STATELINE, Nev. — Charles Barkley and the American Century Championship: the gift that keeps on giving.
Barkley finished in 58th place with minus-4 points, making winners of everyone who bet he would finish in the top 75 this year. In fact, it was his best finish at the event. He had positive points after the opening round for the first time.
“It feels really good. I put a lot of time and effort in,” Barkley said. “I’ve been working hard for the last few years. The last couple of years actually haven’t been bad. I had a shot at it.”
Barkley was proud he recovered after a rough start to Sunday’s round.
American Century: Photos
But he admitted there might have been a reason he was sluggish to start the round.
“A little tired, a little hungover, but I kept battling,” he said. “But I played really, really well the first two days, but this probably was my best day because I didn’t have any good stuff going early but I kept battling. I’m really proud about today’s round because, like I say, I started out struggling and I found a way to get it together. But I played great the first two days.”
Mardy Fish captured the title on Sunday at Edgewood Tahoe with 83 points. Joe Pavelski was second with 79 points while Annika Sorenstam was third with 68.