Alongside a terrific career with the Dallas Cowboys, including being selected to four Pro Bowls and leading the franchise in all-time passing touchdowns and passing yards, Tony Romo has arguably found just as much success in the game of golf.
After his retirement from the NFL in 2017, Romo has never fallen below the top three finishers in the American Century Championship (ACC) celebrity golf tournament from 2018 to 2022. And that’s after three second-place finishes when he was the starting quarterback for the Cowboys.
This consistent success has allowed Romo to become one of the annual favorites to win the tournament each summer.
Amidst all of his success in the game of golf, Romo retains his amateur status in order to raise money for charities. The ACC has donated over $7 million to nonprofits throughout its history.
At 5-2 odds, Romo is the favorite to win the 2023 tournament at Lake Tahoe, according to Caesars Sportsbook. He has been the favorite or co-favorite almost every year since he started to compete in Lake Tahoe, where the tournament now enters its 34th year.
While Romo has won the event in three of the last five years, the strong competition will surely make it a horse race with challengers like John Smoltz and former champions Mardy Fish and Vinny Del Negro in the field.
Caesars Sportsbook has Fish, the 2020 ACC winner, and tennis legend, as the second choice at 11/4. Del Negro, former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers, stands as the fifth choice at 12-1, with Annika Sorenstam (8-1) and Mark Mulder (5-1) also expected to contend.
Fish has finished amongst the top 10, and never below seventh place, in the American Century Golf celebrity tournament since his retirement from professional tennis in 2015.
Since his retirement from baseball in 2010, Mulder has finished in the top 10 of the tournament in 9 of the last 10 years, including a “three-peat” from 2015-2017.
Also among the expected contenders is NBA superstar Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry, who has 12-1 odds to win the tournament.
Barkley Top 70 Prop
One of the most popular propositional bets on the board involves prominent NBA TV analyst and media personality Charles Barkley has a 7,500-1 and +350 chance.
Caesars Sportsbook of Las Vegas has established a prop bet of whether or not Barkley can finish in the top 70 of the 90+ player field.
Last year, Barkley tied for 74th place with former Yankees’ ace CC Sabathia at the 2022 American Century Championship. According to Caesars Sportsbook, Charles Barkley has a 7,500-1 and +350 chance to crack the top 70.
This year, the official proposition bet appears as follows on the wagering sheets and at betting parlors:
American Century Championship
Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course
July 14-16, 2023
TOP 70 FINISH: CHARLES BARKLEY
Yes +350
No – 470
Bettors who believe that the good-natured TNT sports personality can ride his improved swing to a finish in the Top 70 will win $350 for each $100 wagered on the “Yes” proposition. Those convinced that the former NBA Most Valuable Player will fail to place in the Top 70 would bet “No” and must risk $470 to win $100. Caesars Sportsbook has offered the proposition bet each of the past two years, and Barkley came up short, finishing 76th in 2021 and 74th in 2022 amidst much fanfare in media and at the tournament, which attracts galleries in excess of 60,000 fans.
Barkley’s best finish over 27 starts at Lake Tahoe came in 1995, when he placed 60th, two years after winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award for the Phoenix Suns. The last time he posted a Top 70 came in 2002 when he finished 69th during his second year of retirement.
The 54-hole tournament is set for Friday – Sunday, July 14-16, at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in the destination resort, where it was launched by NBC Sports in 1990.
The event will be televised by GOLF Channel and NBC Sports with nine hours of coverage over the three days. Coverage is also available on the NBC Sports App and via streaming on Peacock. The tournament will be scored using a modified Stableford format awarding points per hole as follows: double-eagle – 10, hole-in-one – 8, eagle – 6, birdie – 3, par – 1, bogey – 0, double bogey — (minus 2).
