Barkley Again 7,500-1 Long Shot at Celebrity Golf Event
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Charles Barkley is listed at 7,500-1 to win this week's American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe — the longest odds of anyone in the field, per Caesars Sportsbook
- Barkley carried those same 7,500-1 odds last year, when he finished 69th after a career-best 58th-place finish in 2024
- Two-time champion Mardy Fish and defending champion Joe Pavelski co-lead the field at 3-1, with previous winner Stephen Curry and baseball announcer John Smoltz next at 7-2
- Barkley is Caesars Sportsbook's biggest liability, even though Curry has drawn the most total bets of any golfer in the field, because those 7,500-1 odds turn even small wagers into significant worst-case payouts
- Caesars has set Barkley's finish over/under at 63.5, with the bulk of action betting on him finishing worse than 63rd
- Tournament peer John Smoltz, who played with Barkley 20 years ago, said "He's come so far… motivated, lost weight, looks great" and noted "every year he's got a bar that he's trying to raise"
Why it matters: Barkley's 7,500-1 odds make him Caesars' biggest potential payout — the same remote tier as UMass winning the college football national championship — even as peers publicly praise his fitness transformation following career-best finishes of 58th (2024) and 69th (last year). The disconnect between sportsbook skepticism and locker-room optimism turns his three-day walk into one of the tournament's most-watched storylines for bettors and fans alike.
