The Loop
Tony Romo favored to repeat at Lake Tahoe, Charles Barkley remains the longest of long shots
Stan Badz
As a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo played his entire NFL career for a team that often was the beneficiary of a couple extra points in the spread. Oddsmakers smartly anticipate gamblers suckers will be inclined to bet on America's Team (barf) for some reason no matter how many times Romo—and now, Dak Prescott—let them down. But this week, Romo is a favorite on his own. And he totally deserves it.
According to sportsbetting.ag, Romo is a 5-to-2 favorite to defend his title at this week's American Century Championship, AKA the Masters of celebrity golf. Last year, Romo held off Mark Mulder to win the tournament for the first time. Mulder, the former Oakland A's pitcher who had won the 54-hole event the three previous years, is listed second on the board at 3-to-1 odds.
Those two are followed by John Smoltz (6/1), Kyle Williams (8/1), Mardy Fish (8/1), and a group at 15/1 that includes two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry.
In addition to Romo's victory last year, he has also teed it up in two PGA Tour events this year. He didn't come close to making the cut at either, but wound up beating a handful of tour pros with scores of 76 and 74 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. The tournament is played at one of Romo's home courses, Trinity Forest, but still, that was a pretty impressive performance.
On the flip side, Charles Barkley is the longest of long shots once again. The NBA Hall-of-Famer, outspoken TNT analyst, and tortured golfer is listed at +7500 (or 750/1) to win. And honestly, those odds aren't even close to high enough. He couldn't even come close to winning the NBA on TNT's Black Masters! He's gone years at Lake Tahoe where he hasn't even recorded a single par in three rounds! He stinks!
Seriously, don't even think about betting on Charles Barkley. Actually, you might want to reassess your life if you're betting on the American Century Championship in general, but again, just make sure you don't waste your money betting on Barkley. Don't. Do. It.
Anyway, here's the full list of odds for the 2019 American Century Championship, which starts Friday:
Tony Romo 5/2
Mark Mulder 3/1
John Smoltz 6/1
Kyle Williams 8/1
Mardy Fish 8/1
Steph Curry 15/1
Joe Pavelski 15/1
Jeremy Roenick 15/1
Trent Dilfer 15/1
Derek Lowe 18/1
Mark Rypien 18/1
Jack Wagner 18/1
Mike Modano 25/1
Ray Allen 25/1
Sterling Sharpe 40/1
Tyler Eifert 50/1
Jerry Rice 50/1
Jordy Nelson 50/1
Adam Thielen 50/1
Case Keenum 75/1
Aaron Rodgers 75/1
Vinny Del Negro 75/1
Tyler Seguin 75/1
Eric Weddle 75/1
Bode Miller 75/1
Bret Baier 75/1
Carson Palmer 75/1
Tom Glavine 75/1
Larry Fitzgerald 75/1
Justin Timberlake 75/1
Jerry Woods 100/1
Robbie Gould 100/1
Bret Saberhagen 100/1
Greg Maddux 100/1
Brian Urlacher 100/1
Jay Bilas 100/1
Patrick Peterson 100/1
Mike Vrabel 100/1
Anthony Lynn 100/1
Matt Nagy 100/1
Frank Reich 100/1
Doug Pederson 100/1
Joe Theismann 150/1
Tim Wakefield 150/1
Shane Victorino 150/1
Trevor Hoffman 150/1
Dell Curry 150/1
Ivan Rodriguez 150/1
Alfonso Ribeiro 200/1
Kevin Millar 200/1
David Wells 200/1
Rodney Harrison 200/1
Joe Mauer 200/1
Tim Brown 200/1
Kyle Fuller 200/1
Jimmy Rollins 200/1
Ozzie Smith 200/1
Kyle Rudolph 300/1
Josh Allen 300/1
Golden Tate 300/1
Bobby Flay 300/1
Joe Don Rooney 300/1
Andy Dalton 500/1
Jerome Bettis 500/1
TJ Oshie 500/1
Lisa Cornwell 500/1
Kyle Lowry 1000/1
Dylan Dreyer 1000/1
Andre Iguodala 1000/1
Jim McMahon 1000/1
AJ Hawk 1000/1
Roger Clemens 1000/1
Terrell Davis 2000/1
Doug Flutie 2000/1
Brian Baumgartner 2000/1
Kira Kazantsev 2000/1
Marcus Allen 2000/1
Reggie Bush 2000/1
Sean Payton 2000/1
Miles Teller 2000/1
Rob Riggle 3000/1
Charles Woodson 3000/1
Steve Young 3000/1
Jay DeMarcus 3000/1
Vince Carter 3000/1
Kathryn Tappen 5000/1
Larry The Cable Guy 5000/1
Ray Romano 5000/1
John O’Hurley 5000/1
Herm Edwards 5000/1
Johnny Damon 5000/1
Demarcus Ware 5000/1
Charles Barkley 7500/1