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Grip It And Rip It! New Stableford Scoring System At American Century Championship At Lake Tahoe Rewards Risk Swashbuckling Style of Play Makes Room At the Top Contact Steve Griffith SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Nev. (March 14, 2003) - Golf's pre-eminent professional celebrity tournament, the American Century Championship, will switch from stroke-play to the Stableford Scoring System for the 2003 event, July 15-20 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. The change opens the door to big hitters taking big risks for big rewards. The 14th annual midsummer spectacle, renown for big-name sports and entertainment celebrities including Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith and Charles Barkley, will award $500,000 in prize money according to the standard USGA-approved point system - a similar format is used by touring professionals during The International, the PGA Tour's annual stop in Castle Pines, CO. The change should enable avid, risk taking stars to display a new go-for-it-all mentality on every hole -- where birdie is king. The power of many of the athletes combined with the 6,300-foot Lake Tahoe elevation could relegate the course's four par 5s to the endangered species list. The new format also fits the nature of the South Lake Tahoe resort venue to a tee. NBC Sports will provide five hours of live coverage on Saturday and Sunday with ESPN carrying Friday's opening round telecast. Boldness will be rewarded as holes at bogey, par and better earn points, while the penalty for aggressive shots that result in double bogey or higher is tolerable at zero. Adventurous shots that wouldn't have been prudent in past events could be the secret to success in 2003. Galleries will appreciate that steady play in this event could take a back seat to a more spectacular, fearless approach. And that translates to more room at the top for potential winners of the $100,000 first place prize. It also means the driver is out of the bag on many holes for the plethora of big hitters who count the American Century Championship as the most important tournament of the year. The Stableford System awards points to the player based upon the outcome of each hole. The points breakdown follows:
The 54-hole tournament, played at Edgewood Tahoe's 6,707-yard lakeside course since its inception in 1990, will feature a field of 78 celebrities. Five-time champion Rick Rhoden is an early entry. The former All-Star pitcher turns 50 in May and is expected to play in select PGA Champions Tour events via sponsor exemption. Mario Lemieux, the 1999 champion, and former hockey star Dan Quinn, the defending champion, are also entered in a field expected to be the strongest in tournament history. The full field will be announced in May. The event is sponsored by American Century Investments, a premier investment manager serving financial intermediaries, institutions and nearly two million individual investors. Advance tickets and lodging packages are available at www.tahoecelebritygolf.com. Prices are $10 each day for the Lake Tahoe Celebrity-Amateur on Tuesday, July 15, the practice round on Wednesday, July 16, and the American Century Celebrity-Am on Thursday, July 17; and $20 for each tournament round, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For ticket or lodging information call 1-800-AT-TAHOE or 530-544-5050. |