Retired NFL player Jason Kelce and his brother Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, famously romancing music superstar Taylor Swift, participate in the American Century celebrity golf tournament on July 12, 2024, on the shores of Lake Tahoe. STATELINE, NEV. The confluence of sports and pop culture took center stage over the weekend with Travis Kelce and the accompanying Taylor Swift aura descending on the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. The platform was the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament and the key figures were the Kelces, whose family stardom has taken off since Travis Kelce, the star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs, began dating the pop megastar — making him one of the world’s most famous boyfriends.
Kelce was in the field marking his sixth appearance at the tournament while Swift was thousands of miles away continuing the European leg of her “Eras Tour.” Kelce was paired with his brother, Jason, the recently retired All-Pro center with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the professional wrestler and TV personality, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin. The trio was trailed along the ropes by Jason Kelce’s wife, Kylie, whose popularity is matching her famous husband and brother-in-law. “I’m so appreciative of how much people have rallied behind the Kelces,” Kylie Kelce said to The Sacramento Bee. “And I know that right now there’s a little bit of over saturation in the Kelce market online. But we really appreciate (the fan reaction) and it’s always so positive and so loving, so it’s great.” We walked all 18 holes with the group during their opening round on Friday while fans flocked to take pictures, exchange Swift-inspired friendship bracelets and congratulate Travis on the year anniversary of his courtship of the singer. The following is an account of what we saw on the course.
RECORD CROWDS POSSIBLE AT AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP Anecdotally, the crowds following the group were roughly twice as large as those that typically followed last year’s winner Stephen Curry, who has regularly been the tournament’s biggest draw given his star power and the event’s proximity to the Bay Area. But that mantle of the biggest draw, at least this year, has been given to the Kelces. And many of the spectators following the group were full-on Swifties.
“Blow me a kiss, Travis!” a fan in a Swift shirt yelled after Kelce hit his tee shot on the first hole. “Do it for Taylor!” said another. “You are an absolute unit,” a fan said to Jason.
Travis Kelce’s shot, which landed in the left rough on the side of a hill near a bunker, led to another fan channeling a Swift song, saying, “Shake it off!” The appearance at the tournament was Travis’ first since his relationship with Swift became public. Attendance tallies won’t be available until the tournament is completed with Sunday’s final round, but officials said advanced ticket sales were up 25% from last year, when the tournament set an attendance record at 76,810 fans for the week. Kelce and the tournament worked to avoid putting a spotlight on his personal life and relationship with Swift. When players are introduced at the first tee to start their rounds, there are often jokes made while short bios are given before their names are announced.
There was no mention of Swift in Kelce’s, and Kelce as of Friday declined media interview requests while its believed he wants to avoid getting peppered with questions about Swift given the constant attention their relationship receives.
TRAVIS KELCE KISSES A FAN, BUT TAYLOR SWIFT LIKELY WOULDN’T MIND Travis Kelce’s second shot was short and right of the green, where fans were grouped near the cart path. It took one bounce and then hit the arm of Matt Jenney, who traveled to attend the tournament from Indianapolis.
Jenney joked that he was protecting everybody around him.
Travis Kelce kisses the arm of a fan who was drilled with his errant approach shot on the first hole of the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. pic.twitter.com/NVtAyzVziA
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) July 12, 2024
“It was the highlight of my trip,” Jenney said. “He came over and kissed my elbow … it feels great.” Kelce enjoyed some friendly banter among fans, many of whom were Raiders and 49ers fans. He responded to 49ers fans by making “L” hand gestures on his forehead as a nod to the Super Bowls LIV and LVIII defeats his Chiefs dealt the 49ers. The Chiefs prepared for the most recent Super Bowl against San Francisco by practicing at the Raiders’ facility in Henderson, Nevada. Kelce responded to one Raider fan on the tee box for the 16th hole by saying: “You guys have really good practice facilities. We appreciate you guys hosting us for the Super Bowl this year,” which drew laughter from the fans in the grandstand.
While waiting to hit on the 10th tee box, one Raider fan asked Kelce if his son could get a picture with him. Kelce didn’t take many pictures on Friday, but did with a young fan wearing a black Davante Adams Raiders jersey. Adams is also participating in the event and autographed the jersey on Thursday. Kelce and the father, Anthony Morales, traded friendly smack talk over the AFC West rivalry between the Raiders and Chiefs. Morales’ son, Junior, has come to the event for five straight years, his father said. The two make the annual trip from Santa Rosa. “Nothing better than that,” Morales said of the banter. “And Travis is a good guy, he’s a great guy.”
Jason Kelce, meanwhile, also interacted with fans throughout the day, including signing a fans baby just off the 15th fairway, and shotgunning a beer with fans after the scenic par-5 16th hole.
“Jason, will you sign my baby?”
Jason Kelce making fans at his first American Century Championship. pic.twitter.com/uCM5nSFRTK
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) July 12, 2024
KYLIE KELCE IS A HIT AMONG FANS Kylie Kelce handled much of the fan interaction while Travis declined in an effort to focus on the golf. She said she didn’t turn down a photo opportunity the entire day, which meant posing for more selfies with fans than she ever had, she said. She often lagged behind the group to fulfill all selfie requests while she was accompanied by two sons of fellow participant Andrew Whitworth, the retired offensive lineman with the Rams.
Kylie also kept her purse full of friendship bracelets to exchange with Swifties, which included friendly bartering with some depending on which of Swift’s albums the bracelets referenced. In many ways, she serves as a conduit between the Swift fandom and the Kelce brothers, whom Swift fans follow incessantly. Kylie and Jason recently went to see Swift perform in London last month.
“We just got to experience the ultimate energy in London,” she said. “That carries over into her fans on a daily basis. It’s absolutely delightful to run into Swifties. They are the sweetest and most of the time its young girls. And since we have three little girls at home, it’s always a great, great experience.” Beyond helping connect Swift fans to the football world, Kelce is also an advocate for autism and neurodiversity, which includes work with the Eagles Autism Foundation. Just next to the tee box on the sixth hole, there was a family all wearing Jason Kelce’s No. 62 Eagles jerseys. Kyle approached the group and took photos posing with their newborn, Hudson.
Hudson’s mother, Sarah Hubbard, teaches special education students in South Lake Tahoe, and was emotional after the encounter. “I really just wanted to meet her, with what she does with the Eagles Autism Foundation,” Hubbard said. “I feel like we really relate on that.” During the short conversation and taking the photos, Kelce accidentally knocked over Hubbard’s iced coffee. To make up for it, Kelce walked to the tee box of the next hole and returned to Hubbard with a beer.
WOMAN HIT WITH ERRANT SHOT
The afternoon round took a serious turn on the 16th. Kelce, who hit a tee shot into a left bunker, hit a long iron shot to the left of the fairway on the par-5 toward Lake Tahoe. The shot hit a woman who was said to be in her 30s in the back of the head. Medical staffers responded quickly as blood could be seen in her hair. Kelce apologized and offered to take a picture with the woman, who was later taken to the hospital as a precaution to get tested for a concussion, a tournament official said. The woman was not identified. The Kelce brothers, who host the popular “New Heights Podcast,” spoke on their show about hitting fans with errant shots before the tournament. “My advice would be, don’t feel bad if you hit somebody,” Travis Kelce said on the episode, “because they bought the ticket. … It’s a bunch of amateurs out there trying to play golf.” Kelce’s mood visibly changed after the incident. He finished the day with -2 points, good for 62nd in the field. Jason Kelce struggled throughout the day, finishing with -24 points, tied for 88th ahead of only former slugger Alex Rodriguez, who was last at -32. “The Miz” Mizanin was tied at 84th at -17. Despite the low scores of the group, Mizanin enjoyed playing with the brothers. “It was pandemonium,” Mizanin said of the crowds surrounding the Kelces. “It was three Cleveland boys hanging out at the golf course. It was a lot of fun, a log of great energy, great positivity. Once you sit down and talk to them, you can see that they’re just good people and good human beings. It’s fun to be around them.”
