Ex-MLB star Derek Lowe ready to take another swing at American Century Championship
Derek Lowe made a career of being a solid starting pitcher as he helped the Boston Red Sox break the "Curse of the Bambino" during his playing career.
The right-handed pitcher was a two-time All-Star with the Red Sox before he eventually played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. As he stepped off the field for the final time as a baseball player during the 2013 season, he would trade his mitt for a golf bag.
Lowe will be in the field for the American Century Championship next month at Edgewood Tahoe Result. It is an event he has circled on his calendar all year.
"This is No. 1, it really is," he told Fox News Digital in terms of tournaments he has played over the year. "You kind of know roughly when the invitations are coming out, you start checking emails. ... It's hard to explain, we don't have tournaments like this at all. You can play in your member-member, member-guest, what have you, but, I think again for the second or third year in a row it's completely sold out.
"It's just an amazing time. I don't know if a lot of people have been out to Tahoe, but it's just a tremendous place. (The) weather, normally every time, has been fantastic. You just never know who you are going to run into. You're sitting at a table and who sits down, Matthew Tkachuk or whoever it is you just don't know. That's the beauty of it. You meet so many great people. So yeah, like I said, about three weeks away, and we can't wait."
Lowe finished in fifth place in last year's tournament – behind Mardy Fish, Joe Pavelski, Annika Sorenstam and John Smoltz. He was seventh in 2023 and eighth in 2022.
The field will also have Stephen Curry back to defend his 2023 title after not getting a chance last year. The Golden State Warriors star was at the Paris Olympics playing for the U.S. men's basketball team.
Lowe, even though he played in MLB for years, admitted he does get a little starstruck meeting some of the superstar athletes and celebrities in the field.
"There is no doubt about it. I remember a couple years ago, meeting Stephen Curry or Patrick Mahomes. You definitely do (get starstruck), there is no doubt about it," he said. "You walk in a room and your like, 'Oh.' You try to act cool, calm, collected like you 're not in awe,
"But yeah, it really is. We are all sports fans. We all admire especially admire things I can't do. So definitely, I can't say there is one individual guy, but over the years there definitely people you come across, and it is pretty cool you get to meet them."
The American Century Championship takes place from July 9-13.
The tournament will also raise money for local and national charities. The event is a 54-hole Stableford format in which golfers earn points for each hole based on the score to par. The golfer who achieves the most points wins.
Lowe, who is entering his 12th year in the tournament, said it's his "favorite time of year."
"The experience of golfing at the beautiful golf course that we play in Tahoe," Lowe explained to Fox News Digital. "The fans are amazing; American Century puts on a great week-long event. I've gotten close a few times but not close enough to win. … It's about a month away, you start playing a little bit more, practicing a little bit more, but everyone loves to go out there and compete but at the end of the day, it's just, the pro-ams they put together are amazing.
"It's the greatest week for a lot of us for all year long."
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
McBride scores 15 of her 29 in 4th as Lynx beat Sparks 82-66 without Collier
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 15 of her season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter, Courtney Williams added 18 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 82-66 on Saturday night for their third straight win. Napheesa Collier did not play for the Lynx (12-1). The 2024 WNBA defensive player of the year, Collier left early in the third quarter of Minnesota's 76-62 win over Las Vegas on Tuesday and did not return. Advertisement McBride made 9 of 13 from the field, 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Williams finished with six assists and four steals. Maria Kliundikova had 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks for Minnesota. Sarah Ashlee Barker hit a 3-pointer that gave the Sparks a 59-58 lead with 7:43 remaining in the game. Kliundikova answered with a layup 24 seconds later, McBride added a 3-pointer and a three-point play and Williams made a pull-up jumper with 4:48 left that gave Minnesota a nine-point lead. Dearica Hamby made a layup to cut the deficit to seven before Alanna Smith and McBride hit 3s 31 seconds apart about a minute later. Kelsey Plum scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half, including a layup with 0.2 second left in the second quarter that gave the Sparks a 35-34 lead at halftime. Hamby finished with 13 points and four steals and Azura Stevens had 11 points and nine rebounds. Los Angeles (4-10) has lost 16 of its last 18 against the Lynx, who beat the Sparks 89-75 in Los Angeles on May 18 and 101-78 at home last Saturday. Up next The Sparks play at Chicago and the Lynx at Washington on Tuesday. ___ AP WNBA:
Associated Press
30 minutes ago
- Associated Press
McBride scores 15 of her 29 in 4th as Lynx beat Sparks 82-66 without Collier
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 15 of her season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter, Courtney Williams added 18 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Los Angeles Sparks 82-66 on Saturday night for their third straight win. Napheesa Collier did not play for the Lynx (12-1). The 2024 WNBA defensive player of the year, Collier left early in the third quarter of Minnesota's 76-62 win over Las Vegas on Tuesday and did not return. McBride made 9 of 13 from the field, 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Williams finished with six assists and four steals. Maria Kliundikova had 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks for Minnesota. Sarah Ashlee Barker hit a 3-pointer that gave the Sparks a 59-58 lead with 7:43 remaining in the game. Kliundikova answered with a layup 24 seconds later, McBride added a 3-pointer and a three-point play and Williams made a pull-up jumper with 4:48 left that gave Minnesota a nine-point lead. Dearica Hamby made a layup to cut the deficit to seven before Alanna Smith and McBride hit 3s 31 seconds apart about a minute later. Kelsey Plum scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half, including a layup with 0.2 second left in the second quarter that gave the Sparks a 35-34 lead at halftime. Hamby finished with 13 points and four steals and Azura Stevens had 11 points and nine rebounds. Los Angeles (4-10) has lost 16 of its last 18 against the Lynx, who beat the Sparks 89-75 in Los Angeles on May 18 and 101-78 at home last Saturday. Up next The Sparks play at Chicago and the Lynx at Washington on Tuesday. ___ AP WNBA:
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
KPMG Women's PGA Championship showcases cutting-edge platform KPMG Performance Insights
Over the past quarter century, advanced analytics have transformed much of the sports world. Thanks to technology platforms such as the PGA Tour's ShotLink, Tour players, coaches, media and fans now have more performance data at their fingertips than they could ever possibly consume. Relative to other sports leagues, the LPGA was late to the analytics party, but has made up for lost time, thanks to the 2021 introduction of KPMG Performance Insights, which generates the sort of advanced analytics and performance data that had been missing from the women's game for years. LPGA athletes suddenly had a wealth of information to help them make small adjustments in their practice routines or tournament play that would translate into significant performance gains. Hole 17at Sahalee CC - KPMG Performance Insights Branding – 2024 KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Since its inception, KPMG has been relentless in scaling up the platform. In 2022, for example, KPMG Performance Insights added a player dashboard (an example can be found here) with personalized portals that provide access to data and insights. In 2023, in support of KPMG ambassador and U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis, the company provided KPMG Performance Insights tools, such as analyzing 20,000 simulations to identify the optimal pairings for the matches. Those simulations went so far as to identify how players perform under pressure or on certain types of grass. Example of Player Dashboard. Last year KPMG Performance Insights went next level through the incorporation of AI-empowered predictive analytics that provided leading-edge insights for LPGA tournaments. Additionally, to enhance the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, KPMG partnered with T-Mobile to introduce KPMG CHAMPCAST presented by T-Mobile, which leverages ShotLink Pro 2.0 cutting-edge technology to create an immersive experience for fans watching at home or onsite. (An example of KPMG CHAMPCAST can be found here.) Advertisement 'The KPMG Women's PGA Championship is the most tech-forward event on the LPGA,' said Shawn Quill, National Sports Industry Leader at KPMG. 'Through KPMG Performance Insights and KPMG CHAMPCAST presented by T-Mobile, we're providing the players with real-time, shot-level data and analytics. With features like win probabilities, winning score projections, a dedicated player portal, 3D imagery, shot trails and individual shot highlights, players, fans and the media are able to get closer to the action than ever before.' KPMG CHAMPCAST presented by T-Mobile. As has been the case from the outset, KPMG continues to ramp up its platform by adding more features and benefits for players and fans. For the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, KPMG is providing new, enhanced features through an AI-generated daily recap. Hole-by-hole AI course analytics that will help players decide how best to attack the difficult Fields Ranch East layout at PGA Frisco. This feature will provide players with information on the best way to play each hole and the trouble spots to avoid on the course. Advertisement Based on the KPMG Performance Insights Daily Recap (an example can be found here) from Thursday's first round, there is a 92% chance the cutline falls between +2 and +4. Players will be able to use this data to help them decide how aggressively they will need to play in the second round. As an example, KPMG ambassador Leona Maguire currently sits at even par through 18 holes. Based on insights from the report, a round of 75 Friday gives her a 95% chance to make the weekend. Additional insights from the recap show the relative difficulty of each hole from the first round. For example, hole 6 (a 446-yard par 4 with bunkers protecting the green) currently has a birdie or better percentage of 2% and a bogey or worse percentage of nearly 50%. As players head into their second round, they will know that a score of par on the sixth hole is actually helping them gain strokes on the field. Daily recap graphic. These are all great tools for LPGA fans and media, but they're invaluable to the LPGA players. Advertisement 'As part of our strategy, we are focused on setting the standard for excellence in women's golf,' Quill said. 'We are excited about our new KPMG Performance Insights Daily Recaps that include AI-powered course analysis, which provides players data on how each hole is playing, and AI-generated scoring targets, so the players can see the predicted cut line and winning scores. These powerful insights will equip the players so they can adjust their approach as they prepare for the next round.' This article originally appeared on Golfweek: KPMG Women's PGA Championship showcase advanced analytics platform
