2013 American Century Championship Recap

After six days of golf, parties and celebrities we’re still trying to catch up on sleep. In case you missed the American Century Championship (we hope you didn’t!), we’ve got you covered with a recap of the week.

Tuesday-Thursday: The first three days of the tournament are all Celeb Pro-Am rounds. What does that mean? Well some lucky folks got to golf with celebrities such as Alex Smith, Michael Phelps, Stephen Curry and John Elway – among others. 

For the last three years Korbel has hosted the "Korbel Spray-off" – a contest to see who can launch their cork the furthest. They graciously opened the event to the media on Wednesday afternoon. Tom Pelissero of USA Today, won with 81 ft. The celebrities competed throughout the day on Thursday and Shane Battier took first place with 100 ft. – which flew over the fence!

Shane Battier in the Korbel Spray Off Thursday, July 18.
Photo: Korbel

After the final Pro-Am round Thursday, Korbel held a Hole-in-One competition on Edgewood's infamous Hole 17 on Friday afternoon. No one made a Hole-in-One, but Bode Miller was closest to the pin at 10 ft. 11 in. and used an 8 iron. Korbel donated $5,000 to the Tahoe Tallac Association.

Bode Miller helps present the check to the Tahoe Tallac Association.
Photo: American Century Championship

Friday-Sunday: The tournament kicked off and there were a number of leaders over the three days – Chris Chandler, Stephen Curry, Mark Rypien, Jeremy Roenick, Lucas Black, Billy Joe Tolliver and John Elway. Sunday afternoon was a nail biter. It actually came down to a tie between Mark Rypien and Billy Joe Tolliver! How does one determine a win when there's a tie? Play Hole 18 over and over until someone is determined the winner. In this case, after playing 18 three additional times, Billy Joe Tolliver was named the 24th annual American Century Championship winner!

Tournament Highlights:
Jeremy Roenick catches pass on Hole 17 from John Elway, then takes out caddie, and tackles tree.

Roenick puts on a show for the spectators at 17.
Photo: Tahoe Daily Tribune

The play-off between Rypien and Tolliver. Rypien, Hole 18, Round 2.

Billy Joe Tolliver lines up his put during the first round of sudden death playoffs.
Photo: American Century Championship

And how about the nightlife? Harveys Outdoor Concert Series hosted Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts while MontBleu kept the party going throughout the week with Atmosphere, Slightly Stoopid and its first ever Bass Camp Festival. If you missed the concerts there were plenty of celeb sightings to be had at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe’s own Party with Arty and Peek.

Tim McGraw makes his way through the crowd.
Photo: Tiara Wasner

Who else is ready for the 25^th Anniversary next year?

Tiara works for Weidinger Public Relations and assists with PR efforts for American Century Championship – Tahoe Celebrity Golf. As an outdoor enthusiast, Tahoe is the perfect playground for Tiara to combine work with play.

Erin Leigh works for Weidinger Public Relations and assists with PR efforts for the American Century Championship – Tahoe Celebrity Golf. As a sports player and fan, Erin Leigh enjoys all sports, especially ice hockey. In addition, Tahoe offers no-edits necessary scenic beauty which she likes to capture with one of her three cameras.