He turned to video games to pass the time and fell in love with a new sport

He turned to video games to pass the time and fell in love with a new sport.

"I was a boxer my whole life," Anglin said. "I got hurt and played Tiger Woods golf one day on Xbox and thought it would be really fun. So I went out and played [on an actual course] and kind of got good at it quick."

So good, in fact, that Anglin recently placed fifth in the annual Broward County Amateur Men's Golf Tournament at Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation. His three-day 221 (74-72-75) was just four shots off the pace set by Fort Lauderdale's Jeffrey Walker.

"This is what I do," said Anglin, who started playing golf just over three years ago. He said he shoots in the 50s in the video game and is a 4-handicap in real life.

This was the sixth tournament appearance for Anglin, who works at Heron Bay and spends a lot of time on the course. He qualified for the Florida Open and made the cut and competed in the Florida Mid-Amateur and made it to match play.

"I had never picked up a club before," Anglin said. "I really love this. I never stop watching The Golf Channel now. From boxing my whole life, I never had a chance to play golf. It has changed my whole life."

Danny Howard, head golf pro at Jacaranda, said attendance was up about 20 percent this year.

There were 64 golfers in the tournament, and he hopes for a full field of 120 next year.

"It gives us a chance to show off our course, the facility and how nice it is," said Howard, whose club has hosted the tournament since 1999. "It also gives us an opportunity to support amateur golf in the county and to put Jacaranda on the map in Broward County golf."

Anglin said boxing and golf are vastly different.

"The biggest difference was when I was in a boxing ring, it was always about reaction, always self defense, almost instinctive," Anglin said. "In golf, you have this little golf ball ... and you have to make everything in your body work to make it go where you want it to go. I visualize more in golf now than I did in boxing."

Anglin suffered his share of injuries. He had a herniated lower disc along with all the broken hands.

"I just got overwhelmed and tired of boxing," Anglin said. "I was playing golf a little bit while I was boxing, and I found that I loved golf more. I just felt it was for me."

He admits that telling people he is a golfer isn't as macho as being a boxer.

"I don't get as much respect as I used to," said Anglin, who boxed at 165 pounds in the welterweight division. "That's OK, though. The competitive drive is still there. I still hate to lose."