Charles Barkley walked into the American Century Championship with the kind of message Auburn fans can appreciate: he knows people are betting on him, and he wants to reward that faith.
Speaking at the 2026 event in Stateline, Nev., on Friday, Barkley said he was happy with how he played after finishing 62nd in the 90-person field. Caesars had set his prop-bet line at a 63.5-place finish, and Barkley made it clear he was thinking about the people backing him.
“I played well,” Barkley said after placing 62nd in the 90-person field on Friday, with Caesars having set his line on one of the tourney's most popular prop bets at a 63.5-place finish. "I’m having a blast.
I want people to win that money. I think I’m a better player this year.
I’m getting better at golf.”
That’s a pretty different posture from the shrug-and-move-on approach plenty of athletes take when fans have money on the line. Barkley didn’t go there. He stayed on the side of the bettors, and that fits the Auburn Creed-approved image he’s carried for years.
The support around Barkley isn’t just coming from the public, either. John Smoltz, who has seen the progress up close, said Thursday that Barkley has come a long way from the old swing people used to remember.
"He's come so far," Smoltz told reporters ahead of the tournament. "I played with Charles 20 years ago. And where he is at now -- motivated, lost weight, looks great -- every year he's got a bar that he's trying to raise."
Smoltz backed that up with his play on Friday, finishing tied for sixth with former MLB pitcher Derek Lowe.
Barkley’s odds to win the tournament sit at 7,500-to-1, the longest in the field, but the bigger story at this event has long been his improvement on the course. He’s one of the main attractions at the American Century Championship for a reason, and every round seems to add another chapter to the ongoing Barkley golf watch.
A Leeds native and proud Auburn alum, Barkley has built his public image around hard work and straight talk, and that came through again here. He could have brushed off the bettors and kept it moving. Instead, he made it plain: he wants them to cash in if he keeps trending in the right direction.
In Other News...
Auburn Is Closing In On Another Quarterback For Its Future
Auburns quarterback pipeline keeps taking shape for the future, with Alex Golesh already working on 2027 three-star Gary Chatmon and now appearing to be in good position with another young passer. Sam Sollie, a sophomore starter at Gadsden City in Alabama, has an Auburn offer and is regarded as one of the better quarterbacks in his class, giving the Tigers another name to track as they build beyond the current roster.
Rivals Steve Wiltfong has Auburn trending for Sollie, though the race is not finished and there are still other programs in the mix. If the Tigers do land him, Sollie would join Chatmon and Oregon State transfer Tristan Tia as part of the group expected to compete for the job after Byrum Brown moves on, which is exactly the kind of long-range planning Auburn has been trying to stack up at the position. [Read more 🡒]
Why Auburn Just Became The Peach Bowl's NIL Blueprint
Auburns trip to the Aflac Kickoff Game against Baylor is now carrying a lot more than early-season stakes, because Peach Bowl, Inc. has turned the matchup into a $10 million NIL package at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. More than half of that money is slated to go directly to Auburn players for promotional work, while the rest will flow to the athletic department, giving the Tigers a rare spotlight in a deal that blends game-day exposure with modern roster economics.
Peach Bowl CEO David Epps framed the Tigers as a natural fit because of their place in the South and the willingness of their fan base to travel to Atlanta, and he also made clear this could be a template for more schools down the line. Auburn may be the first to benefit from the arrangement, but the idea is clearly built for other programs with similar draw and geography, which means this one game could end up shaping how future neutral-site showcases are sold. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Golesh Just Set A Tone Auburn Fans Have Been Craving
Alex Goleshs first SEC Media Days appearance as Auburns new head coach offered a clear glimpse of the tone he wants to set. The message was less about splash and more about structure, with Golesh talking about building a new identity and a new standard for the program while carrying himself in a serious, businesslike way that fit the moment in Tampa.
For Auburn fans, that kind of approach matters because it feels like a reset built on discipline rather than noise. The Roundtable also noted the strong presence of Byrum Brown and Alex McPherson, giving the day a little more substance beyond the coachs podium turn, and Goleshs emphasis on standards over empty talk suggests this staff wants the program to look and sound different from the start. [Read more 🡒]