STATELINE, Nev. – Jack Christopher, 99 and his girlfriend, Doris Day, 90 sit in the Lake Tahoe Visitor Authority’s VIP tent overlooking the Ninth Hole Green at the 2023 American Century Championship. If he wants to go somewhere on the course, a golf cart will drive him wherever he’d like, although he doesn’t want to make too many demands. While he’s there to see the celebrities, Christopher himself is treated like a celebrity, thanks to the efforts of his daughter Heidi Christopher. 

According to a representative of ACC, Heidi reached out to the organization, asking if she could buy tickets to make a long-dream of her dad come true. They instead offered to give her free tickets, as well as giving her dad the VIP treatment. 

“I’ve always been a sports fan all my life, basketball, baseball, golf. I watch all the major tournaments,” said Christopher. 

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Christopher was a mathematics professor at Sacramento State University. He started in 1964 and retired in 2000. 

Christopher has been watching ACC on television for several years and Day, who he has been dating for 10 years, has a summer home in Tahoma so he thought it’d be easy to drive over and watch the tournament in person. 

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He said the whole atmosphere of the tournament was enjoyable. 

“We were at the 17th hole, it was pretty exciting watching them shoot baskets,” Christopher said. 

One celebrity Christopher wanted to meet was basketball legend Charles Barkley. They saw Barkley walking between holes and he came over to say hi to Christopher. 

“It was nice… he asked where I was from and he knew about the Sacramento Kings, he said they were a much better team now then they had been,” Christopher said. 

Following the event, Heidi said they were overwhelmed by the kindness of humanity they saw on display at the tournament.
“He was so grateful for what so many people did for him,” Heidi said. “We could have never seen so much without the kindness of others.” 

Christopher’s 100th birthday is just around the corner on October 15.