"Rhoden wins record 7th celebrity golf at Tahoe" STATELINE, Nev. (AP)—Rick Rhoden had been complaining about his inability to make a putt before he heard about the death of his old friend Bobby Murcer and decided there are more important things in life than golf. The former All-Star pitcher said that seemed to help him relax Sunday, when he birdied the last two holes to win a record seventh American Century Celebrity Golf Championship—edging four-time champ Dan Quinn by one point and

Tony Romo and Grant Fuhr by four at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
“It’s funny, I’ve been complaining to my wife about my putting, my putting,” Rhoden said
“Then I saw that Bobby Murcer passed away and I told her putting is not that big of deal. You think it is when you are doing it, but in reality, it’s just golf. It’s not a big deal,” he said.
“I tried to think that all day today. That no matter what happens, I’m out here playing, I’m pretty healthy. Everything is going pretty good in my life. I don’t need to complain about that stuff.”
Rhoden made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to shoot a 2-under 70 and total 68 points in the modified Stableford scoring system that awards six points for eagle, three for birdie, one for par, none for bogey and minus-2 for double bogey or worse.
Quinn, a former hockey player, had birdied the 16th and 17th and made an impressive recovery shot from the beach over the trees to the 18th but had to settle for par, opening the door for Rhoden’s victory—his first here since 2003.
“It’s been a while since I won. I didn’t know if I was ever going to win again because we’re getting some really good players out here,” said Rhoden, who drove the ball into the rough on No. 18 but hit a good second shot that set up his approach to 6 feet.
“Dan’s a great player. You know he’s going to be there at the end,” he said. “I had a chance. That is all I wanted. I finally made a putt I needed.”
Quinn, whose 4-under 68 tied the best round of the day with Fuhr, had one thought as his rival was over his final putt.
“Miss it,” he said. “It is what it is. I got beat not today but on Friday when I shot a 76.”
Romo, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback making his debut in the tournament, came up a bit short on a 40-foot eagle putt on the last hole Sunday to shoot an even-par 72.
Actor Jack Wagner and ex-NHL All-Stars Brett Hull and Pierre Larouche were next with 62 points, followed by former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien, who won the first event at Tahoe in 1990 and finished with 60 points.
Murcer, who succeeded Mickey Mantle in center field and played for the New York Yankees with Don Mattingly, died Saturday due to complications from a malignant brain tumor. He was 62.
Rhoden, a two-time All-Star, played for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ NL championship teams in 1977 and 1978 and later played for the Pirates, Yankees and Astros. He didn’t play on any team with Murcer, but pitched against him and they later played golf together.
On Sunday, he started to hit his drive on the par-5 16th but backed off when a boat horn sounded on the lake behind the green. His drive ended up a duck hook into the trees and he ended up with a par on a hole the rest of the front-runners birdied. But he came back with a 15-foot birdie putt and a fist pump on the par-3 17th to set up the dramatic finish and claim the $125,000 winner’s check.
He and Quinn have dominated play in the celebrity tourney. During a 14-year stretch from 1992-2004, the pair combined to win 10 of the titles.
Charles Barkley, with his unusual stutter-step swing, finished last with minus 81 points.
“It is a very unorthodox swing,” said LPGA great Annika Sorenstam, who has a home at Lake Tahoe and helped serve as an analyst for NBC Sports’ telecast of the event. “I try to not look at it too much to be honest. I don’t think it’s a good image to have.”
Some of the biggest galleries on the course followed the worst golfers, such as Barkley and Kevin Nealon, the former “Saturday Night Live” star now on Showtime’s “Weeds” who had minus-49 points.