Edgewood Country Club hosts the American Century Celebrity Golf tournament and this year is number 31. The golf course is a slice of heaven located on the shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe. The tournament gets bigger every year with 80 famous sports celebrities and movie stars trying to win the $125,000 first place prize. This year the tournament will only be viewed on TV.
For the past 15 years, I have been playing in the Celebrity Pro Am with many interesting people like Alphonso Riberio ala “Fresh Prince”, Five-time Champion Dan Quinn, Hall of Famer Tim Brown, and Super Bowl MVP Joe Theisman to name a few.
I am given Celebrity names prior to the tournament and our son, MJ, chooses the celebrity and rides with him/her during the tournament. Last year we played with Mark Mulder who was a great pitcher for the Oakland A’s. This is the second year that he won the tournament, and we hope to play with him again in the future.
We enjoy our traditional lunch on the patio of Brooks Bar at Edgewood that is fueled by their famous mojitos. Brooks Bar overlooks the lake and the famous 18th hole pond ala “Lake Lambier” named after Detroit Pistons Basketball player Bill Lambier when he deposited a lot of balls a few years ago. Brooks Bar has also been named as one of the best 19th hole bars in America.
We enjoy staying at Edgewood Lodge, a magnificent 151 room 100 million-dollar development right on Lake Tahoe and next to the golf course. We will also have a dinner there the night before the pro-am.
Another tradition is dinner at Friday Station on the top of Harrah’s Hotel. It has spectacular sunsets and full of celebrities enjoying the great service and fantastic food. Many of the waiters have worked there over 25 years. They are professionally dressed in black tuxedos and intent on making your eating experience a memorable one. It is no wonder many of them have worked there such a long time as the spectacular sunsets over Lake Tahoe each evening provides for a soothing working environment and “I love my job” attitude.
The event is televised on NBC. NBC has just renewed their contract through 2022. Watching it on TV is great, but attending the tournament is much more fun.
It is also fun to watch your favorite sports and movie stars try to master the difficult game of golf. In addition, the deep blue lake guarded by towering pines and snow-capped mountains feels like being in heaven. It is no wonder the nearby ski slopes are named Heavenly Valley.
In conclusion, mark your calendar for July 6-11 in 2021. For more information, go to:
http://tahoesouth.com/events/american-century-celebrity-golf-championship/
By Mike L. McColgan, Resident since 1990