Record attendance, highest number of participants in its annual ACC Fantasy Golf contest, impressive celebrity and professional athlete involvement join to produce another successful year of philanthropy
The three-day tournament was preceded by two days of fan-attended practice rounds all of which featured 90 global stars competing including Travis Kelce, Jason Kelce, Alex Rodriguez, Aaron Rodgers, Albert Pujols, Jerry Rice, Miles Teller, Carson Daly, Bobby Flay, Hally Leadbetter, Chris Harrison, and Dylan Dreyer, among others.
A new featured activation this year was the “Beat the Bot” charity challenge benefiting the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. On July 11, players competed in a closest-to-the-hole challenge against “Charity Champ,” voiced by a talking golf swing robot. If players beat the robot, American Century Investments donated $500 in their name to support the Stowers Institute for Medical Research’s breakthrough medical research. If not, they had the option to “buy the ball” by donating to play the robot’s shot. This engaging challenge raised nearly $25,000.
The American Century Championship also introduced the “Cardigan Classic,” a special inter-tournament charity golf match held on Saturday, July 13 featuring Emmy and Grammy Award-winning Jimmy Fallon competing against Grammy-nominated DJ Khaled for four holes of golf. Fallon emerged victorious, earning the trophy of a red cardigan sweater and bragging rights.
In addition, American Century Investments co-sponsored the $1 million hole-in-one challenge on the par-3 17th hole. Although no million-dollar winner emerged, Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Tim Brown achieved a hole-in-one on the 12th hole, winning a MasterCraft X24 boat valued at over $200,000.
In usual American Century Championship spirit, generous charitable donations were made throughout the tournament by players and sponsors, building on the nearly $8 million donated to charity throughout tournament history.
American Century Investments looks forward to continuing its role as title sponsor, having renewed the sponsorship for the next five years.
