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. 

Host resort Harrah's Lake Tahoe continues American Century Championship tradition

Where do American Century Championship celebrity golfers go after their day on the links at Edgewood Tahoe? Look no further than Harrah's casino resort.

This Northern Nevada gaming pioneer property is the host resorts for Lake Tahoe’s longest-running and most prominent celebrity golf tournaments.

Harrah's Lake Tahoe is a one-of-kind destination in the region, with welcoming guest rooms, exceptional restaurants, a world-class swimming pool, spa and casino.

Don't miss Harrah's world class pool when you visit this summer.

For casino history buffs, Harrah's Lake Tahoe is branded with the name of its former owner William Fisk Harrah and owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp. It is an 18-story tower with 525 rooms, plenty of restaurants, nightclubs, entertainment venues including the vaulted South Shore Room plus 65,000-square feet of casino space. 

Harrah's was first established in Lake Tahoe when William F. Harrah purchased George's Gateway Club in January 1955 for $500,000 and Harrah’s Lake Club opened June 20, 1955. This is now Harrah’s sister hotel, Harveys Lake Tahoe.

In 1956 Harrah’s Lake Club was sold for $5,250,000 in cash to Harvey Gross, which at the time was the most expensive casino purchase ever. In 1958 Harrah acquired an interest in the Stateline Country Club and Nevada Club across the street (Harrah's current location) and opened Harrah's Stateline Club.

The South Shore Room opened at Harrah's Tahoe in 1959. The 750-seat showroom has cemented a reputation as an entertainment leader by featuring such superstars Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, The Moody Blues and comedy legends Joan Rivers and Don Rickles throughout the decades.

Bill Harrah had been planning to build a hotel at Lake Tahoe for many years and in 1971, when Harrah's went public, he finally had the finances available to build his dream hotel. In 1972 Harrah broke ground on his $25-million, 18-story, 250-room hotel which opened November 9, 1973. Each 500 square-foot room was furnished with a fully stocked bar, bay windows, 2 bathrooms with TVs and telephones. Harrah's Lake Tahoe earned the first five-star diamond rating in casino history. The hotel was later expanded with 290 additional rooms in 1976.

In 2000 Harrah’s completed a $26 million renovation to update the casino, hotel rooms and restaurants on the 18th floor including the Forest Buffet and the award-winning Friday’s Station Steak and Seafood Grill.

In 2005 and 2006 Caesars Entertainment Corp (formerly Harrah's Entertainment) began a major remodel of floors 12 to 15 of the hotel, remaking the rooms in mini suites with large couches, dry bars and new decor and furniture. Next was a remodel of the hotel's lobby, adding a food court and luxury diamond outlet, Park Place Jewelers, in 2007. Efforts to renovate have ranked Harrah's Lake Tahoe as classiest out of the four casinos in Stateline.

The addition of the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys has brought star-studded performers like Elton John, the Eagles and Steely Dan to South Shore for more than a decade. 

The 2013 Summer Concert Series features Tim McGraw, opening Tuesday, July 16, which is coincidently the first day of the American Century Championship, followed by Rascal Flatts and The Band Perry, July 19.

Advance tickets are available here, online at TahoeSouth.com, and at retail locations beginning April 1 and daily during the tournament at the gate. Tickets are also being sold at 127 Raley's, Nob Hill and Bel Air locations throughout Northern California and Nevada starting in June.