Twice is nice: Fish wins his second ACC crown

Mardy Fish held serve Sunday, taking advantage of his seven-point lead going into the final round of the American Century Championships.

Fish went without a birdie through most of the back nine, but sunk a short birdie putt on the 16^th hole to push his five-point lead over Pavelski back to seven.

He gave the birdie back on the next hole, but held off Pavelski to win with 83 points. Pavelski finished with 79.

“It's great. I've won a few of the celebrity golf, if you will, tournaments, and so I felt comfortable kind of coming into here having won in Dallas and in Maine, and then this is the one you really want to win. American Century is really the one sort of Super Bowl, culminating the rest of the year,” said Fish.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

In the process of winning his second ACC title, Fish scored the second most points in tournament history.

His three-day score of 23-34-26 resulted in him finishing with 83 points.

He missed out on the tournament record by a point, which was set in 2010 by Billy Joe Tolliver (84).  Mark Mulder scored 82 points in 2010 as well, which was second all-time prior to Fish’s mark.

Fish’s 34 points Saturday broke the tournament record for the best round in the tournament history. It was previously 33, which had been tallied several times.  

In his 11 years in the tournament, Fish has finished no worse than 17^th and that was in his first appearance in 2014.

Since then, he hasn’t finished worse than seventh overall. He was second in 2023 before picking up his second trophy Sunday at the American Century Championship.

“I played really solid, apart from the par-3s on the backside, which are two chunks, but other than that, I just played really solid, sort of no-frills kind of golf,” Fish said.

BARKLEY BREAKS THROUGH

Charles Barkley can laugh in the face of all of the ‘no’ gamblers now.

Chuck finally converted his ‘Will he finish top 75?’ prop bet by finishing 58^th with -4 points.

The goalposts had been moved backward slightly from prior years, but the 1993 NBA MVP showed up with a consistent swing and had 3 points after the first two rounds.

Sunday was the result of a long weekend, in a few ways.

“A little tired, a little hungover. A little tired, a little hungover, but I kept battling,” said Barkley. “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.”

It was his first time being on the ‘yes’ side of the bet.

(Mardy Fish, left, and Joe Pavelski, right, pose with a young fan at the 2024 American Century Championship Sunday, during the final round. Fish won the tournament while Pavelski took second. / Ron Harpin)

PAVELSKI SECOND 

The recently retired hockey player (and likely Hall of Famer) took second place Sunday and tied for the best individual round of anyone on the final day, scoring 29 points.

He came into the finale trailing by seven points.

“I knew it was right there. We were still playing, but he's so solid. That was the mindset,” Pavelski said. “You're going to have to go hit some good shots. Put up a good number. Just really excited with my start today, I think, and felt like I'm going to have a chance.”

A missed putt long for eagle on the 16^th hole and a short approach on the 8^th stuck with him post-round, admitting he didn’t trust his initial read on the eagle putt.

“It felt like it was one of those that could maybe start going a little more. We already had it out more than far enough,” Pavelski said. “You just didn't fully trust it at that moment, and added a little extra, and you just don't get a good putt.”

Pavelski has been a tournament favorite each of the last three years taking sixth (2021), tying for second (’22) before finishing third last year.

(Travis Kelce signs an autograph on the back of a jersey worn by a young fan Sunday, during the third and final round of the ACC tournament. / Ron Harpin)

(Davante Adams takes a selfie with a fan, during Sunday's round at Edgewood Golf Course in the 2024 American Century Championship. Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)

(Adam Thielen, left, signs a pair of golf balls for a young fan Sunday, during the final round of the 2024 American Century Championships. Thielen finished in seventh place with 58 points. Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)

(Alfonso Ribeiro does the famous Carlton dance with some young fans Sunday on the tee box at the 17th hole, during the celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Golf Course. Ribeiro tied for 25th overall with 35 points. / Ron Harpin)