The American Century Championship is a celebrity
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
tournament in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. It is held during the second full week of July at
Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in
Stateline, at the shore of
Lake Tahoe. The course is at the southeast edge of the lake, at an average
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
exceeding above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
.
History
The American Century Championship tournament was developed to fill air time after
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
lost the
airing rights to Major League Baseball. It was originally titled The
Celebrity Golf Association, the brainchild of
Jim Karvellas
Jim Karvellas (August 24, 1935Cook County, Illinois Birth Index, 1916-1935 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.Retrieved 2022-11-10.–January 1, 2007) was a veteran play-by-play sportscaster whose career on radio an ...
.
Initially, the tournament had no title sponsor, but landed three hall of fame players from different sports: John Elway, Michael Jordan, and Mario Lemieux. Karvellas is quoted as saying: “They are here at Caesars Tahoe this week, because they believe in the concept, they love the game of golf and they like to compete. I shall be forever indebted to them for that.”
The first tournament was held in 1990 and sponsored by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
,
which broadcasts the second and third-round coverage on the weekend.
Isuzu sponsored the tournament from 1991 through 1998, succeeded by current sponsor
American Century Investments
American Century Investments is a privately controlled and independent investment management firm.
Operations
The Building has approximately 1,300 employees and its headquarters are located at 4500 Main in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Coun ...
in 1999.
A 54-hole event, the first fourteen editions were conducted under standard
stroke play; the
modified Stableford format has been used since 2004.
The multiple winners of the event are
Rick Rhoden
Richard Alan Rhoden (born May 16, 1953) is a professional golfer and former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During his 16-year baseball career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1974–1978), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–1986), the Ne ...
(8),
Dan Quinn (5),
Billy Joe Tolliver
Billy Joe Tolliver (born February 7, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) for twelve seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta ...
(4),
Mark Mulder
Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All-S ...
(3),
Tony Romo
Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
(3),
Jack Wagner (2), and
Mark Rypien
Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962) is a Canadian-born former American football quarterback who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State and was drafted by the Washington Redsk ...
(2). Actor Wagner is the only non-professional athlete to have won the event, and Mulder is the only one to win
three consecutive.
In July 2015, American Century Investments extended its sponsorship to 2022.
[
]
Winners
*2022 Tony Romo
Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
(3)
*2021 Vinny Del Negro
Vincent Joseph Del Negro (born August 9, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the head coach of the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls from 2008 to 2010, and the Los Angeles Clippers from 2010 to 2013. ...
*2020 Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.Fish won six tournaments on the mai ...
*2019 Tony Romo (2)
*2018 Tony Romo
*2017 Mark Mulder
Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All-S ...
(3)[
*2016 Mark Mulder (2)
*2015 Mark Mulder
*2014 ]Mark Rypien
Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962) is a Canadian-born former American football quarterback who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State and was drafted by the Washington Redsk ...
(2)
*2013 Billy Joe Tolliver
Billy Joe Tolliver (born February 7, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) for twelve seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta ...
(4)
*2012 Dan Quinn (5)
*2011 Jack Wagner (2)
*2010 Billy Joe Tolliver (3)
*2009 Rick Rhoden
Richard Alan Rhoden (born May 16, 1953) is a professional golfer and former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During his 16-year baseball career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1974–1978), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–1986), the Ne ...
(8)
*2008 Rick Rhoden (7)
*2007 Chris Chandler
*2006 Jack Wagner
*2005 Billy Joe Tolliver (2)
*2004 Dan Quinn (4)
*2003 Rick Rhoden (6)
*2002 Dan Quinn (3)
*2001 Dan Quinn (2)
*2000 Al Del Greco
Albert Louis Del Greco (born March 2, 1962) is a former American football placekicker and a current sports radio personality. After eight years as golf coach at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, Del Greco was named the head coach of th ...
*1999 Rick Rhoden (5)
*1998 Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...
*1997 Rick Rhoden (4)
*1996 Billy Joe Tolliver
*1995 Rick Rhoden (3)
*1994 Dick Anderson
Richard Paul Anderson (born February 10, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 196 ...
*1993 Rick Rhoden (2)
*1992 Dan Quinn
*1991 Rick Rhoden
*1990 Mark Rypien[
]
References
External links
*
{{coord, 38.966, -119.948, display=title
Golf in Nevada
Douglas County, Nevada
Celebrity competitions
Recurring sporting events established in 1990
1990 establishments in Nevada