By Molly Aronica
The Daily Meal
The United States Golf Association's U.S. Open is underway in San Francisco, and maintaining a diet plan and fueling up with the right foods is vitally important for professional athletes getting ready for a big tournament. Here's a collection of insights into what the players eat before a match and while they're on the course.
Bill Haas, winner of the 2011 FedEx Cup and player in the U.S. Open, is known for not eating much on the course, but when he does, he munches on a mixture of dried berries and nuts. His opponent, Jim Furyk is more inclined to eat during a match, opting for energy bars (and Larabars, specifically) between rounds.
Tiger Woods, the 2008 U.S. Open champion, is often seen eating a piece of fruit, like an apple or banana, during a match. He also recently tweeted that his favorite thing to snack on while on the course is a peanut butter and banana sandwich and almonds.
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Jim Furyk
Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, maintains a healthy diet filled with fruits, vegetables, and plenty of Vitamin D and calcium to keep his bones strong. On the course he likes to keep energy bars on hand to sustain him; Furyk is particularly fond of Larabars.
Phil Mickelson
Acclaimed golfer Phil Mickelson initially adopted a vegetarian diet in 2010 after being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, but after five months he went back to eating meat. Mickelson still maintains a vegetable-heavy diet, but supplements with lean meats and proteins. He has been spotted eating fruit, specifically bananas, and drinking water on the course.
Carl Pettersson
Swedish golf pro Carl Pettersson takes a fairly unconventional approach to dieting — after winning his fifth PGA Tour event this year he was quoted as saying that his diet, "10 beers and a tub of ice cream before bed," was the key to his success. He says that he tried maintaining a strict diet a few years ago but it poorly affected his golf game.
Keegan Bradley
When he's out on the course, Keegan Bradley likes to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on multigrain bread, almonds, raisins, peanuts, trail mix and always packs a few Clif Bars.
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