STATELINE, Nev. – It was an exciting start to the lunch hour at the American Century Championship (ACC) as three celebrity teams competed during practice rounds on Wednesday, July 8 in the Celebrity Skills Challenge – a “drive, chip, and putt”-style skills challenge on the practice chipping green at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
Team one consisted of NFL stars Andrew Whitworth and Patrick Peterson, team two was NBA’s Kyle Lowry, and NHL’s T.J. Oshie and team three, comedians Brian Baumgartner, Alfonso Ribeiro and actor Rob Riggle.
Each player was allotted two shots for each round, and the first contestant to start out on the 20 yard pitch was former NFL cornerback Patrick Peterson.
Out of the gate, Peterson came to win as he chipped the ball right up from rough to green and hit the flag pin. Teammate, former NFL starter, Whitworth, followed suit, chipping the ball from the rough and getting even closer to the hole than teammate Peterson.
Lowry and Oshie stepped up for team two, both chipping their balls from the rough with ease.
Ribeiro, who told the Tribune that he came into the challenge unsure, had a little trouble connecting his club to the ball.
“It’s a little sticky,” Ribeiro joked before trying again. After refining his short game with a few swings, his ball hit the green.
Baumgartner, best known for his role as Kevin Malone in “The Office”, received cheers as his ball rolled just shy of the flag pin.
The best shot amongst the four in the first round was Whitworth with only 5 feet, 7 inches, followed by Baumgartner with 5 feet, 10 inches. Oshie took third with 6 feet, 6 inches.
Moving to the back of the green, the teams had to each hit a chip down the hill.
Baumgartner carried his team during this round with a score of 11 feet, 4 inches total from the hole, while Lowry scored 7 feet, 6 inches – the best for his team. Peterson came out on top with a score of 5 feet, 8 inches as teammate Whitworth gave him a pat of encouragement on the back.
Heading into the final round, NFL stars Whitworth and Peterson were in the lead, having the least amount of feet accumulated across the first two rounds, followed by Lowry and Oshie and then Riggle, Ribeiro and Baumgartner.
It was all about the putting game as everyone held their breath to watch Lowry slink a hole-in-one on the chipping green, giving Whitworth only two feet or better of wiggle room to win it all.
Whitworth’s first shot crawled to a stop just 3 feet, 8 inches from the hole, but his second shot would prove to be enough as his ball came only 2 inches from the flag pin, making Peterson and Whitworth the winning team of the Celebrity Skills Challenge.
“It might be the only thing I win this week,” Whitworth said with a smile, “So it feels great.”
Although Ribeiro and his teammates came in last, he was still smiling and having fun.
“I’ll work on it today,” he told the Tribune after the challenge. “We have two days before the tournament starts to work on the little pieces and build some confidence.”
