Thielen Finishes Fourth At American Century Celebrity Golf Championship

STATELINE, NV (KDLM) – Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen finished tied for fourth place at last weekend’s celebrity American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Nevada in a field that included Steph Curry, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Timberlake, Jake Owen, Alfonso Ribeiro, Patrick Mahomes and more.

“My wife Caitlin and I were just telling each other that this is one of our favorite weeks of the year,” said Thielen. “It’s tough to beat. You come in, you play a ton of golf, and we get to spend a lot of time together. We leave the three kids at home. Training camp is only two weeks away so it’s a nice little break before the grind starts.”

Thielen, playing in his sixth ACC, started the tournament on Friday with a double-bogey on the first hole, then hit two big birdie putts on the next two holes. Overall, he finished the first day with two double-bogeys and five birdies.

Personal best this year! Congrats @athielen19!! 👏🏼😘⛰
Another fun week, until next year @acchampionship ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/ycyVRz8qmU

— Caitlin Thielen (@MRS_T_19) July 10, 2022

“My goal is to finish top-five,” Thielen said after his Friday round. “It’s tough to start out like that and get there. But the good thing is it’s the first day. Just get out there and get some points on the board. My game was a little psychotic today. It’s the consistency. I feel like I can hang with anybody, but the consistency was rough today,”

Despite the inconsistency, Thielen was tied for fourth place after Day One with 18 points, four points off the lead. The ACC uses Stableford Scoring, which awards points for the number of strokes taken on each hole rather than simply counting your strokes.

Thielen continued to climb the leader board on Day Two of the tournament, recording birdies on his final three holes to finish an even-par on the back nine and into a tie for third place heading into the final day.

“I feel like I lost some gas in the middle of the round, I feel like I do every year out here. ” Thielen said. “But so I was struggling a little bit, and I knew I had to finish strong to have any chance. So it was good. It felt good to make some putts and finish the round.”

Theilen started round three with a bogey on hole one, then sank a huge eagle putt on hole 4 to move to -1 thru four holes. He’d card an even 36 on the front nine. A birdie and four bogeys on the back would put him at +3 for the round and 58 points for the tournament, tied with Annika Sorenstam for fourth place and only four points behind Joe Pavelski, Mark Mulder, and Tony Romo for the three-man playoff, which Romo would eventually win.

Thielen’s fourth-place finish was his best ever in his six ACCs. Thielen finished ninth overall with a 49 in 2019. He finished 12th the last two years with 49 points in 2021 and 46 points in 2020.

“It’s just so good to have a full crowd here.” Thielen said. “And this tournament is so special. There’s nothing better. It’s such a special event. And then these fans make it. When they come out to watch a bunch of guys that can’t play golf golf, that’s pretty cool.”

Thielen’s Vikings teammates Harrison Smith and Patrick Peterson also participated in the tournament. Smith finished tied for 27th and Peterson finished tied for 46th. Edina-native Marty Fish finished sixth, former North Star and current Wild executive Mike Modano finished 7th, Warroad alum TJ Oshie finished in 11th place,  Minnesota native Larry Fitzgerald finished tied for 44th and Joe Mauer finished tied for 48th.

The tournament, now in its 33rd year, raises money for various charities across the country. This year, the ACC charity was the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a biomedical research organization dedicated to uncovering the causes, treatments, and cures for life-threatening diseases. Since 1990, the ACC has raised nearly $5 million supporting numerous charities.