10/11/2006

California Celebrity Golf & Other Sports

Dancing no GOLFING with the Stars

Some call it the Super Bowl of Celebrity Sports. Others say it's the best destination vacation event in the USA. Either way, Tahoe Celebrity Golf Week featuring the American Century Championship is fun, exciting and will be the most memorable adventure of your summer. MJ, Ray Romano, LT, Barkley, Big Ben, The Donald, Lemieux, Ronde & Tiki Barber Shine at Celebrity Golf’s 17th Annual at Edgewood Tahoe, July 11-16 Lance Armstrong To Make Thursday Celebrity-Am Appearance (SOUTH SHORE, LAKE TAHOE, NV) -- Grab the shades with heavy UV because the star power is blinding: Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan, Ray Romano, Charles Barkley, Donald Trump, Ben Roethlisberger, Mario Lemieux, Don Cheadle, Pete Sampras and Jerry Rice will be among the 80 stars of stage, screen, sports arenas and stadiums at the 17th annual American Century Championship, celebrity golf’s most popular event, at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, July 11 – 16. The amped wattage of this year’s celebrity field is the brightest in the 17-year history of golf’s grandest gathering. The increased participation of Hollywood luminaries and hot, new personalities and athletes has tournament buzz at an all-time high. Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion will be making his first appearance at the event and playing in the Thursday Celebrity-Am field prior to departing for France to crown his successor. First timers include Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward of the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Olympic Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, actors Aidan Quinn and Dennis Haysbert, Chargers All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson, 1996 Soccer Gold Medalist Brandi Chastain, Iron Chef superstar Ming Tsai, actor and comedian Cheech Marin, Colorado Avalanche star Joe Sakic, Miami Heat All-Star forward Antoine Walker, Grammy recording artist Michael Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herman Edwards, and former Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill. South Shore Lake Tahoe will be Hollywood North and New York West and the spot for celebrity sightings, parties and superstar entertainment throughout the week. NBC Sports will televise the second and final rounds of the tournament live on Saturday, July 15 from noon - 2:00pm PT, and on Sunday, July 16 from noon - 3:00 PT. The Golf Channel will carry Friday’s opening round from noon – 2:00pm PT. The American Century Championship will award $500,000 in prize money – with $100,000 to the winner. Scoring is based on a modified Stableford format with 10 points for a double eagle, 8 for a hole-in-one, 6 for eagle, 3 for birdie, 1 for par, 0 for bogey, and minus 2 for double-bogey or higher. The 54-hole tournament has been played at Edgewood Tahoe’s 6,707-yard lakeside course since its inception in 1990. Defending champion and two-time winner Billy Joe Tolliver, the former NFL quarterback, will likely see his stiffest competition from four-time winner Dan Quinn and past champions Mario Lemieux, Al Del Greco and Mark Rypien. By virtue of his qualification for a conditional Champions Tour playing card, six-time winner Rick Rhoden is not in the field. In addition to the increased visibility of celebrities from the arts and entertainment fields, the comedic ranks joining the fun include Cheech Marin, Anthony Anderson, Kevin Nealon and John O’Hurley. The National Football League has piled-on the superstars. The All-Pros feature Ronde Barber (brother Tiki is on his bag), LaDainian Tomlinson, Derrick Brooks, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, Trent Green, Jason Taylor and the aforementioned Roethlisberger and Ward. Current and future Hall of Famers include John Elway, Marcus Allen, Jerry Rice, Emmit Smith, Bruce Smith, Marshall Faulk and Tim Brown. Basketball will be represented by legends Jordan and Barkley as well as Ray Allen of the Super Sonics, Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets and Antoine Walker of the Miami Heat. Other arenas – sports, political and television, feature tennis stars Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl; the world of cuisine with celebrity chefs Tsai and Bobby Flay; former Vice President Dan Quayle; Olympic Medalists Bleiler, Chastain, Dan Jansen, Mike Eruzione; television’s Dan Patrick, Ahmad Rashad, Digger Phelps and Maury Povich. The event is sponsored by American Century Investments, a premier investment manager serving financial intermediaries, institutions and nearly 1.2 million individual investors. Since its inception in 1990, Tahoe’s celebrity golf tournament has raised over $2 million for a variety of charities including the Uniformed Firefighters Association Scholarship Fund to provide college tuition assistance to the children of NYC firefighters lost on September 11 as well as Mark Cuban’s Fallen Patriot Fund to aid the families of soldiers killed or injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lance Armstrong, history’s greatest bicyclist recently collaborated with American Century Investments making the Lance Armstrong Foundation a major beneficiary of the tournament’s charity fundraising. Recently, the investment firm introduced a new series of asset allocation funds under the LIVESTRONG Portfolios banner. Autism Speaks, an organization involved with awareness of autism and education for parents about the importance of early intervention, is also a beneficiary, as well as Lake Tahoe-based non-profits. Tickets are available daily at the gate. Prices are $10 each day for the Lake Tahoe Celebrity-Amateur on Tuesday, July 11 and the practice round on Wednesday, July 12, and $20 for the American Century Celebrity-Am on Thursday, July 13, and for each tournament round, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For ticket or lodging information as well as Tournament packages, call 1-800-AT-TAHOE or 530-544-5050, or visit the Web site at: www.BlueLakeTahoe.com or www.tahoecelebritygolf.com. Check out the comments for more California Celebrity Sporting Events Or Click to Add your own recommendation