How much will the players earn at the 2023 Lake Tahoe Celebrity Golf tournament? Prize money payouts explored

The prize purse for the Lake Tahoe Celebrity Golf tournament, better known as the American Century Championship, is $600,000. More than 20 percent goes to the winner.

The winner of the event is entitled to a $125,000 payout. For the rest of the competitors, a system similar to professional tournaments is used, prorating the prize among the players, according to the places where they finish.

Players only have access to the prize money if they compete as a professional golfer, which most do not. Stephen Curry is one of those who choose to play as an amateur, despite his proven quality (Curry has a handicap of zero).

However, the winnings distribution system is not exactly the same as in professional golf. When amateur and professional players are tied, the latter are paid as if the former had done so as well.

This is unlike what happens in PGA Tour tournaments, where amateurs are simply not taken into account for prize money distribution.

All participants receive prize money (if they play as professionals). The player who finishes in last place is awarded US $1000.

The fundamental benefit of playing as an amateur is that what is done in the tournament can count towards the player's handicap.

This is no small thing, especially for players of a good level. A scratch golfer like Steph Curry himself always needs to record his performances to maintain status.

Lake Tahoe Celebrity Golf tournament's format and more

The format of the Lake Tahoe Celebrity Golf tournament is not the familiar stroke-play format so common in professional golf. The celebrity tournament uses the modified Stableford format, in which you play for the most points and not the fewest strokes.

Joe Mauer, American Century Championship (Image via Getty).

The system used in Lake Tahoe Celebrity Golf, basically, establishes a number of points that the player wins or loses, taking as a reference the mark for each hole. This mark generally coincides with the par for each hole (although it does not necessarily have to).

Competitors normally play the hole and receive 10 points for an Albatross, 8 points for an ace, 6 points for an eagle, three points for a birdie, 1 point for par, zero for a bogey, and -2 for a double bogey.

The player who accumulates the most points over 54 jewels (three rounds) is declared the winner.

This method is based on the Stableford method, but seeks to make the game more aggressive, assigning more points for better play and introducing the loss of points.

The Stableford format was developed to motivate players not to give up on the tournament because of a bad hole. It was developed in the 19th century by Frank Barney Gorton Stableford.

Currently, only one PGA Tour tournament uses the modified Stableford method, the Barracuda Championship (Reno Tahoe Open) which has been played every August since 1999.