News Archives

1988 - 1999
2000
2001
2002
2003 to present

News on Sampras

Posted on: July 12th, 2003

Pete to take part in a celebrity golf tournament

- petepage

[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; a bogey will cost them a point and two over par on a hole will mean a two p
oint deduction.

"I think it will keep guys in the tournament longer," said two-time defending champion Dan Quinn. "If you have a couple of bad holes early and make a couple of birdies or something coming in, it gives you a decent score as far as having a point total."

Although he isn't entered, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will keep things interesting next week.

The self-made billionaire plans to use the American Century Championship and its long list of stars to raise more than $100,000 for the Fallen Patriot Fund, a charity that provides financial assistance to families who have lost loved ones serving the United States in Iraq.

"I'm going to be bouncing around and trying to extract money from as many people as possible," Cuban said. "I can be very persuasive at times."

One of Cuban's scheduled money-making gimmicks is an autograph session with Aikman on Thursday. The pair will sign a tournament poster or a memorabilia item for $20.

Autograph seekers are encouraged to attend practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. No cameras or video cameras are permitted during the 54-hole tournament.

Ticket prices are $10 for the Lake Tahoe Celebrity-Amateur on Tuesday, the practice round on Wednesday and the American Century Celebrity-Am on Thursday. Tickets are $20 for each tournament round July 18-20.

ESPN will show tape-delayed coverage of Friday's first round and NBC will provide live second- and third-round coverage on the weekend.

Recent Headlines

April 01, 2012

November 20, 2011

October 29, 2011

October 01, 2011

July 13, 2011

June 18, 2011

May 04, 2011

 

 

Back to News