STATELINE, Nev. — The past three champions are in good shape to win the celebrity golf tournament — along with someone accustomed to championships, just not at Edgewood Tahoe, yet.
Mardy Fish knocked in a short putt for an eagle and grabbed the lead on hole No. 18 on Saturday at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.
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Fish, who won the tournament in 2020 and again in 2024, scored 25 points on Saturday, to go with his 27 on Friday and has 52 heading into Sunday’s final round.
Mardy Fish, left, and Joe Pavelski are in first and second place, respectively, at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe.
Defending champion Joe Pavelski is in second with 48 points and Anika Sorenstam, who won 72 times on the LPGA Tour but has not won the celebrity tournament, is third with 47. Steph Curry, who won it in 2023, is fourth with 41 points, followed by John Smoltz with 37.
Fish, Pavelski and Sorenstam will kay in the final group together on Sunday.
Fish called her the greatest female golfer of all time and looks forward to watching how she attacks the course.
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“The cool part about these tournaments and these events is you get to spend a lot of time with people that you’ve sort of watched and looked up to,” Fish said. “I’m a huge golf fan, both on the LPGA and PGA and LIV. It’s sort of surreal to get to play with someone like Annika.”
Pavelski also looks forward to watching how she plays, but will focus on his own game.
“You watch her short game, watch her warm up. You see some of the shots she hits and the speeds on her putt, you know she’s a professional. You know she’s been through it,” Pavelski said. “It’s been fun to watch and play with her. And listening to her speak earlier, she has a lot of confidence. Seems like her game came around today. And yesterday it sounded like it was there too but she just didn’t make any putts. So she’s going to be tough tomorrow. It’s going to be more about what you can do and not worry too much about them and go try to put up a number.”
Fish said one advantage he and Pavelski might have on Sunday is knowing Sorenstam is trying for her first victory at Edgewood.
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“She certainly knows how to close. The only thing that we have is that she hasn’t won one of these. So that’s kind of what we have to sort of think about or what she has to think about, I guess,” Fish said. “But it’s the fun part about golf, too, there’s nothing I can do about him playing well or not playing well.”
Annika Sorenstam is in third place after two rounds in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe.
Sorenstam intends to keep the pressure on the two in front of her.
“I’m not going to let my foot off the pedal. But I’ve got to go low. I mean, you can see today I had 25 points, and it’s not enough. So that just shows you what kind of caliber of golf these guys are playing,” Sorenstam said. “I’ve got to drive it well. I’ve got to have some opportunities. And then I’ve just got to be able to put some pressure on early. And then we’ll see what happens. But I mean, that’s really why I play this. It’s fun to have a chance and then be able to push yourself to the extreme and see what happens.”
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She knows she probably won’t outdrive Fish or Pavelski, but her strength is her short game.
“We’ll meet on the greens, I’m sure. There will be a little competition from there,” she said.
Charles Barkley shown Saturday at Edgewood Tahoe in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.
Smoltz looking for a better Sunday
John Smoltz sits in fifth place with 37 points, after saying he played the worst he could.
He said the pin placements made Saturday’s round difficult.
Hopefully the best is to come,” Smoltz said. “The greens have been in my head, as usual, but I’m going to try to figure out a way to make some putts tomorrow. So I rallied with some birdies, but you know what, the pin placements today were probably a little bit tougher. That’s why I think the scoring is a little bit lower.”
Charles Barkley on No. 16 Saturday at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe
Charles Barkley bet
Charles Barkley is in in danger of not finishing ahead of where Caesars Sportsbook set his odds.
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Barkley, who played 16 years in the NBA and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, finished with minus-14 points Saturday and is tied for 71st place in the field of 88 with minus-20 for the two rounds.
Barkley’s golf game has improved greatly in the last five or six years, which led Caesars to offer a prop bet as to where he will finish. This year, that number is at 63.5, meaning those who are backing him need him to finish 63rd or better.
Players receive positive points for eagles (6), birdies (3) and pars (1), zero points for a bogey and minus-2 points for a double bogey or worse.
“I want people to win that money,” he said. “I think I’m a better player this year. I’m getting better at golf.”
Larry the Cable Guy is shown on No. 16 on Saturday, July 11 2026 in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe.
Birthdays at the ACC
Pavelski turned 42 on Saturday and former NFL player Patrick Peterson turned 36.
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Peterson, who played 13 seasons in the NFL, with the Arizona Cardianls, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, picked up 11 points on Saturday and has 18 points heading into Sunday’s final round.
More: Full leaderboard for the ACC
Top 10 after Second Round
This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Mardy Fish, Annika Sorenstam atop American Century Championship leaderboard
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