to GolfWeek’s Beth Ann Nichols, Hicks averaged 129 mph clubhead speed and 192 mph ball speed during Friday’s round, numbers that separated him from a celebrity field packed with professional athletes from other sports. Hicks last played Major League Baseball in 2024 with the Los Angeles Angels before being released.
The switch-hitting outfielder spent parts of eight seasons with the New York Yankees from 2016 to 2023 before stints with the Baltimore Orioles and Angels. He also played for the Minnesota Twins , who drafted him in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft. The celebrity division features a $500,000 purse with $100,000 going to the winner. Hicks faces competition from fellow professional athletes, including Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, MLB infielder Jeff McNeil, NHL veteran Joe Pavelski, NFL receiver Adam Thielen, and former MLB pitcher Derek Lowe.
The four-day tournament runs through Feb. 1 at the renowned Lake Nona facility. Sunday’s final round will be broadcast nationally on NBC and Peacock as part of the LPGA Tour’s season opener. Cheyenne is the daughter of Earl Dennison Woods Jr., Tiger’s half-brother, making her Tiger’s half-niece. Woods graduated from Wake Forest University in 2012 and became the sixth African American to compete on the LPGA Tour. She won the 2014 Volvik RACV Ladies Masters and was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in March 2025. Her last LPGA appearance came in September 2021. Hicks was a childhood golf prodigy before switching to baseball, and the golf household has clearly kept his game sharp. He brings a plus-handicap and serious power to competitive golf events when his baseball schedule allows.
