NBA champion, MVP Stephen Curry to tee it up at Lake Tahoe's ACC celebrity golf tourney
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 06/22/2022 - 2:26pm
Stephen Curry, fresh off the Golden State Warriors’ fourth NBA championship in the past eight seasons and his unanimous selection as Finals MVP, will bring recognition as one of basketball history’s greatest players along with his golf skills to Edgewood Tahoe for the 33rd annual American Century Championship at Lake Tahoe, July 8-10.
Joining Steph will be his father Dell, and brother Seth. With the participation of the three Currys, the star power just jumped the charts at celebrity golf’s pre-eminent tournament. They will join a field with Justin Timberlake, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Annika Sorenstam, Charles Barkley and first-time participants Colin Jost of Saturday Night Live, WWE Superstar The Miz, and Jake Owen, country music singer/songwriter.
The lineup represents 13 Hall of Famers, 17 Most Valuable Player Awards, and multiple Cy Young Award winners. With Timberlake, Ray Romano, Anthony Anderson, and other entertainment celebrities, the field also boasts winners of multiple Emmy, Grammy and other awards.
The American Century Championship will be televised nationally Friday, 7:30—9:30 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 2:30—6:00 p.m. ET on NBC.
Tickets are now available online only in advance at: www.AmericanCenturyChampionship.com with daily tickets for Wednesday’s practice round and Thursday’s Celebrity-Amateur at $30, and tournament rounds Friday, Saturday and Sunday at $40 per day.
For Curry, it represents his 10th appearance at the American Century Championship. His best finish was fourth on three occasions: T4 in 2013, 2017 and 2020. He was 9th last year. Caesars Sportsbook has him listed as one of the top eight favorites at 12:1 odds.
The American Century Championship in scenic Lake Tahoe features a purse of $600,000 with $125,000 to the winner. Charity fundraising has produced over $6 million for non-profits over the years. The tournament is played over lakefront Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, a George Fazio design, with re-design elements from Tom Fazio. It is rated by Golf Digest Magazine as one of “America’s Top 100 Golf Courses.”
Vinny Del Negro will defend his 2021 title against top celebrity contenders including Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest professional players in history with 72 LPGA Tour wins and eight Player of the Year Awards; Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, current CBS NFL analyst, and two-time winner of the ACC; Mark Mulder, three-time ACC champion and former MLB pitcher; Mardy Fish, 2020 tournament champion, former tennis star and current captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team; and John Smoltz, MLB Hall of Fame pitcher, 2018 U.S. Senior Open qualifier and Fox MLB analyst.
A contingent of 30 NFL stars are in the field together with current quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, 2021 NFL MVP; and Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders. Active players also feature Robbie Gould, 49ers; Adam Thielen, Harrison Smith and Patrick Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.
Hall of Famers feature Michael Strahan, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Tim Brown, Jerome Bettis, Terrell Davis, Brian Urlacher, and Charles Woodson; as well as former All-Pros Larry Fitzgerald, DeMarcus Ware, Kyle Williams, and Jim McMahon. Also in the field is head coach Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans.
NBA representation includes local favorite Charles Barkley; Del Negro; current Miami Heat star Kyle Lowry and Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso, making his tournament debut; and Vince Carter, eight-time All-Star and current ESPN analyst.
Including Annika, women in the field feature Dylan Dreyer, meteorologist for NBC News and The Today Show; Kathryn Tappen, NBC Sports anchor and on-air personality; and Kira K. Dixon, GOLF Channel reporter and 2015 Miss America.
The lineup of entertainers, actors and comedians feature Jost, Miles Teller, Anthony Anderson, Alfonso Ribeiro, Michael Pena, Ray Romano, Rob Riggle, Brian Baumgartner, John O’Hurley, Larry the Cable Guy, Jay DeMarcus, formerly of Rascal Flatts, Jason Scheff, former singer and bassist for Chicago, and Jack Wagner, two-time champion and one of two originals along with Jim McMahon to have played in all 32 American Century Championships.
Major League Baseball players showcase Smoltz, teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Tom Glavine, CC Sabathia, Joe Maurer, Jimmy Rollins, Kevin Millar, Shane Victorino, Tim Wakefield, David Wells, and first timers Jon Lester and Jayson Werth.
The 54-hole competition will test the golf skills of more than 80 players. Additions to the field will be announced leading up to the championship in July. The current tournament field is available here.
The 2022 American Century Championship will utilize the Modified Stableford format whereby points are awarded by score per hole.
American Century Investments, the title sponsor of the championship since 1999, continues its role in partnership with NBC Sports, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course and the South Tahoe community.
For the latest details, photos, celebrity tweets and fan contests using #ACCgolf go to @ACChampionship on Twitter and Instagram, and Facebook. For tournament information: www.AmericanCenturyChampionship.com.
