It's never a surprise to see Joe Pavelski at the top of the leaderboard at the American Century Championship.
The former San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars forward leads the annual celebrity event with 23 points after Friday's opening round at Edgewood Tahoe South.
Pavelski is just ahead of former NBA player and coach Vinny Del Negro (22 points) and two points in front of Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry and former soccer star Taylor Twellman (21 each). Just behind them are Carolina Panthers receiver Adam Thielen (19 points), former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current NFL broadcaster Tony Romo and Oklahoma City Thunder guard and 2025 NBA champion Alex Caruso (18 points apiece).
The annual golf tournament, which features some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment, uses a Stableford format in which points are awarded for each hole's score. A hole in one is worth eight points, an eagle is six, birdie is three, par is 1 and bogey is zero points with negative two points being awarded for a double bogey or worse.
Pavelski, a veteran of 18 NHL seasons, is routinely at or near the leaderboard for the weekend.
"Left a couple of downhill putts short, made a couple of uphill ones, but hitting it pretty good," Pavelski told Michelle Dapper of KCRA, NBC's Sacramento affiliate, in a mid-course interview shared on social media.
