Samprasfanz

[July 11, 2003 Source: Tribune sports] Pete will be taking part in the Celebrity 14th American Century Championship from July 18 – 20, 2003.

Dig out the signature-needy memorabilia and start memorizing a new scoring system.

The underlying theme for next week’s 14th American Century Championship is change. Not only has the tournament name been condensed, but the 78-player field sports enough new star quality to rival an Academy Awards night.

Throwing their names into the hat for the $500,000 championship for the first time are former single-season home run king Mark McGwire, three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Troy Aikman, six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen, Michael “Danny Noonan” O’Keefe, comedian Dennis Miller, Notre Dame football coach Tyrone Willingham, former Green Bay Packer receiver Sterling Sharpe, actor Dennis Quaid and radio personality Rush Limbaugh.

They’ll complement an experienced star-studded player list that includes Michael Jordan, John Elway, Jerry Rice, Charles Barkley, Mario Lemieux, Emmitt Smith, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Bode Miller and Marshall Faulk. All seven champions, including five-time winner Rick Rhoden, are entered as well.

Olympic gold medalists Lisa Fernandez and Cammi Granato give the event its first female competitors since Ann Meyers and Bonnie Blair participated in 1996.

In a golf twist, the highest scorer will capture the $100,000 first prize.

NBC, which televises two of the three rounds, discarded stroke play for a modified Stableford scoring format. Players will collect 10 points for a double eagle, six for an eagle and two for a birdie