No golfer, celebrity or otherwise, has been mocked as much as Charles Barkley. But after decades of being laughed at on the course, it was the NBA legend who was laughing—and celebrating at Lake Tahoe.
You still won’t find Barkley’s name at the top of the leaderboard at the American Century Championship, but his Friday 81 marked his best score in 30 years of playing in what is the Super Bowl of celebrity golf. And that seemed like a victory in itself given all of Barkley’s struggles through the years.
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“It’s so crazy,” he told reporters after. “Listen, man, I played one-handed here. I played left-handed here. But it just wasn’t working for me. But I still had a blast when I came here. But I kept grinding.”
Actually, it’s been several years since Barkley’s game started coming around thanks to him linking up with Stan Utley. The renowned instructor fixed Barkley’s signature hitch, and continued to be heaped with praise by his famous pupil.
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“I met Stan Utley a few years ago, and he changed the entire dynamic of my golfing life,” Barkley said. “I’m not going to play great all the time, but I’m going to play pretty good. And I can get it around. So shout out to my coach. And obviously I put a lot of time and effort into it.”
Barkley’s round was highlighted by a hole-out for eagle (also his first in 30 years in the event) from 88 yards on the par-4 second hole that one fan got an amazing angle of:
What a shot! Again, this is CHARLES BARKLEY! That’s more backspin that Barkley used to shoot a basketball with.
Barkley’s 9 points in the Stableford scoring system has him well off the 23 by first-round leader Joe Pavelski. But at T-24, Barkley is in great position for his best finish ever in the event—and to crush the over/under of 65.5th place set by Caesars before the tournament.
“Well, last year was the first time I actually won money from my friends,” Barkley said. “This year, I got more friends here betting on me, and I don’t want to let them down because I think the first two years I barely missed it, but I knew I was going to keep getting better. I was a little surprised, since I think I came in 58th last year, I was a little surprised they still had it at 65. So like I say, I’m not going to be overconfident because I’ve got two more days to go.”
Keep it going, Chuck, we’re all rooting for you. Even the haters.
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