Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen leads at American Century Championship, Mardy Fish in second
Submitted by paula on Fri, 07/12/2024 - 9:40pm
LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen had three birdies and an eagle to grab a one-point lead over Mardy Fish after Friday's first round of the American Century Championship (ACC).
Thielen had three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 16th to finish with 24 points at the 35th annual celebrity golf tournament. Fish, the 2020 winner, had five birdies and totaled 23 points in the Stableford scoring used in the ACC.
Thielen, whose best finish in seven previous appearances here is a tie for fourth in 2022, and Fish, considered one of the best celebrity golfers, played in the same group. And Thielen credited the former pro tennis player and Davis Cup coach for helping him keep a tempered pace.
“It makes it easy playing with a guy like this that is so consistent and good tempo, makes good shots all day,” Thielen said of Fish. “So definitely helped me with my mindset and just kind of sticking with it.”
Fish, who also finished second to Steph Curry last year, got his five birdies in his first 12 holes and then sputtered coming in with five pars and a bogey in his final six holes.
“You can't go backwards,” Fish said. “As many birdies as you can, you can't go backwards.”
The readerboard with points:
LEADERBOARD (points)
Adam Thielen - 24
Mardy Fish - 23
Derek Lowe - 21
Joe Pavelski - 21
Mark Mulder - 19
Dell Curry - 19
For the complete list of scores, visit https://scoring.r2it.com/golf/acc/web/leaderboard.aspx.
A popular group to follow on Friday at Edgewood were the Kelce brothers, Jason and Travis. Travis has a -2, and Jason a -24. They golf together again on Saturday along with Andrew Whitworth, teeing off of the 1st tee at 8:37 a.m.
Saturday's second round is sold out. The gates open at 7 a.m. and tee times are 7:36 a.m. - 9:47 a.m. on the tees at holes 1 and 10. For a list of tee times, visit https://americancenturychampionship.com/player-pairings/.
To wrap up Saturday, Jimmy Fallon and DJ Khaled will go head-to-head in a special challenge golf match at the end of the second round.
The special, Fallon vs. Khaled, is presented by Ford and will commence on the popular par-3 17th hole at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course and will be a four-hole match (17 and 18 twice).