SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The American Century Championship is set to get underway today, bringing a record 93 celebrities to the shores of Lake Tahoe.
Today’s opening round on the 6,709-yard Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course is sold out and will also include the annual Celebrity Hole-In-One Contest. This year’s competition will bring together 10 players and one Korbel California Champagne distributor representative with two chances each to record a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th hole from 155 yards out. A hole-in-one will earn $250,000 to the player and a local charity. If an ace is not achieved, the player closest to the pin (within two feet) will receive $25,000 to split with the local charity. If not within two feet, $5,000 will awarded to charity.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, a three-time winner, is the favorite to defend his title. Romo is at 5-to-2, according to Caesars Sportsbook, followed by former tennis player Mardy Fish (11-to-4) and former MLB pitcher Mark Mulder (5-to-1).
“Obviously it’s very enjoyable and rewarding to go out and win at anything you do,” said Romo during Wednesday’s press conference. “But I do think it gets tougher every time because the depth of the field is now — it’s much deeper than it’s ever been. For so long it used to be three, four people you felt like. We got easily 12, I feel like, could be 20. Every year someone’s improved. It’s a golf course that gives you opportunities. Someone gets hot, they’ll be in the mix.”
Romo won the event last year with a high score of 62 using the Modified Stableford scoring format, in which points are scored based on the number of strokes taken at each hole…
