The celebrity golf tournament is usually a raucous, boisterous, fun-filled event on the shores of South Lake Tahoe every summer, but this year’s event began on a more somber note.
The American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament is Friday-Sunday at Edgewood Tahoe.
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield played in the ACC last summer, for the 11th straight year, then died from brain cancer on Oct. 1. His wife, Stacey, died five months later from pancreatic cancer.
NBC TV, tournament and South Lake Tahoe city officials announced a Tim Wakefield fund on Wednesday at Edgewood, which will benefit the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center.
Tim and Stacey Wakefield, who recorded of video of themselves dancing at Edgewood in 2023, are survived by two children.
NBC is launching an ongoing $10,000 contributions in the names of Tim and Stacy Wakefield to recognize the Wakefields’ legacy of philanthropy as well as their association with the tournament.
The South Lake Tahoe Recreation and Aquatics Center will use the donation to purchase two pitching machines for the center, opening in 2026. The tournament is also looking to generate matching contributions throughout the area with businesses, residents and celebrity participants.
Also, Wakefield’s number 49 will be on celebrity’s hats during the tournament this year, a No. 49 decal will be positioned 49 yards from the front of 18 green and a No. 49 pin will be on No. 18 green.
The new recreation and swim complex will be across from the campground on Highway 50, across from Lakeview Commons.
A plaque will be placed at the site with the names of Tim and Stacey Wakefield.
Can Charles Barkley crack the top 75?
Charles Barkley, the NBA TV analyst and media personality, will once again be the subject of his own wagering, with odds of whether or not he can finish in the top 75 player in the field.
For the previous three years, the Caesars Sportsbook proposition had Barkley pursuing a top-70 finish, but he has yet to accomplish that so far, leading to the sportsbook making it a top-75 finish this year.
This year, the official proposition bet sets up as follows: a “yes” bet is plus-125 while betting “no” offers minus 155 odds.
Bettors who believe that Barkley can finish in the Top 75 will win $125 for each $100 wagered on the “yes” proposition. Those convinced that the former NBA Most Valuable Player will fail to place in the Top 75 would bet “no” and will risk $155 to win $100.
Caesars Sportsbook offered the proposition at Top 70 each of the past three years, and Barkley finished 76th in 2021, 74th in 2022 and 81st in 2023.
Barkley’s best finish over 27 starts at Lake Tahoe was in 1995, when he placed 60th, two years after winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award for the Phoenix Suns. The last time he placed in the Top 70 was in 2020, when he finished 69th.
Celebrities not in the American Century Championship
Jimmy Fallon and DJ Khaled are not participating in the ACC this week, but they will be competing in a special challenge golf match Saturday.
Fallon is the host of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and Khaled is a Grammy-nominated producer and record executive.
Fallon vs. Khaled will begin on the par-3 17th hole at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course and will be a four-hole match (holes 17 and 18 twice), with the winner receiving a special red cardigan and bragging rights. The match will take place following the conclusion of Saturday’s third round at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The special challenge match will be open to the public, with spectators purchasing tickets to the American Century Championship Saturday having access to watch Fallon vs. Khaled.
Hole-in-one money at Tahoe celebrity golf tourney
American Century Investments is partnering to sponsor a $1 million hole-in-one prize for up to the first two celebrities to ace the par-3 17th hole during competition, Friday through Sunday.
And MasterCraft Boats is offering a $200,000 boat to the first player to ace the par-3 12th hole. MasterCraft is also partnering with St. Jude Children’s Hospital for the “Surf to Save Lives” campaign at the ACC.
American Century Championship Fantasy Golf Contest
The American Century Championship Fantasy Golf Contest returns for the fourth consecutive year.
Fans can build their teams at accfantasygolf.com for a chance to win one of four trips for two to next year’s tournament and $10,000 for a charity of their choice. Participants have until midnight Thursday, to pick their starting team of five players from the field.
The players are broken out in five groups, ranked by handicaps, and fans select a player in each of the groups.
Former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann said playing fantasy sports can build camaraderie, especially in an office environment.
“It basically is introducing a different extended group of people to the game itself through the world of fantasy, where they don’t have to get hit. They don’t have to try to hit a golf ball. They don’t have to go through the pain, but yet they can participate,” Theismann said. “You become an owner. You don’t get a chance to own organizations like football teams or baseball teams or play the game of golf the way it is, but you find the right kind of people, good things happen. So I think a lot of it is the camaraderie you create in an office and the opportunity to have something in ownership.”
Beat the Bot at Edgewood Tahoe
A golfing robot will be set up on the fifth hole Thursday at Edgewood as part of the “Beat the Bot” challenge to raise money for the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
The “Beat the Bot” charity challenge will take place during the scramble practice round. Golfers can compete with the robot in a tee shot challenge or play the robot’s ball. American Century Investments will donate $500 for each shot that beats the bot, up to $25,000, to the Stowers Institute, a biomedical research organization dedicated to defeating life-threatening diseases.
Instead of trying to beat the bot, which replicates the swing dynamics of human golfers and is used by major golf companies to test new equipment, players can make a donation to the Stowers Institute and opt to play the robot’s ball rather than their own.
Withdrawal: Joe Buck, a TV announcer for baseball and football, withdrew from the ACC on Wednesday.