A little Lake Tahoe breeze couldn’t deter Tony Romo from winning his second American Century Championship on Sunday.
The back-to-back ACC champ scored 71 points on the modified Stableford scoring system. Romo posted scores of 26,25 and 20 over the three-day tournament to seal the win at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada.
Romo is the fourth player to repeat in the ACC’s 30th year. His 71-61 point margin is the second-highest margin in the tourney’s Stableford history.
Three-time champion Mulder, a former big-league pitcher, was runner up for the second year in a row. He scored 24 on Sunday and launched up the leaderboard coming into Sunday at fifth place.
“It’s an honor, feels special to be able to do it,” he said. “It was kind of anti-climatic, but that’s the way I wanted it to end when the day started.”
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback tallied eight points on the first four holes, allowing him to sit back and relax for the back nine.
“I got off to a great start,” he said. “Played it well all week and it gave me a chance to play and have some fun the rest of the way.”
Romo got off to a slow start on Day 1 with two bogeys and a double bogey through the first five holes. But he kept his composure and cruised the rest of the way.
“It stems from the confidence and the variables of my golf swing,” he said. “The misses are just different. I have an idea of where they could go and I’ve eliminated some mistakes so that’s allowed me to play free and go.”
Derek Lowe and Mardy Fish tied for third place with 57 points. Fish has five-straight Top 5 finishes, but is still aiming for his first title.
Warriors start Stephen Curry might not have won the tournament — placing seventh — but he was victorious in the wager with his father Dell Curry. Steph jumped from 14th and tallied 20 points on Sunday to beat his old man, 50-40.
Dell didn’t go down without a fight. The former NBA sharpshooter recorded seven points and finished 15th. But after Steph’s Sunday eruption, Dell will have to sing karaoke at next year’s event with Steph picking the song and wardrobe.
The ACC set another all-time attendance record of 60,530 during the three-day competition at Stateline, Nevada. Last year’s tourney drew 57,097.
“It was pretty loud this year,” Romo said. “There was a lot of fans early in the week that showed up. … It was a great week with a lot of great fans.”
-Isaiah Burrows
Notes: Derek Lowe won the closest to the pin contest on Hole 17. He won the same contest last year. … Charles Barkley placed 87th of of 93 with -56 points. … Adam Thielen and Mike Modano tied for ninth place with 49 points. … Ray Allen finisehd with 37 points. … Justin Timberlake had 16 points. Jeremy Roenick finished 11th with 47 points. He’s finished in the Top 10 eight of the last 10 years.
