Tony Romo Leads American Century Championship After Round 1; Steph Curry 12th

Defending champion Tony Romo continues to dominate the American Century Championship with a three-point lead over Arizona Cardinals star Patrick Peterson at the conclusion of the first round on Friday.

The tournament uses the Modified Stableford scoring system. Romo walked off the course at Lake Tahoe with a score of 26, followed by Peterson at 24, Derek Lowe at 23 and John Smoltz at 22 to round out the top four.

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is part of a five-way tie for 12th place with a score of 15. 

Here's how the top of the leaderboard looks after Day 1 at the American Century Championship:

1. Tony Romo (26)

2. Patrick Peterson (24)

3. Derek Lowe (23)

4. John Smoltz (22)

5. Jack Wagner (21)

T6. Carson Palmer (20)

T6. Dell Curry (20)

8. Mark Mulder (19)

T9. Mardy Fish (17)

T9. Mike Modano (17)

T9. Jeremy Roenick (17)

T12. Stephen Curry (15)

T12. Joe Pavelski (15)

T12. Bret Baier (15)

T12. Case Keenum (15)

T12. Adam Thielen (15)

Romo and Curry were part of a star-studded group that also included Justin Timberlake. The Grammy-winning singer didn't seem to be bothered by the pressure, finishing with a respectable score of 11 and tied with Jerry Rice for 24th place. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Johnny Damon had the second-worst score of the round. The two-time MLB All-Star is -27 thanks to 14 double-bogeys and three bogeys. He did manage to save par on No. 17. 

But the star of the day was Romo. The Dallas Cowboys legend entered this year's tournament as the defending champion. His quest to repeat is off to an outstanding start. 

Romo had a rough start on the front nine, at least by his standards. He made the turn with just seven points before finding momentum on the back nine. The CBS NFL analyst had five birdies and four bogeys down the stretch to take a slim lead into the second round. 

Lowe and Smoltz remain hot on Romo's tail with 36 holes to play.

Another player to keep an eye on is Mark Mulder. His first-round total of 19 has him alone in eighth place. The former MLB All-Star opened last year's event with a 16 before turning in a 31 in the second round en route to a second-place finish.