Football
Associated Press 17y

Actor, not star athlete, defending title at Tahoe golf tourney

STATELINE, Nev. -- For the first time in its 18-year
history, the defending champion of the annual celebrity golf
tournament at Lake Tahoe beginning Friday is not a quarterback,
pitcher, hockey player or defensive back.

He's an actor, albeit an athletic one who once won the pro-am
title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Classic with PGA pro John Cook.

"I've never had to defend up here before," said Jack Wagner,
the longtime star of the "Bold and the Beautiful" who won the
$100,000 first-prize check at last year's American Century
Celebrity Golf Championship.

"So I'm just kind of starting this whole thing anew. I'm sort
of pretending last year didn't happen," he said.

The 54-hole tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course runs
through Sunday on the shores of the azure mountain lake. This
year's purse has been upped $100,000 to $600,000, with $125,000
going to the winner.

The field of 81 past and present athletes, entertainers and
other celebrities includes Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, John
Elway, Mike Schmidt, Mario Lemeiux, Jason Kidd, Jerry Rice, Carson
Palmer, Dan Quayle and Ray Romano.

"This is our 18th year and it's grown every year, but this -- I
think we can honestly say -- is our biggest year ever," said Jon
Miller, vice president of NBC Sports, which televises Saturday's
and Sunday's rounds. ESPN2 is carrying Friday's opening round.

Newcomers include Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, ex-Steelers
running back Jerome Bettis and actor Chris Tucker.

Some of the competitors clearly are in the field for their star
power, not their golf swings. Barkley and Chris Webber have been
known to hit a spectator or two with errant shots as they battle
over a wager of who will finish worse.

Last year, actor Matthew Settle drove his ball through the
windshield of a boat that was anchored along the par-3 17th hole.

As has become tradition, the local casino sports books list
Barkley as the longest shot in the field at 500-to-1 odds.

"Charles should give up," said Rice, the former wide receiver
for the San Francisco 49ers who takes the tournament seriously. He
looks forward to renewing his rivalry with Jordan.

"I want to take Michael down, and I'm sure Michael wants to do
the same thing with me," Rice said. "I can't just enjoy golf if I
don't play well. It's just my competitive nature."

Palmer said he enjoys Tahoe's beauty regardless of his play, but
agrees the competitive juices start flowing as soon as he steps on
the course.

"I'll never be a great golfer, I'll never play on tour. But
it's always something to challenge yourself and see how good you
can actually get. Really, it's the most challenging sport I've ever
participated in."

Rick Rhoden, the former major league pitcher who has won at
Tahoe a record six times and is the 6-5 favorite to do it again
this weekend, is back in the field after being ineligible last year
because he had earned conditional status on the PGA Champions Tour.

Last week, he played in his third U.S. Senior Open, missing the
cut by three strokes at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis.

He'll challenge Wagner, who in addition to winning at Pebble
Beach in 1991 has won six club championships at Bel Air Country
Club in Los Angeles. He's finished in the Top 10 at Tahoe 13 times,
including one second and two thirds.

"Last year is one of the years where I just held it together
coming in, and previous years I haven't," Wagner said. "This golf
tournament comes down to nerves because so many guys have short
irons into a lot of these holes coming in and it's really about
keeping your nerve on the greens. And last year I finally did it."

Like many an athlete, Wagner admits he's a bit superstitious.

"Those shorts I wore all week last year, I'm looking for them.
They haven't been washed. They haven't been touched," he said.

Wagner is bringing back another good luck charm -- his caddie,
son Peter, 16, and said he may seek some advice from his
girlfriend, Heather Locklear.

"Her greatest strength on the golf course is obviously
wardrobe, which I try to work on myself," Wagner joked. "I've
gone in her closet and found some things I like, but she doesn't
think they will fit."

^ Back to Top ^