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American Century Championship reveals 2016 lineup; celebrity golf tournament returns to Edgewood Tahoe in July

Staff report
Justin Timberlake fires up the crowd at the 17th hole during last year’s American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. The entertainment superstar signed on to play at this year’s tournament after making his debut in 2015.
Anthony Gentile / Tahoe Daily Tribune |

2016 AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP ACCEPTANCE LIST

As of April 21, subject to change

Jared Allen

Marcus Allen

Anthony Anderson

Charles Barkley

Brian Baumgartner

Josh Beckett

Jerome Bettis

James Blake

Blake Bortles

Tim Brown

Billy Bush

Larry the Cable Guy

Cris Carter

Joe Carter

Roger Clemens

Cris Collinsworth

David Cone

Lisa Cornwell

Dell Curry

Terrell Davis

Jay Demarcus

Vinny Del Negro

Herm Edwards

John Elway

Marshall Faulk

Mardy Fish

Larry Fitzgerald

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Trent Green

Robbie Gould

Jim Harbaugh

Rodney Harrison

A.J. Hawk

Todd Helton

Trevor Hoffman

Oliver Hudson

Andre Iguodala

Sebastian Janikowski

Chipper Jones

David Justice

Brian Kelly

Steve Kerr

Heather LeMaster

Marvin Lewis

Kenny Lofton

Derek Lowe

Greg Maddux

Brandon Marshall

Jim McMahon

Kevin Millar

Bode Miller

Mike Modano

Mark Mulder

Kevin Nealon

John O’Hurley

Blair O’Neal

T.J. Oshie

Carson Palmer

Patrick Peterson

Dan Quayle

Alfonso Ribeiro

Jerry Rice

Rob Riggle

Willie Robertson

Aaron Rodgers

Ivan Rodriguez

Joe Don Rooney

Mark Rypien

Bret Saberhagen

Tyler Seguin

Sterling Sharpe

Alex Smith

Emmitt Smith

Kathryn Tappen

Golden Tate

Joe Theismann

Justin Timberlake

Brian Urlacher

Brian Vickers

Jack Wagner

Tim Wakefield

Michael Waltrip

Abby Wambach

Hines Ward

Wes Walker

David Wells

Deron Williams

Steve Young

STATELINE — A blockbuster gathering of 90 major sports and entertainment stars — including Charles Barkley, Justin Timberlake and five NFL starting quarterbacks — have signed on for the 27th annual American Century Championship, July 19-24, at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

America’s No. 1 celebrity golf tournament will feature a host of active football, basketball and hockey players as well as prominent entertainers. In addition to Barkley and Timberlake, some of the bigger names include Aaron Rodgers, Jerry Rice, John Elway, Steve Young, Jim Harbaugh, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Iguodala, T.J. Oshie, Emmitt Smith, Larry the Cable Guy, Willie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” and Kevin Nealon.

The 2016 American Century Championship (July 22-24) is scored with a Modified Stableford format and features a $600,000 purse with $125,000 for the winner. It will be televised live on NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. In addition to high-stakes competition, the tournament will raise money for the nonprofit Stowers Institute for Medical Research along with regional Lake Tahoe nonprofits.



With celeb-am competition beginning on Tuesday, July 19, it’s six days of celebrity sightings, celebrations and a fair share of wild swings, long putts and errant golf shots along the famed lakefront course.

The field will also include a long list of famous first-timers with current NFL stars Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals) joined by Brandon Marshall (New York Jets), and Golden Tate (Detroit Lions), Andre Iguodala of the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter, former MLB star Todd Helton, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, Dallas Stars All-Star center Tyler Seguin and NASCAR driver Brian Vickers.



Four women will make their inaugural appearances at Tahoe, including two-time Olympic soccer gold medalist Abby Wambach, 2013 Women’s World Long Drive champion Heather LeMaster, NHL on NBC host Kathryn Tappen, and Golf Channel host Blair O’Neal. Golf Channel host Lisa Cornwell returns for 2016, bringing the number of female competitors to six — the largest in tournament history.

The elite field of athletes includes 11 Hall of Famers and dozens who earned Most Valuable Player awards. Among the NFL Hall of Famers are Marcus Allen, Tim Brown, John Elway, Jerry Rice, Marshall Faulk, Jerome Bettis and the aforementioned Smith, Young and Carter.

They will be joined by a strong contingent of active NFL quarterbacks. That group includes 2014 MVP Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers), Blake Bortles (Jacksonville Jaguars), Ryan Fitzpatrick (New York Jets), Alex Smith (Kansas City Chiefs) and Carson Palmer (Arizona Cardinals).

The coaching delegation features Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan, Brian Kelly of Notre Dame, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals, and former coach-turned-analyst Herm Edwards. Former Vice President Dan Quayle also returns to the field in 2016.

Major League Baseball pitchers are well represented by defending champion Mark Mulder, Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Trevor Hoffman, David Wells, Bret Saberhagen, Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett and Derek Lowe. Former stars Chipper Jones, Joe Carter, David Justice, Kenny Lofton, Pudge Rodriguez, Kevin Millar will be going deep at Tahoe.

One of golf’s longest-running broadcast television events, the American Century Championship has been staged at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in the recreation/gaming destination resort town since its inception in 1990. It’s an annual reunion for players and fans celebrating the area’s most popular summer event in the relaxed setting and spectacular beauty of Lake Tahoe.

More than 40,000 are expected to line the fairways, beaches and party from aboard speedboats, sailboats and chartered yachts along the shoreline. Celebrations that include footballs, basketballs, baseballs and hockey pucks tossed by players to beachcombers and bikini-clad fans along No. 17, the lakefront par 3 party hole has become an annual attraction for TV viewers and attendees alike.

The interaction between players and galleries is what keeps the fans coming back. There’s Charles Barkley’s running commentary and worry about his infamous swing and apologies for errant shots; Jerry Rice running post patterns along the beach and reaching up for a pass lofted by an NFL quarterback; Alfonso Ribeiro, now the host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” reprising “The Carlton” dance from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” — all that plus the selfies, autographs and good times that brand this tournament as singular.

For ticket information, the latest details, photos, celebrity tweets and fan contests, visit @ACChampionship on Twitter and Instagram and facebook.com/LTCelebrityGolf. For tournament information, visit http://www.americancenturychampionship.com.


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