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Tolliver favored at American Century Championship

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Place your bets! The betting lines are out for the annual American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.

Four-time champion Billy Joe Tolliver, former quarterback for five NFL teams, is the top choice of Harrah’s and Harveys Race & Sports Book to win the 26th annual American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament July 17-19 in Lake Tahoe.

Corporal Chad Pfeifer, who lost his left leg in an IED explosion in Iraq, is listed at 10-1 after finishing fifth at last year’s celebrity tournament.
Corporal Chad Pfeifer, who lost his left leg in an IED explosion in Iraq, is listed at 10-1 favorite after finishing fifth at last year’s celebrity tournament.

Tolliver is listed at 7-2 to win the event over defending champion Mark Rypien and perennial contenders John Smoltz and John Elway.

Rypien, the original favorite, is 5-1 with Smoltz at 6-1 and eight-time champion Rick Rhoden at 7-1 for the 54-hole, modified-Stableford competition at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. Also among the favorites are Jeremy Roenick, Mark Mulder, two-time champions Jack Wagner and Colt Ford, all 8-1, and Trent Dilfer (12-1).

“As strong as Mark Rypien’s performance was last year, Tolliver has two wins in the last five tournaments and is a huge scoring threat on the par fives,” said Dave Cudney, Harrah’s and Harveys Race & Sports Book manager. “We’ve also moved Chad Pfeifer from 12-1 to 10-1 because of the level of competition he’s experiencing this week on the Web.com Tour.”

Other prominent players and their odds are: Jerry Rice (30-1), Aaron Rodgers, Steve Kerr and Justin Timberlake (40-1), Ray Allen, Greg Maddux and Blake Bortles (50-1), Jerome Bettis and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly (60-1), Roger Clemens, Emmitt Smith, Jared Allen, Alex Smith and Steve Spurrier (100-1) plus Shane Battier, Patrick Peterson at 1000-1.

Celebrated perennial long shot Charles Barkley is alone at 5,000-1, while Ray Romano and Kevin Nealon are at 2,000-1 and Larry The Cable Guy at 2,500-1.

Also among the favorites is a pair of distinguished military in the field by virtue of their triumphs in the George W. Bush Presidential Center’s Warrior Open for disabled American military.

Justin Timberlake is an avid golfer who plays to a six handicap and is among the field this year at the celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
Justin Timberlake is an avid golfer who plays to a six handicap. He is among the field this year at the celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

Corporal Chad Pfeifer, who lost his left leg in an IED explosion in Iraq, is listed at 10-1 after finishing fifth at last year’s celebrity tournament. Sergeant Major Rod Gorman, winner of the 2014 Warrior Open who is 90 percent disabled with bullet fragments in his right arm and hip, is listed at 12-1.

Pfeifer, on a sponsor exemption, competed in the Web.com Tour’s Albertson’s Open July 9-12 in his hometown of Boise, ID, leading into the American Century Championship.

The tournament airs Friday, July 17 and Sunday, July 19, on NBC Sports Group’s family of networks, NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and Golf Channel.

American Century Championship Airtimes

Friday, July 17: 3-5 p.m. (live), NBCSN

Saturday, July 18: Noon-3 p.m., NBC

Sunday, July 19: Noon-3 p.m., NBC

All three rounds will replay on Golf Channel

Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail. com. Thanks for visiting his website at www.tahoeskiworld.com