Of all the golfers at this weekend's Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Jim Thorpe is going to lug around the most baggage. The 60-year-old who won three PGA Tour tournaments and four since he's joined the Champions Tour, for golfers over 50, was charged Wednesday with cheating on his taxes -- about $1.6 million worth -- by the U.S. Attorney in Orlando.
Thorpe lives in Heathrow, a short drive north of Orlando. He entered a plea of not guilty this past week.
One would think that golf would be one of the worst sport for athletes who would cheat on their taxes -- prize winnings are readily available. On Thorpe's PGATOUR.com page, for instance, it shows how he racked about nearly $2 million on the PGA tour and over $13 million on the Champions Tour.
Seminole Magazine did a feature on Thorpe in 2006, crediting him with making generous contributions to a local church.