Adam Thielan leads, Jason Kelce avoided last place and Charles Barkley is in the red after one round of the American Century Championship.
Wait, back up to that last part …
Yes, for the first time in tournament history, Barkley earned points for a full round in the modified-Stableford scoring format. Despite struggling down the stretch, the NBA Hall of Famer finished at plus-3.
Barkley, long derided for his unaesthetic swing, has, with the help of noted instructor Stan Utley, ridded his hitch. The results were on display Friday at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Unlike standard stroke-play scoring, modified-Stableford employs a points system: 10 for an albatross; 8 for a hole-in-one; 5 for an eagle; 3 for a birdie; 1 for a par; 0 for a bogey; minus-2 for double bogey or worse.
With two birdies, six pars, three doubles and two bogeys over his first 13 holes Friday, Barkley had collected 6 points. He made two doubles, two bogeys and a par coming home to drop to 3 points, but it was still good enough for his first positive total.
Two years ago, Barkley bet $100,000 on himself – at 5-to-1 odds – to finish inside the top 70 in the 88-player field. He tied for 76th. The following year, he tied for 74th. Last year, he was 81st out of 92.
Now, he’s tied for 48th.
Barkley aiming to ‘just be consistent’ at ACC
NBA hall of famer and announcer Charles Barkley joined the Golf Channel crew to discuss his two-birdie performance in the opening round of the 2024 American Century Championship.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Thielan leads the way with 24 points. He’s one point clear of 2020 champ Mardy Fish.
Kelce, making his tournament debut after retiring from the Philadelphia Eagles, is at minus-24. The future Hall of Famer had a birdie at the par-5 third, but also had 14 double bogeys (or worse).
He wasn’t last, however, as former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez was alone in 90th place at minus-32.
Kelce’s brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis, stood at minus-2, tied for 62nd.
The second round of the event can be seen Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
