{"id":4259,"date":"2025-07-12T12:48:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T12:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/4259\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T12:48:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T12:48:05","slug":"charles-barkley-shows-new-golf-game-at-american-century-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/4259\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Barkley shows new golf game at American Century Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

During an interview on Peacock\u2019s coverage of the American Century Championship on Friday, Charles Barkley <\/a>said about the annual celebrity golf event: \u201cThis is my 30th year. I look forward to coming here every year<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

And is he ever looking forward to Round 2 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

From 2014 through 2018, Barkley had the worst score among the golfers who complete all three rounds annually except in 2015, when he finished next-to-last.<\/p>\n

But the perennial also-ran with a swing that spawned jokes completed the first round of the 2025 tournament on Friday tied for 24th among the 90 competitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a great day today,\u201d Barkley said<\/a>. \u201cI had a lot of fun. I played with Nate Bargatze and Larry the Cable Guy, two of the best dudes. But I\u2019ve put a lot of time and effort in, and I was very happy with the way I played today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barkley shot a 9-over-par 81 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada. But that wasn\u2019t his score. The American Century Championship uses the Modified Stableford scoring system. A double eagle is worth 10 points, a hole-in-one eight, an eagle six, a birdie three and a par one. A double-bogey or worse is minus-2 points.<\/p>\n

Barkley finished with nine points on Friday.<\/p>\n

Barkley holed out from 88 yards on the par-4 second hole for a six-point eagle. He birdied the par-3 seventh and parred eight holes. Four double-bogeys took eight points off his score.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I would play well,\u201d Barkley told <\/a>former Vestavia Hills High School star Smylie Kaufman in an interview during Peacock\u2019s coverage. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I would play this well. What I\u2019m really trying to work on is tempo. Every time I try to hit the ball hard, bad stuff happens, so I told myself the last couple of weeks, \u2018Man, you\u2019re a big, old, fat dude. Just make a pass at it. It\u2019s going to go.\u2019 That\u2019s what I tell myself, Smylie: \u2018You\u2019re a big, old, fat dude. If you just make a nice pass at it, with that big ass you got, the ball\u2019s going to go off the club.\u2019 So I\u2019m really just concentrating, honestly, on tempo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barkley had his best showing at the tournament last year, when he came in 58th at minus-4. He had never had a score better than minus-26 previously.<\/p>\n

Former NHL player Joe Pavelski holds the lead after the first round with 23 points, one point ahead of 2022 winner Vinny Del Negro, a former NBA player and coach. Golden State Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry, the 2023 winner, is tied for third with 21 points. <\/p>\n

A former Leeds High School and Auburn<\/a> basketball standout, Barkley is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after a 16-year NBA career that included 11 All-Star selections.<\/p>\n

An Auburn alumnus has won the American Century Championship. Football kicker Al Del Greco took the title in 2000.<\/p>\n

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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