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Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers Mix Things Up With Fans at Celebrity Golf Event

Allen was among the most popular participants at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. Rodgers also had a large following—though made things challenging for one autograph-seeker.

Gilberto Manzano

Josh Allen hits a putt at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe.
Josh Allen hits a putt at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. / Gilberto Manzano/Sports Illustrated

STATELINE, Nev. — After a somewhat successful Day 1 of being a novice photographer on the golf course, I broke my rule of not getting in anyone’s way during Thursday’s second practice round of the American Century Championship. 

I nearly collided with NFL MVP Josh Allen on Hole No. 1 as the Bills’ quarterback attempted to sign as many autographs as possible. Initially, Allen told the horde of fans waiting for him that he’d sign autographs after his round, but he struggled to say no. 

That’s where the confusion occurred and when the 6'5", 237-pound Allen almost ran me over. Luckily, Allen’s athleticism allowed him to juke past me before signing more autographs and taking selfies with fans.

Allen was a very popular man on the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. Maybe not as popular as NBA star Stephen Curry, but he was definitely in the top four from the participants. 49ers star tight end George Kittle and new Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers also had huge followings. 

But there were countless times in the past two days I heard people say, “Where’s Josh Allen?” Fans gleamed with joy when they spotted Allen on a golf cart a few hours before his tee time on Thursday. A group of kids were ecstatic that they got a photo with the star signal-caller. That’s the cool thing about the annual celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. Fans get an opportunity to interact with their favorite athletes. 

Well, expect the one guy who failed Rodgers’s memory test. 

Here’s what else I heard and saw from Day 2 of the American Century Championship. 

Rodgers calls out an ‘autograph hound’

The four-time MVP refused to sign for a fan who had memorabilia from the 2005 game between the Packers and Saints. 

Judging from the awkward interaction, Rodgers had seen the fan many times before, calling him an “autograph hound.” Rodgers, who was then Brett Favre’s rookie backup, decided to have fun with the fan, quizzing him on the stats that occurred from the Packers’ 52–3 blowout win over the Saints.

“You’re talking to somebody with a great memory,” Rodgers told the fan. 

“I remember the score, it was a blowout,” the fan replied.

The fan ended up getting the score wrong and he didn’t know the answer to how many snaps Rodgers’s played in garbage time. 

“I don’t believe you, so I’m not going to sign it,” Rodgers said. “You’re an autograph hound. … You can’t fool me.”

Better luck next time. 

Kittle just wants to beat his teammate

On Wednesday, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said he wants to finish in the top 50 for the tournament. For Kittle, a first-time participant in Lake Tahoe, all he wants to do is have a better score than 49ers teammate Kyle Juszczyk for one of the three rounds that count this weekend. 

Kittle felt good about his practice round Thursday, saying his team “is electric and they’re all coming together at the right time.” 

Kittle even went as far as saying that he was aiming to hit a hole-in-one on the final hole of the day. Unfortunately for Kittle, the ball didn’t go in the right direction. But that’s O.K., the real action starts Friday. 

Lawrence finally finds time to golf

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said he’s hoping to break into the top 30, but he didn’t find much time to work on his golf game this offseason because he and his wife welcomed their first child in January. 

“I just want to play decent, so we’ll see,” Lawrence said. “[Practiced] a little bit [this offseason]. I got a baby, so it’s been tougher.”

Chasing Marcus Allen 

At one point, I got a little too confident with my photography skills when I spotted legendary running back Marcus Allen. 

Once I realized that I was trying to chase down Allen from about 40 yards behind, I laughed and immediately stopped. But I did better than the Washington defenders who trailed Allen during his epic 74-yard touchdown run in Super Bowl XVIII. 

Cool moment between legendary receivers 

I was in awe watching a conversation between legendary wide receivers Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald. 

They rank No. 1 and 2 on the all-time receptions list, with Rice recording 1,549 catches and Fitzgerald not too far behind at 1,432. 

At least one Giants fan likes Buck

Joe Buck is one of the best football broadcasters, but he’s not well-liked by many Giants fans partly because many weren’t pleased with Buck’s call for the “helmet catch” in Super Bowl XLII. 

“I’m a Giants fan who actually likes you,” the fan shouted at Buck.

“That’s great. Spread the word,” Buck replied.  

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Gilberto Manzano
GILBERTO MANZANO

Gilberto Manzano is a staff writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated. After starting off as a breaking news writer at NFL.com in 2014, he worked as the Raiders beat reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and covered the Chargers and Rams for the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News. During his time as a combat sports reporter, he was awarded best sports spot story of 2018 by the Nevada Press Association for his coverage of the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov post-fight brawl. Manzano, a first-generation Mexican-American with parents from Nayarit, Mexico, is the cohost of Compas on the Beat, a sports and culture show featuring Mexican-American journalists. He has been a member of the Pro Football Writers of America since 2017.

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