The days of mocking Charles Barkley’s golf game appear to be truly over.
The NBA Hall of Famer and TNT broadcaster made his usual entry in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament this week and posted the best round of his career in the first round at Nevada’s Edgewood Tahoe Resort.
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“I’m gunning for Steph Curry,” Barkley said to Yahoo Sports after the match.
Playing alongside comedians Nate Bargatze and Larry the Cable Guy, he shot an 81 for the day, with the 54-hole tournament’s modified Stableford scoring system placing him in a tie for 24th in a 90-player field. That performance included him holing out for an eagle, cheered on by a supportive crowd.
“The crowd was going crazy, man. It was unbelievable. It’s been a great day,” Barkley told the Peacock stream. “I thought I would play. I didn’t think I would play this well … I’m having so much fun. I’ve been working so hard on my game.”
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Put another way, Barkley was in the top third of a group of people that included several professional athletes, including Josh Allen (tied for 31st), Matthew Tkachuk (40th), Zach LaVine (59th), Baker Mayfield (75th) and Trevor Lawrence (86th). San Jose Sharks great Joe Pavelski leads the field after shooting a 70, with Curry right behind him in third.
By comparison, Barkley finished in 58th place among 54-hole golfers in the 2024 tournament, 81st in 2023, 74th in 2022, 76th in 2021, 88th in 2019 and dead last in 2018. He also finished last in 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. It is a testament to patience and perseverance, not to mention love for a sport which requires both, that a man is looking at the majority of the field behind him in an event where he has finished last that many times.
Many fans will remember just how bad this used to be. In case you need a reminder, here is one of his better swings from around 2010.
With the mother of all swing hitches — some would just call it the yips — Barkley was so bad at golf that Tiger Woods’ swing coach Hank Haney was enlisted to help him out. This man went on “Saturday Night Live” and let them mock his swing to his face.
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His swing gradually improved over the years. He showed off a hitch-less swing in 2018 and even played on the winning team in an iteration of The Match in 2020 (with some help from Phil Mickelson).
Barkley, whose “Inside the NBA” will transition from TNT to ESPN next season, always took his struggles with public good humor and even managed to find a niche as a golf broadcaster to the point he had an offer to help call LIV Golf events. And now, he’s actually posted a decent round.
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