Celebrity Golf tees off Tuesday
bregan@tahoedailytribune.com

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THE VETERANS
Marcus Allen NFL Hall of Fame RB
Ray Allen NBA Guard: Miami Heat
Charles Barkley NBA Hall of Famer
Shane Battier NBA Forward: Miami Heat
Brian Baumgartner Actor: The Office
Jerome Bettis Former NFL Pro-Bowl RB
Lucas Black Actor: Fast and the Furious
Martin Brodeur NHL All-Star G: Devils
Tim Brown Former NFL Pro-Bowl WR
Joe Buck Sports Anchor
Joe Carter Former MLB All-Star
LeftAlign.210Chris Chandler Former NFL QB
Vince Coleman Former All-Star OF
Stephen Curry NBA PG: Golden State
Vinny Del Negro Former NBA Head Coach
Jay Demarcus Rascal Flatts: Bass
Trent Dilfer Super Bowl Winning QB
Herm Edwards Former NFL Head Coach
John Elway NFL Hall of Fame QB
Mike Eruzione Captain: 1980 US Hockey Team
Marshall Faulk NFL Hall of Fame RB Class of 2011
Grant Fuhr NHL Hall of Fame G
Robbie Gould NFL K: Chicago Bears
Goose Gossage MLB Hall of Fame P
Trent Green Former NFL QB
Denny Hamlin NASCAR Driver
Penny Hardaway NBA All-Star G: Phoenix Suns
Rodney Harrison Former NFL Pro-Bowl S
AJ Hawk NFL Pro Bowl LB: Green Bay Packers
Sebastian Janikowski NFL Pro-Bowl K: Oakland Raiders
Dan Jansen Former Gold Medal Speed Skater
David Justice Former MLB All-Star
Steve Kerr Former NBA G
Kenny Lofton Former MLB All-Star OF
John Lynch Former NFL Pro-Bowl S
Greg Maddux Former MLB All-Star P
Fred McGriff Former MLB All-Star 1B
Jim McMahon Former NFL Pro-Bowl QB
Kevin Millar Former MLB 1B and OF
Bode Miller Olympic Gold Medalist: Skiing
Mike Modano Former NHL All-Star
Jamie Moyer Former MLB All-Star P
Mark Mulder Former MLB All-Star P
Kevin Nealon Actor/Comedian: Weeds, SNL
John O’Hurley Actor/Host: Seinfeld
Carson Palmer NFL Pro-Bowl QB: Cardinals
Dan Quinn Former NHL C
Ahmad Rashad NFL Pro-Bowl WR: Minnesota Vikings
Rick Rhoden Former MLB All-Star P
Alfonso Ribeiro Actor: Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Jerry Rice NFL Hall of Fame WR
Aaron Rodgers NFL Pro-Bowl QB: Green Bay Packers
Jeremy Roenick Former NHL All Star
Ray Romano Actor: Everybody Loves Raymond
Joe Don Rooney Rascal Flatts: Lead Guitarist
Mark Rypien Former NFL Pro-Bowl QB
Bret Saberhagen Former MLB Pitcher/World Series MVP
Joe Sakic NHL Hall of Famer
Sterling Sharpe Former NFL All-Pro WR
Kelly Slater Legendary Professional Surfer
Alex Smith NFL QB: Kansas City Chiefs
Emmitt Smith NFL Hall of Famer
Mike Smith NFL Head Coach: Atlanta Falcons
Ozzie Smith Former MLB All-Star SS
John Smoltz Former MLP All-Star P
Steve Spurrier NCAA Football Coach: Univ. of South Carolina
Joe Theismann Former NFL Pro-Bowl QB
Billy Joe Tolliver Former NFL QB
Brian Urlacher Former NFL All-Pro LB
Jack Wagner Actor: Melrose Place
Michael Waltrip NASCAR Driver
David Wells Former MLB All-Star P
THE ROOKIES
Jermaine Dye Former MLB All-Star OF
Bill Engvall Comedian: Blue Collar Comedy Tour
John Fox NFL Head Coach: Denver Broncos
Éric Gagné Former MLB All-Star & Cy Young Winner
Troy Glaus Former MLB All-Star 3B
Trevor Hoffman Former MLB All-Star P
Chipper Jones Former MLB All-Star 3B
Larry the Cable Guy Comedian: Blue Collar Comedy Tour
Derek Lowe Former MLB All-Star P
Michael Phelps 18 time Olympic Gold Medalist
Detlef Schrempf Former NBA All-Star
Ryan Succop NFL K: Kansas City Chiefs
Tim Wakefield Former MLB All-Star P
Gary Williams Host: Morning Drive
2013 Spectator Schedule of Events
Tuesday (Admission $15)
9 a.m. shotgun first tee Start Tahoe South Celebrity-Am
All Day Practice Rounds
No admission after 3 p.m.
Wednesday (Admission $15)
All Day Practice Rounds
12:30 p.m. Harrah’s Celebrity-Am Tournament
No admission after 3 p.m.
Thursday (Admission $15)
7 a.m. American Century Celeb-Am Tournament
9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Korbel Celebrity Spray-Off Competition at hole 17
No admission after 3 p.m.
Friday (Admission $25)
8:30 a.m. American Century Championship First Round
3:45 p.m.-Hole 17 Hole-in-One/Closest to the Pin Challenge
No admission after 1:30 p.m.
Televised live on NBC Sports Network: 1-4 p.m., 4-7 p.m.
Saturday (Admission $25)
8:30 a.m. American Century Championship Second Round
No admission after 1:30 p.m.
Televised live on NBC Sports Network: Noon-3 p.m., 3-6 p.m.
Sunday (Admission $25)
8:30 a.m. American Century Championship Final Round
No admission after 1:30 p.m.
Televised live on NBC Sports Network: Noon-3 p.m., 3-6 p.m.
Gates open for ticket sales at 7 a.m. every day. No photos or asking for autographs are allowed Tuesday-Thursday. Spectators may use point and shoot digital cameras Friday-Sunday. No sports memorabilia is permitted on property.
Celebrities are trickling in, fans are stockpiling autograph pens and the golf course is undergoing the manicure of a lifetime.
The South Shore is ready for the 24th Annual American Century Championship.
A total of 85 sports and entertainment stars will tee off at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course this week in the much-anticipated celebrity golf tournament, which runs Tuesday through Sunday. The celebrities will be vying for the $125,000 winner’s share of the $600,000 purse. More importantly, they will all be competing for bragging rights, and except for a few perennial bottom-dwellers, anyone’s got a shot.
Perhaps no one more so than defending champion Dan Quinn.
The former NHL star is more than ready to defend his 2012 title. He spent a week caddying for Ernie Els at the U.S. Open last month, and since then, Quinn has been doing his homework.
“Yeah, I have played a lot, and after the US Open, I will do nothing but (play golf),” Quinn said during a June conference call. “I have a month of golf, which is more than enough time. I live in Florida, I pretty much play year round other than the weeks I’m with Ernie. We played a bunch last week in preparation to come up here, and I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to defending and getting out there.”
But winning back-to-back tournaments is seldom done. Quinn defended his title just once and that was in 2002. MLB pitcher Rick Rhoden defended his title in 2008-09.
Odds makers, however, seem to like Quinn’s chances of going back-to-back. Early odds have him ranked No. 1, Rhoden ranked No. 2, and former NFL quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver sitting in the three spot. But these three have been shuffling around in the top three all summer, which is no huge surprise since Quinn is a five-time champion, Rhoden a tournament-leading eight-time champion and Tolliver a three-time champion, most recently in 2010.
But more than odds and more than championships, this tournament is about the celebrities, and like usual, all the big names will be there.
Notable returning players will be Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin, Olympic gold medalist skier Bode Miller, 11-time surfing World Champion Kelly Slater, NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, NHL Hall of Famer Brett Hull, NHL All-Star goalie Martin Brodeur, NBA champion Shane Battier of the Miami Heat, former New York Knicks point guard and Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd, and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The list goes on, and this year a few notable rookies were added to the lineup.
Michael Phelps, an 18-time gold medal Olympic swimmer, will make his ACC debut. Technically, Phelps is a beginner golfer, but after recent instruction from Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ swing coach, it’s hard to guess what he’ll be bringing to the links.
“Michael is incredibly competitive. He’s the greatest Olympian ever,” Haney said during a June press conference. “I’ve seen him in competition, even just having a friendly bet with some friends, and he can really turn it up.”
Turning it up on the golf course is exactly what Phelps has been doing for the past year. About a year ago, he was shooting between 98 and 117. He’s chopped more than 30 strokes off his game since.
“Believe it or not, the golf swing comes along pretty fast,” Haney said. “When Michael started, he felt like putting was the best part of his games, and then the last round we played, he shot 85 with three three-putts.
Joining Phelps in the ACC rookie ranks will be former MLB All-Stars Chipper Jones, Éric Gagné, Troy Glaus, Jermaine Dye, Derek Lowe, Trevor Hoffman and Tim Wakefield, along with former NBA All-Star Detlef Schrempf, Denver Bronco’s head coach John Fox and comedians Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall.
Of course the usual suspects and crowd favorites will be there, like Charles Barkley, Ray Romano and 2011 champion Jack Wagner.
Wagner, along with John Elway, Mike Eruzione and Jim McMahon, hasn’t missed an ACC tournament since its inception in 1990. He has two coveted championships and a handful of top five finishes to show for his 23 years.
So where’s the best place to watch all these celebrities take a swing?
“Spectators probably want to be out at 17 green on the weekend because that’s when the celebrities will autograph footballs and throw them into the crowd,” said Mike Milthorpe, ACC tournament director for more than 20 years.
Hole 17 is where all the action goes down. It’s the site for the Korbel Spray Off on Thursday; a competition to see which celebrity can shoot a cork farthest. It’s also the site for the Korbel Hole-in-One/Closest to the Pin Challenge on Friday, followed by a Big Break Golf Show exhibition on Saturday when 75 panes of glass will be brought out to see which celebrity can break the glass best.
Daily tickets are $15 for the Lake Tahoe Celebrity-Amateur on Tuesday, the practice round on Wednesday and the American Century Celebrity-Amateur on Thursday. Tickets are $25 for each tournament round on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A Patron Badge Season Pass, good for admission all six days, will be on sale for $60. Kids 10 and younger are free when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.
Advance tickets are available online at http://www.TahoeSouth.com, at specific retail locations or at the entrance gate during the tournament. Discounted tickets are also being sold at Raley’s, Nob Hill and Bel Air locations throughout Northern California and Nevada.
NOTES: There have been nine different winners in the event. Besides Rhoden, Quinn, Tolliver and Wagner, Mark Rypien (1990), Dick Anderson (1994), Mario Lemieux (1998), Al Del Greco (2000) and Chris Chandler (2007) have each won once. Wagner is the only non-athlete to win the event…
Gates open for ticket sales at 7 a.m. every day. No photos or asking for autographs are allowed Tuesday-Thursday. Spectators may use point and shoot digital cameras Friday-Sunday. No sports memorabilia is permitted on property.
Nevada Appeal sports editor Darrell Moody contributed to this report.

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