SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Nev. -- Rick Rhoden, the former Major League Baseball player, PGA Champions Tour competitor and seven-time winner of the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament will attempt to maintain his perfect record of qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open next month.

The former pitcher for four major league teams has earned a spot in the U.S. Senior Open all four times he has tried since turning 50 earlier this decade. In 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, he captured highly-coveted berths in regional qualifying in Florida.

His best finish in the Open was a tie for 41st place in 2006 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, KS, earning $11,890 in prize money. A card-carrying PGA Champions Tour player that year, Rhoden's career earnings on the elite professional circuit exceed $250,000. In the 2005 Open, he tied for 50th at NCR Country Club in South Kettering, OH, winning $8,850. He missed the cut in 2003 and 2007.

On July 6, Rhoden will enter the USGA qualifying tournament at the Dye Preserve Golf Club in Jupiter, FL, seeking one of the berths designated for that regional competition. The U.S. Senior Open is set for July 30-August 2 at famed Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, IN.

Also on his July calendar is the 20th annual American Century Championship of celebrity golf at the lakeside Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe, NV, July 17-19.

Rhoden, now 56, won the American Century in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 last decade and then again in 2003 and last year. Over the years, he has earned over $1 million in prize money at Lake Tahoe.

In 2006, Rhoden earned his PGA Champions Tour card by finishing in the top 12 in the Q School Qualifying Tournament and was ruled ineligible to compete in the American Century because of the "Brodie Rule." In the 1990s, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie was not allowed to play at Lake Tahoe because he was a regular on what was then the Senior PGA Tour, where he won an event. After retiring from the Senior PGA Tour, Brodie was invited to compete in the American Century and notched top five finishes in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000.

"I'm going to see if I can make it five for five," said Rhoden, who has had injury problems with his neck, wrist and back over the years. "I've started lifting weights. I'm feeling better." Rhoden has played one Champions Tour event this year, finishing 77th in the Cap Cana Championship in March at Punta Espada Golf Club in the Dominican Republic. He gained entry via a sponsor's exemption.

The American Century Championship will award $600,000 in prize money, with $125,000 to the winner. Scoring is based on a modified Stableford format with 10 points for a double eagle, 8 for a hole-in-one, 6 for eagle, 3 for birdie, 1 for par, 0 for bogey, and minus 2 for double-bogey or higher.

NBC Sports will televise the second and final rounds of the tournament live on Saturday, July 18 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. PT/ 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET and Sunday, July 19 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. PT/ 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The opening round will be televised on ESPN2 on Friday, July 17.

For the fourth year in a row, the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) is the official charity of the American Century Championship. The tournament will help build awareness of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign, while raising funds for the LAF's cancer survivorship initiatives. Collaborating with the LAF on the 2009 tournament is a natural fit for American Century Investments, given the fact that more than 40 percent of the asset management firm's profits go to fund research for the prevention and cure of gene-based diseases such as cancer.

CONTACT: Steve Griffith, Vizion Group PR, 484 433 7757, sgriffith@viziongroup.net
Phil Weidinger, Weidinger PR, 775 588 2412, dinger@weidingerpr.com