This week, an all-star field takes on the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe. But it’s not a collection of the best professional golfers in the world. It’s a field full of big-name celebrities and athletes hoping to take down the 2024 American Century Championship. Here are all the best bets and fantasy picks for the 2024 American Century Championship.
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2024 American Century Championship Fantasy Picks and Best Bets
Format
The American Century Championship is a three-round modified Stableford format. The scoring is as follows:
- Double Eagle: 10 points
- Hole-In-One: 8 points
- Eagle: 6 points
- Birdie: 3 points
- Par: 1 point
- Double Bogey+: -2 points
Whoever accrues the highest Stableford score over the course of three rounds wins the American Century Championship and $125,000.
2024 American Century Championship Picks – Fantasy Picks
You can fill out a roster of five celebrities or athletes and play Fantasy American Century Championship! Here is who you should pick:
Group 1 – Mardy Fish
Per the USGA GHIN system, Mardy Fish is the best player in the field. He has the lowest handicap of any competitor at the 2024 American Century Championship. As of this writing, Mardy Fish owns a +3.1 handicap and plays out the exclusive Bel-Air Country Club.
Leading up to the 2024 American Century Championship, Mardy Fish has had a few clunkers recently in his scores. But in his last posted score on the GHIN app, Mardy Fish shot 69 in competition with a differential of -2.9. And most of Fish’s recent posted scores have come in competition. That means he’s primed and ready to handle the pressures of putting up a good score at a tournament.
Mardy Fish is a great pick for Group 1 of the 2024 American Century Championship Fantasy Challenge.
Group 2 – Matt Ryan
Retirement seems to be pretty good for Matt Ryan’s golf game. Matt Ryan currently holds a 0.0 handicap and has been playing a ton of golf ahead of the 2024 American Century Championship.
Among his most recent scores were three consecutive rounds with a negative differential, meaning that he has the capability of stringing together three consecutive low rounds. That’s a big bonus for his prospects at the 2024 American Century Championship.
Playing out of the Cherokee Town & Country Club, Matt Ryan is a solid pick in Group 2 for the 2024 American Century Championship Fantasy Challenge.
Group 3 – Chase Utley
There are a few golfers in this group that possess similar handicaps to Chase Utley. Not only has Utley been playing a lot of golf ahead of the 2024 American Century Championship, but it’s mostly good golf.
Playing out of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Chase Utley currently holds a 4.6 handicap and recently posted two consecutive rounds of differentials less than that in 2024. Riding good form and playing on a difficult golf course, Utley is a great pick in Group 3 of the 2024 American Century Championship Fantasy Challenge.
Group 4 – Mike Vrabel
The Titans’ decision to can Mike Vrabel after the 2023 NFL Season was a head-scratching decision. It was even more surprising that no team picked Vrabel to fill their head coaching vacancy for the 2024 season.
But what does a man like Mike Vrabel do with suddenly loads of free time? He plays tons of golf. And that’s exactly what Mike Vrabel has been doing ahead of the 2024 American Century Championship.
Playing out of the Richland Country Club in Tennessee, Mike Vrabel currently holds a handicap of 8.0. And all his rounds that comprise this handicap have come since May. That means his handicap is about as solid as it comes in this competition.
In addition, Mike Vrabel has posted a score with a better differential than his handicap in his last two rounds.
Considering his status as a mid-handicapper, Mike Vrabel is playing some pretty good golf right now. He’s a great pick in Group 4 of the 2024 American Century Championship Fantasy Challenge.
Group 5 – Kyle Rudolph
Kyle Rudolph has an abysmal showing at last year’s American Century Challenge. Out of 93 competitors, Rudolph finished T86 with a cumulative stableford score of -46. While that would be an absurd score to post in a stroke play event, a negative score in stableford means you were a struggle bus for the tournament.
But Kyle Rudolph is out for redemption in 2024, and it seems like he’s locked in and focused on putting in a better showing. According to his GHIN app results, he’s been playing a ton of golf recently. He currently holds a handicap of 13.4 and plays out of Spring Hill Golf Club in Minnesota. Most of his recent rounds have been around his handicap.
Most of the choices in Group 5 hold handicaps well in excess of 15. If Kyle Rudolph can handle the pressures of playing in the American Century Championship and play to his baseline, he should be the best performer in Group 5.
American Century Championship Picks – Best Bets
Here are the best bets to make to win the 2024 American Century Championship:
Austin Reaves (+600)
Austin Reaves holds the second-lowest handicap of all golfers at the 2024 American Century Championship. As of this writing, Reaves holds a handicap of +2.2, which is the lowest handicap he’s achieved.
Playing out of the Westside Golf Collective, Reaves has posted a score with a negative differential in four of his last five rounds. Reaves is in great form ahead of the 2024 American Century Championship, and he’s a great pick to win it at +600.
John Smoltz (+600)
Father time has not slowed down, John Smoltz. He has a passion for competitive golf and playing at a high level. And at the age of 57, he shows no signs of slowing down. As of this writing, John Smoltz holds a handicap of +2.0, which is only 0.1 away from his career-low handicap on the GHIN app.
Playing out of the Hawks Ridge Golf Club, John Smoltz has posted a negative differential score in four of his last five rounds. And all rounds that comprise his current handicap have come in 2024, which makes it relatively accurate.
Smoltz lost to Vinney del Negro in heartbreaking fashion at the 2021 American Century Championship in a playoff. He’s arguably the best player never to win this tournament.
Like his Braves in the 90s, he doesn’t want to go down as a great player but a perpetual bridesmaid. He’ll be very motivated to win the 2024 American Century Championship and is a solid pick to win at +600.
Charles Barkley Over 75.5 Finishing Position (-155)
Charles Barkley has tried everything. He’s worked with dozens of swing coaches in his career. He’s claimed dozens of times in his career how he has a new and improved swing.
And yet, the man continues to duff it up on the golf course time and time again. It’s so bad that despite how often he plays golf, he hasn’t posted a legitimate score in the GHIN at Whisper Rock!
There are 88 players in the field at the 2024 American Century Championship. And while Barkley has managed to finish better than 75.5 in two out of the last four years, one of those was a 69th-place finish…in a field of 70 golfers.
Bettors are laying serious juice on the over, but that’s the correct side. Pick Charles Barkley to finish worse than 75.5 at the 2024 American Century Championship.