Steph Curry in the lead after first round at the American Century Championship
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Sat, 07/15/2023 - 3:00pm
Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry opened with two birdies and an eagle in his first four holes and leads the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe after Friday's opening round.
“I knew if I could just get off to a good start that I’d have more fun out there,” the four-time NBA champion said. “And that three-hole stretch at the beginning, I went birdie-birdie-eagle, and I was feeling good.”
Curry was paired with the other Currys in the tournament, dad Dell and brother Seth. Dell scored an 18 and Seth a 5.
Steph is at 27 points, four points ahead of Dallas Stars right wing Joe Pavelski and six ahead of Alex Killorn, a left-wing for the Anaheim Ducks. Fox News host Bret Baier was at 20 points. Former running back Marshall Faulk and former linebacker Brian Urlacher are at 19.
The tournament uses a modified Stableford scoring system that rewards points for eagles, birdies and pars, and deducts points for double bogeys or worse.
NBA great Charles Barkley said he's lost 63 pounds since last year's celebrity golf week at Lake Tahoe, and his play on Friday was looking much better than in years past. He ended the first round with a minus-8, much better than previous years when he has seen scores in the -20s and -30s. The hot bet at the sportsbook was for Barkley to finish in the top 70 - at 79th place currently he still has a bit of improvement on the next two rounds.
Some other players of note: Defending champion, former Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo was uncharacteristically inconsistent and is tied for 13th with 16 points. 2021 winner Mardy Fish is at 18, John Smoltz (16), LPGA star Annika Sorenstam (14), and three-time winner Mark Mulder (10).
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II left the ESPY awards in Los Angeles Wednesday night where he was named Best Male Athlete, to make it to Lake Tahoe to play golf. He is at minus-3 points. His tight-end teammate Travis Kelce is at minus-1.
There are 93 celebrities in the field this year.
For those attending Saturday, parking is a challenge due to the record-breaking crowds at the American Century. Use the free Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition bike valet right outside the gates, use Lake Link, Lime, or Bird scooters. The only shuttles are for volunteers and employees, or Harrahs/Harveys ticketed hotel guests.
Tickets are SOLD OUT Saturday. Tickets are available for purchase for Sunday at https://www.americancenturychampionship.com
Tournament airtime on television:
Saturday, July 15 NBC, Peacock - 2:30-6 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. PT (Live)
Sunday, July 16 NBC, Peacock - 2:30-6 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. PT (Live)
Saturday Tee Times
Players are listed with their group, tee time, and current score in the Stableford scoring format.
From 1st Tee
7:36 1 Mark Mulder 10
Alfonso Ribeiro 10
Mike Modano 10
7:45 3 Emmitt Smith -1
Jerry Rice 4
Jerome Bettis 5
7:54 5 Marcus Allen 10
Jayson Werth 10
Tim Brown 10
8:03 7 Harrison Smith 10
Derek Carr 11
Doug Pederson 11
8:12 9 AJ Hawk 9
Pat McAfee -4
The Miz -23
8:21 11 Ray Allen 1
Larry Fitzgerald -2
Canelo -1
8:30 13 Dwight Freeney 11
Vinny Del Negro 12
Robbie Gould 13
8:39 15 Adam Thielen 12
Alex Smith 12
Aaron Rodgers 13
8:48 17 Tim Wakefield 13
Annika Sorenstam 14
Derek Lowe 14
8:57 19 Michael Peña 13
David Wells 14
Charles Woodson 16
9:06 21 John Smoltz 16
Tony Romo 16
John Elway 16
9:15 23 Patrick Mahomes II -3
Travis Kelce -1
Josh Allen 7
9:24 25 Jake Owen 17
Jack Wagner 17
TJ Oshie 17
9:33 27 Dell Curry 18
Mardy Fish 18
Joe Mauer 18
9:42 29 Marshall Faulk 19
Brian Urlacher 19
Bret Baier 20
9:51 31 Alex Killorn 21
Joe Pavelski 23
Stephen Curry 27
From the 10th Tee
7:41 2 Shane Victorino 8
Jon Lester 7
Andrew Whitworth 7
7:50 4 Mike Vrabel 4
CC Sabathia 5
Kevin Millar 11
7:59 6 Ray Romano -1
Roger Clemens -1
Jay DeMarcus -1
8:08 8 Joe Theismann 6
Joe Buck 4
Jay Bilas 1
8:17 10 Davante Adams -18
David Carr 4
Patrick Peterson 1
8:26 12 Andre Iguodala -1
Dexter Fowler 3
Reggie Bush 0
8:35 14 Hally Leadbetter 0
Jim McMahon -3
Dan Quayle -5
8:44 16 Brian Baumgartner -5
Rob Riggle -4
Nate Bargatze -3
8:53 18 Vince Carter -4
Baker Mayfield -3
Ronde Barber -5
9:02 20 Ryan Fitzpatrick -7
Jason Scheff -7
John O'Hurley -11
9:11 22 Don Cheadle -17
Miles Teller -17
Chace Crawford -18
9:20 24 Seth Curry 5
Kyle Lowry -7
Zach LaVine -18
9:29 26 Steve Young -12
Mike Golic -14
Kathryn Tappen -20
9:38 28 Dylan Dreyer -27
DeMarcus Ware -14
Kyle Rudolph -14
9:47 30 Larry the Cable Guy -6
Charles Barkley -8
Colin Jost -9
