American Century Investments® celebrated record attendance, the highest number of participants in its annual ACC Fantasy Golf contest, impressive celebrity and professional athlete involvement, and another successful year of philanthropy.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, NV, July 18, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- American Century Investments®, the title sponsor of the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament since 1999, celebrated a series of significant achievements at this year's event. Highlights include record attendance, the highest number of participants in its annual ACC Fantasy Golf contest, impressive celebrity and professional athlete involvement, and another successful year of philanthropy in partnership with NBC Sports, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, and the South Tahoe community.
The 35th American Century Championship concluded on Sunday, July 14, with tennis star Mardy Fish, a former U.S. Davis Cup team captain and Olympic silver medalist, claiming his second celebrity golf title with a total of 83 points—just one point shy of tying Billy Joe Tolliver's tournament record. The three-day tournament was preceded by two days of fan-attended practice rounds all of which featured 90 global stars competing including Travis Kelce, Jason Kelce, Alex Rodriguez, Aaron Rodgers, Albert Pujols, Jerry Rice, Miles Teller, Carson Daly, Bobby Flay, Hally Leadbetter, Chris Harrison, and Dylan Dreyer, among others.
This year's 2024 tournament set an all-time attendance record with 77,049 attendees. The presence of Taylor Swift fans added to the excitement as they supported the Kelce brothers, who are currently making headlines with their No. 1 podcast and Travis Kelce's high-profile relationship with Swift. Additionally, American Century Investments saw a 20% increase in participation in their annual American Century Fantasy Golf Contest, where fans built fantasy teams from the roster of sports legends and celebrities. Winners received trips for two to next year's tournament, with the grand prize winner also receiving $10,000 to donate to a charity of their choice.
A new featured activation this year was the "Beat the Bot" charity challenge benefiting the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. On July 11, players competed in a closest-to-the-hole challenge against "Charity Champ," voiced by a talking golf swing robot. If players beat the robot, American Century Investments donated $500 in their name to support the Stowers Institute for Medical Research's breakthrough medical research. If not, they had the option to "buy the ball" by donating to play the robot's shot. This engaging challenge raised nearly $25,000.
The American Century Championship also introduced the "Cardigan Classic," a special inter-tournament charity golf match held on Saturday, July 13 featuring Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Jimmy Fallon competing against Grammy-nominated DJ Khaled for four holes of golf. Fallon emerged victorious, earning the trophy of a red cardigan sweater and bragging rights.
In addition, American Century Investments co-sponsored the $1 million hole-in-one challenge on the par-3 17th hole. Although no million-dollar winner emerged, former Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Tim Brown achieved a hole-in-one on the 12th hole, winning a MasterCraft X24 boat valued at over $200,000.
In usual American Century Championship spirit, generous charitable donations were made throughout the tournament by players and sponsors, building on the nearly $8 million donated to charity throughout tournament history. "We are a top global money manager that directs over 40% of our profits each year to medical research. When you invest with us, you also invest in the future of others. That's the spirit we bring as title sponsor of the American Century Championship: having a good time for a good cause," said Erik Schneberger, Chief Marketing Officer of American Century Investments.
American Century Investments looks forward to continuing its role as title sponsor, having renewed the sponsorship for the next five years. For more information about the tournament, visit www.AmericanCenturyChampionship.com.
American Century Investments is a leading global asset manager focused on delivering investment results and building long-term client relationships while supporting breakthrough medical research. Founded in 1958, American Century Investments' 1,400 employees serve financial professionals, institutions, corporations and individual investors from offices in Kansas City, Missouri; New York; Los Angeles; Santa Clara, California; Portland, Oregon; London; Frankfurt, Germany; Hong Kong; and Sydney. Jonathan S. Thomas is president and chief executive officer, and Victor Zhang serves as chief investment officer. Delivering investment results to clients enables American Century Investments to distribute over 40% of its dividends to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a 500-person, nonprofit basic biomedical research organization. The Institute owns more than 40% of American Century Investments and has received dividend payments of more than $2 billion since 2000. For more information about American Century Investments, visit www.americancentury.com
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