If you ask most people who have golfed their whole lives what they plan on doing once they retire, they’d probably say they will be golfing more. Well, you can throw Ben Roethlisberger into that mix as he is now slated to get his competitive juices flowing again, but on the golf course.

Roethlisberger will be participating in the Icon Series event, which will start Thursday and take two days. The Icons Series is bringing a two-day tournament to Liberty National which features 24 professional athletes from all walks of sports in a Ryder Cup-type competition.

If you know anything about the Ryder Cup, you know it is a fun even which isn’t just your standard golf tournament. You have captains, teams and unique styles of play. In this format, two-time major champion Fred Couples leading an American team against four-time major champion Ernie Els and his Team Rest of the World.

So, who is joining Roethlisberger in this event? Here is a list of the athletes playing in the tournament:

Among the players are Hall of Fame football players Marshall Faulk and Michael Strahan, recently retired Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps, baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, boxer Canelo Alvarez of Mexico, Tottenham striker Harry Cane, recently retired women’s tennis No. 1 Ash Barty and retired Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

Quite the field of athletes for those who might be going to the event. For those who are curious, this isn’t the first event in the Icon Series. In fact, it’s the third.

This will be the third event in the Icons Series. The first was in Dubai in 2015 and the second in England in 2017. An event planned in Japan in 2019 was canceled because of a tsunami and earthquake days apart. The covid-19 pandemic kept the event off course in 2021, and Brookes said returning this year was a late decision.

There have been plenty of events like this in the past, but some, like Pro-Ams, will have celebrities as well as athletes participating. According to Tom Brookes, director of the Icon Series, he wanted to get away from celebrities and focus on athletes.

“I think we’ve stayed away from celebrities and just focused on athletes who by DNA are super competitive, and we can try and humanize them and a different sport,” Brookes said.

As for Roethlisberger, he has been an avid golfer his entire professional career. He has participated in many Pro-Ams, and even played in unique events like this before. With his athleticism, he can certainly hold his own on the golf course.

When it comes to Roethlisberger’s retirement, I think it’s going just fine so far.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the offseason, and get ready to report to training camp at Saint Vincent College on July 26th.