Charles Barkley credits ex-PGA Tour pro for shooting his lowest round in 30 years: "He changed the entire dynamic of my golfing life'

On Friday, July 11, NBA icon Charles Barkley shot his lowest round in 30 years at the American Century Championship. Following this feat, he credited former PGA Tour pro turned veteran instructor Stan Utley, who helped him improve his atrocious swing.

Barkley carded a 9-over 81 in the opening round of the American Century Championship. In his lowest round at the event, he picked up one birdie, four bogeys, and two double bogeys. He also made an eagle on the par-4 Hole 2 that lit up the crowd.

During the post-round interview, Charles Barkley looked happy with his performance and reflected on his struggles with the game in recent years.

"It's so crazy," he said. "I played one-handed here. I played left-handed here. But it just wasn't working for me. But I still had a blast when I came here. But I kept grinding. And now, I told you, I met Stan Utley a few years ago, and he changed the entire dynamic of my golfing life. "I'm not going to play great all the time, but I'm going to play pretty good. And I can get it around. So shout out to my coach. And obviously I put a lot of time and effort into it," he added.

The NBA veteran admitted that it wasn't "fun" for him to return to the American Century Championship every year after a string of bad performances.

"It wasn't a lot of fun playing golf here for 20 years," Charles Barkley continued. "But, they raised a lot of money for charity, and you get to play with people, some of the celebrities are some of the nicest people in the world. "And then I get -- me and Larry are like twin brothers now. I play with Larry every year. Me and Nate, I got to spend some time with Nate. But you think about it, I get to play with those two guys who are amazing at what they do in their life. Normally I wouldn't get to play golf -- I get to play golf with some superstars for three days,"

---

Charles Barkley's hole-by-hole performance at the American Century Championship, Round 1 explored

Here's a look at Charles Barkley's hole-by-hole scorecard at the American Century Championship, Round 1:

• Hole 1 (par 4): 5 (+1)
• Hole 2 (par 4): 2 (–2)
• Hole 3 (par 5): 7 (+2)
• Hole 4 (par 5): 5 (E)
• Hole 5 (par 3): 5 (+2)
• Hole 6 (par 4): 4 (E)
• Hole 7 (par 3): 2 (–1)
• Hole 8 (par 4): 4 (E)
• Hole 9 (par 4): 4 (E)
• OUT: 38 (+2)
• Hole 10 (par 4): 4 (E)
• Hole 11 (par 4): 5 (+1)
• Hole 12 (par 3): 3 (E)
• Hole 13 (par 4): 4 (E)
• Hole 14 (par 4): 6 (+2)
• Hole 15 (par 4): 5 (+1)
• Hole 16 (par 5): 5 (E)
• Hole 17 (par 3): 5 (+2)
• Hole 18 (par 5): 6 (+1)
• IN: 43 (+7)
• Total: 81 (+9)

Edited by Shobhit Kukreti