The ACC Ends on a Familiar Note. It Needs a New Tune

By Vic Williams | Photo Courtesy Bob Solorio | Posted July 26, 2009

When Rick Rhoden's final putt hits the bottom of the cup, does it make a sound? Beats me, and a lot of other people who really had better things to do than hang around the 18th green at Edgewood Tahoe to find out who won the 20th American Century Golf Championship. They were too busy racking up those last few autographs from Sir Charles, or Michael Jordan, or whoever they'd stalked all weekend. That's what matters at this somehow unique, wildly popular exhibition on the south shore: Scoring the scribble.

So-called media types like me are banned upon penalty of drowning by warm beer from seeking the signatures of the famous athletes, actors and assorted others who populate Edgewood every July, so we actually cover the golf tournament that always somehow breaks out between gratuitous 17th hole bikini flashes (we love 'em) and sidelong morning glances at the big TV on 18 showing the British Open (sorry, Tom). But the cast of final round contenders is starting to wear on us. Yeah, these guys can play, but a little new (if not young) blood would spice things up a bit.

Take Rhoden, former MLB pitcher and now an eight-time ACC winner, whose 74 total points in the modified Stableford competition edged upstart Tony Romo's 71. Even when he's making bogeys, Rhoden can't find a way to lose this thing. His first-ever back-to-back victories mean he's won 40 percent of the event's 20 editions. No way Tiger pulls that off in any single tournament over a two-decade span. Rhoden's only rival for dominance is Dan Quinn, who has racked up four victories and this year finished tied for third with two-time winner Billy Joe Tolliver. Get my drift? It's a broken record, and to a guy who's covered every year since Mark Rypien's inaugural win (he won again 10 years later), I'd like to see the needle skip into a new groove. At some point an NBC mucky-muck is gonna have to step up, hand the affable but low-key Rhoden a gold watch and send him into champion emeritus territory. For the good of us all, you understand.

Until then, who's gonna step up to Rhoden besides his buddies Quinn, Tolliver and a couple others? How about Jerry Rice. The world's greatest wide receiver slipped into the Top 10 this year, and he's deadly serious about his game. Romo? Yeah, if his sex god status among the gallery's female population doesn't get out of hand and they pull him off the fairway in a Thunder Down Under-like frenzy. Hell, Lawrence Taylor could pull a huge upset with a little short game shore-up; he hits the ball into the ionosphere and is a student of the game's intricacies. I'll also give a "maybe contender" nod to broadcaster Joe Buck, who's got game to match his famous voice; he finished two points behind John Elway — another perennial just-misser who's one of only six guys to have teed it up in every single ACC.

But for now, it's Rhoden again (pardon me while I stifle a yawn), and he's not even the biggest winner. That would be Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation, now the tournament's official charitable arm. The man himself wasn't here this year — he's tied up in a little bike race over the pond — but his championing of cancer research is making a big impact up there on the short of the world's most famous alpine lake. Almost as big as Michael's coveted autograph.

Still, the final word goes to Mr. Barkley, overheard defending his good buddy Tiger after he missed the cut at Turnberry. "I'm tired of the double standard. Here's a guy who's missed two cuts in 13 years of playing majors. Most guys miss that many in a year. It's an amazing achievement, and I'm honored I get to seem him in his prime, just as I got to play against Michael in his."

Chuck's right, of course. Even if his swing remains so horribly wrong.

Vic Williams is editor and publishing partner of Fairways + Greens, a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to golf, travel and lifestyle for the West and beyond. He has written thousands of stories on golf and will cover every facet of the game right here, primarily travel but also the major tours, equipment, personalities and more. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it