The American Century Championship is golf’s biggest celebrity party

“The Masters of celebrity golf events” returns to Lake Tahoe for another party.

July may be the deadest sports month on the calendar but for golf, it’s often the busiest. We’ve got above-average to great events across multiple tours on multiple continents. You could watch golf from the moment you pour your coffee to the moment you sit down with dessert. It’s on non-stop, and chances are, what is being shown is a quality watch, and perhaps even a major on one of the many Tours.

One event that slots in nicely as an alternative to all that very serious golfing is the American Century Championship. This is a tradition now on the shore of Lake Tahoe. Celebrities and famous athletes come together for a three-day event that’s a cocktail of half-competition and half a reason to party.

Carlton does the Carlton dance. Steph Curry catches passes from Aaron Rodgers. Charles Barkley does ... whatever it is that he does on a golf course. There are often more golf highlights that gain traction out of this event than some of those more competitive tournaments going on with the pros across the globe. No one is going to convince you the golf is better, but it’s a fun watch.

With all that golf, sometimes this serves as the best diversion and the group they attract makes it the Masters of these celebrity pro-am events. It’s the the most prestigious, so to speak, and the most coveted invite. Tahoe picks its field and doesn’t go begging so they end up with a loaded and reliable group teeing it up in, if we’re being honest, maybe the best place you could be in mid-July.

This year’s field includes Curry, Rodgers, Barkley, Urban Meyer, Tony Romo, Doug Pederson, Larry Fitzgerald, Jared Goff, and Brian Kelly, among others. The football group is usually the easiest to draw in mid-July, but Curry said he tends to play better in this thing after he’s won a Finals, despite the long postseason cutting into his summer golf routine. Last year, his Sunday round was the best of the tournament and given what he showed in a real, competitive Web Tour event, he’s a good bet to contend when things start to get more serious on Sunday. Mark Mulder, however, is the man to beat and sort of a legend at these celebrity events. He’s won this one three years in row now. Here are your odds at the start of the event:

NBC Sports will have the coverage again this year, starting on Friday afternoon from the Edgewood Tahoe course. The first round will fall on NBCSN before the two weekend rounds move to NBC for the afternoon. All coverage can be streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra. There are many

Friday, July 13

TV: NBCSN, 3 to 5 p.m. ET

Streaming:

NBC Sports Live and Live Extra on mobile, 3 to 5 p.m. ET

Saturday, July 14

TV: NBC, 3 to 6 p.m. ET

Streaming:

NBC Sports Live and Live Extra on mobile, 3 to 6 p.m. ET

Sunday, July 15

TV: NBC, 3 to 6 p.m. ET

Streaming:

NBC Sports Live and Live Extra on mobile, 3 to 6 p.m. ET