Playing at a celebrity golf tournament over the weekend, Charles Barkley put his money where his mouth was — and ended up having to eat 100 grand.
Listed with 8-to-1 odds to finish in the top 70 at the American Century Championship tournament, Charles Barkley placed a $100,000 bet on himself to make the cut. “Well, I put $100,000 on myself, so I feel very confident,” The Auburn legend told ESPN’s Stan Verrett on SportsCenter on Friday. “I was gonna gamble anyway; might as well gamble on myself.”
After shooting a minus-16 during the first round of the tournament on Friday, Barkley shot minus-5 on Saturday and headed into Sunday in 77th place out of 89 golfers.
“I’m gonna be aggressive because I have an aggressive personality,” Barkley said when asked about his mindset heading into the final day of the tourney. “I just want to play well for the last — we got like 11 more holes to go and see where I’m at at the end of the day. Hey, listen, if I’m right there and at 75 and I’m right there, I’m going for it.”
Go for it he did, but Barkley ended up finishing tied for 76th, losing his bet.
Prior to the tournament, Barkley told the media he has been working with a new swing coach, Stan Utley. “I’m not too worried about his ability to compete under pressure in front of a gallery. I think he’s got that figured out,” Utley said. “I’m humored by people that think he has mental issues with golf. Charles’s issues were purely skill issues. They have nothing to do with confidence, mental. He had some bad golf skills working that he’s improved.”
Improved? Perhaps. But not enough to allow the former NBA MVP to cash in on his bet.
Barkley may have lost his bet and his money but at least he improved upon his second-to-last finish in last year’s celebrity golf event.
Another former NBA player, Vinny Del Negro, beat out ex-MLB pitcher John Smoltz to finish first in this year’s event.
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