Major League Baseball is hosting its first-ever golf tournament. The Capital One MLB Open at Shadow Creek takes place in Las Vegas this week from November 12 through the 14th, during the MLB Awards Week.
Each team sends a representative from their current team to pair along with a legend. For the Cleveland Guardians, Slade Cecconi is paired with Kenny Lofton.
Wednesday was the Pro-Am. The main event began on Thursday with Round One. Round Two begins on Friday. The tournament offers a unique scoring system, which will turn every hole played into an opportunity to climb up the leaderboard.
The event features stars of all shapes, sizes, and ages, highlighted by John Smoltz, Jimmy Rollins, Justin Turner, and David Wright, with commentary by four-time World Series Champion Mookie Betts. For those who do not know about John Smoltz, he would much rather be on the golf course than do just about anything else with his summer days.
Smoltz has been known to have a sub-wo handicap, which, for those who do not know golf, is extraordinarily good. Having a zero handicap is about the level of an average professional golfer.
Unfortunately, you cannot watch the event live, as it does not air until November 18th at 9:30 pm Eastern time on TNT.
We are getting some footage through social media. One video highlights Braves’ outfielder Michael Harris II breaking his club while warming up.
We also have footage of newly crowned back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal sinking a putt from 60 feet away. Skubal on X commented, saying, “Don’t show the footage from the next three holes.”
Make sure we don’t post the footage from the next 3 holes 😂 https://t.co/hfiXZAFZBY
— Tarik Skubal (@TarikSkubal) November 13, 2025
Lofton was on MLB Network earlier this week to discuss the event. Lofton is an avid golfer, saying he loves that competitive edge.
Lofton’s strategy on the links is simple, and similar to his strategy on the diamond, “I keep it simple. I know my limits on the golf course. I just try to go straight ahead, that’s all I try to do.”
Not much has been released regarding Slade Cecconi’s skills on the links, but you would have to imagine he got sent to the event for a reason; he should be a serviceable golfer to give the Guardians a chance to compete. We already know how valuable he can be in the clubhouse.
Golf and baseball have had a long-standing relationship. Players like Justin Verlander, Mike Trout, Greg Maddux, Adam Wainwright, and Jeff McNeil are among the most avid golfers, both past and present, who were also professional MLB players.
This is the first year of this event, and one should believe that it will not be the last. Baseball players love golf, and golf is a sport you can play year-round thanks to places like Las Vegas and Arizona, which rarely see cold weather and snow.
This is the time for these ball players to hit the links as much as possible, with no fear of it messing up their baseball swing or their game day routines. Tune in on November 18th to see Slade Cecconi and Kenny Lofton represent the Guardians on the links and see how they compare to some of the better-known MLB golfers throughout the years.
