In the early 2000s, major league baseball pitcher Mark Mulder was a young phenom for the Oakland Athletics, joining fellow hurlers Tim Hudson and Barry Zito to form one of the most feared pitching trios in recent memory.
On Sunday, Mulder achieved a new big three: three straight victories in the American Century Championship, the biggest celebrity tournament in golf.
With a final score of 73 in the modified Stableford event, Mulder cemented his status as America’s best celebrity golfer, winning by a comfortable 11 points over former tennis player Mardy Fish and former fellow ace pitcher Derek Lowe.
For the win, Mulder, whose final contract with the St. Louis Cardinals was worth $45 million over three years, received $125,000.
The Winning Putt
Back-to-back-to-back! @markmulder20 wins the @ACChampionship for a third time, thanks to 11-point victory ? pic.twitter.com/ZCJPXbGFLl
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 16, 2017
Bullets
- Final Result: Former AL wins leader, and Cy Young runner-up, Mark Mulder shot a final round 69 (in traditional scoring format) to finish at +73 in the three-round modified Stableford charity event, the American Century Championship.
- Three-peat: Mulder became the first player in tournament history to win three straight events. After his 2016 victory, Mulder joined former NHL player Dan Quinn and former fellow pitcher Rick Rhoden.
- Steph Strong: The big story of day three was the impressive final round 68 for NBA star Stephen Curry, who recently made waves in the golf world when he received a sponsor’s exemption for a Web.com Tour event that is set to tee off in August. The 68, which was worth +25, was the best round of the tournament. The two-time NBA MVP ended up finishing in a tie for fourth, 13 points behind Mulder.
- Romo Comes Up Short: Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was the odds-on tournament co-favorite with Mulder, but a +47 after three over-par rounds left in a tie for 16th place with former MLB pitcher Bret Saberhagen, gold medal alpine skier Bode Miller, and fellow former NFL QB Trent Dilfer.
- Chuck Lagging: A fan favorite for his notoriously poor golf, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, who had a field-low 6000-1 odds coming into the tournament, finished last in the 89-player field for the second straight year. Barkley was -91 after rounds of 105-103-107. Former NBA point guard Derek Fisher and legendary announcer Al Michaels were the only other players to fail to break 100 in any round.
On Twitter
Steph Curry tees off at the @ACChampionship at @EdgewoodTahoe pic.twitter.com/SfMHDtLSYO
— Bryan Samudio (@BryanSamudio) July 14, 2017
Justin Timberlake tees off at @ACChampionship at @EdgewoodTahoe pic.twitter.com/l46qKJzKNv
— Bryan Samudio (@BryanSamudio) July 14, 2017
Great playing with @JaredAllen69 and @williebosshog at the @ACChampionship today!! Its been great Tahoe…it's a wrap!!!!✌? pic.twitter.com/8nrSyyVqKq
— Emmitt Smith (@EmmittSmith22) July 17, 2017
Quotable
“My three kids think this is the tournament where they get to run on the green. It’s really cool that I was able to back that up. I didn’t want to disappoint them.”
–Mark Mulder, 2017 American Century Championship winner
