(Stateline, Nev.) – Tony Romo, the star quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and renowned amateur golfer, has been installed by the Harrah’s & Harveys Lake Tahoe Sports Book as co-favorite to win the 22nd annual American Century Championship (www.tahoecelebritygolf.com) celebrity golf tournament.
Romo joins eight-time champion and longtime favorite Rick Rhoden at 5-2 atop the board at Harrah’s & Harveys, which makes odds on the event each year as the official host hotel and sports book. Legal wagering on all the players plus selected head-to-head match ups are available each year at Harrah’s & Harveys and in casinos throughout Nevada. Last year, Rhoden was the pre-tournament favorite at 9-5 and Romo was the second choice at 5-2.
The Cowboys signal-caller finished second in 2009 and 2010 and third in 2008. Among Rhoden’s eight wins are the 2008 and 2009 titles.
Following Romo and Rhoden on the 2011 board are last year’s winner and three-time champion Billy Joe Tolliver at 4-1 plus other top-tier notables John Smoltz (5-1), Grant Fuhr (8-1), John Elway (10-1), Marshall Faulk and Jerry Rice (20-1), Tim Tebow (25-1) and Michael Jordan (40-1). The longest shot among the 80-plus golfers is Charles Barkley at 500-1.
“Romo will be playing in his fifth tournament and he is getting more and more comfortable with the course, the live galleries and the live network TV environment,” offered Harrah’s & Harveys Sports Book director Steve Schorr. “It’s clear that he wants to win this tournament.”
Golf Digest magazine ranked Romo as the number one pro athlete golfer in the country in 2009. He reached the second round of the Wisconsin State Amateur match play tournament and has a host of amateur and celebrity tournament titles on his resume.
Rhoden, the former pitcher for seven major league teams, has won over $1 million in prize money at the American Century Championship and has been favored each year since he won the tournament in 1991, the second year of competition. Rhoden was No. 1 on Golf Digest’s 2007 ranking of athlete-golfers but was removed from the 2009 list after earning his playing card on the PGA Champions Tour. Rhoden is no longer playing on the PGA Champions Tour and still sets his sights on the Tahoe title each year.