After 21 years of the American Century Celebrity Championship, which has stuck to its geographic guns by never leaving oh-so-gorgeous Edgewood Tahoe, it’s safe to say that this event has become the celeb set’s Masters.

For proof, ask John Smoltz, who not long ago wrapped up a stellar Major League Baseball pitching career, mostly as a starter for the Atlanta Braves but also as an effective and gritty reliever. He was as tough as they come, dealing in his prime a fastball that could lay any hardened hitter to waste. It helped him earn one World Series ring in 1995, a National League Cy Young award in 1996 and 213 wins over a 20-year career. But ask him what he thinks of this little ol’ golf tournament up in the mountains after just one year in — 2010 marked his AmCen debut — and he melts like a schoolgirl.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about it. It’s one of the greatest venues I’ve ever been at,” he said during a conference call last week that also featured eight-time winner Rick Rhoden (also a former MLB pitcher) and three-time winner Dan Quinn, who leads the tournament’s always-strong NHL contingent. “It’s by far the best tournament I’ve ever played in.”

Sounds sort of like a Masters newbie waxing passionate after his first competitive go at Augusta National.

Now you purists might throw this comparison into the “sacrilege” file, but think about it: Golf is truly a game of degrees, of inches. On the big tour, guys are separated by hundredths of a stroke in sand saves and putts per round, and those tiny margins mark the difference between earning millions and a mere six figures. But at the celebrity level, where perhaps 15 to 20 players have a legitimate shot at winning this thing —Smoltz is one of those players — Edgewood’s showcase is as good as it gets. Therefore, lumping it in with the Masters for goosebump-inducing cred isn’t a stretch. It’s legit.

Smoltz started salivating over this tournament long before he had a chance to tee it up, being somewhat tied up every July until he turned in one pair of spikes for another — and also raising six kids with his wife and cramming all those pesky media appearances into his schedule. And now he seems to cherish his time at Tahoe as much as his camaraderie with his baseball buddies. He also considers the competition every bit as brutal, even if lasts only three days, not 162 games.

“The opportunity to compete against your peers, at a great time of year … I’ve watched it for 21 years while playing baseball, and I can’t wait to get back there,” he said. “It’s a neat representation of the abilities these players have. Being able to compete for three or four days shows what these guys are made of.”

Rhoden — who, just as Smoltz gave the Nationwide Tour a go last year, tried his hand on the Champions Tour for a couple years — agrees that this is serious stuff for the handful of players who actually keep count of their modified Stableford points (six for eagle, three for birdies, one for par, zero for bogey and minus-two points for doubles and worse). And the competition has only stiffened since the first event way back in 1990, won by former Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien.

“There have always been 10 to 15 guys capable of shooting really good scores,” Rhoden said. “Once the scores started getting better, everybody started getting better. We started playing more events, up to 10 or more on the celebrity tour for quite a few years there. Now this is pretty much the only tournament I’ll play in this year.”

And, grizzled AmCen vet that he is, he still gets those butterflies on the first tee.

“It seems like you’re always making a bonehead error in the first round, in situations you don’t come across just playing with your buddies,” he continued. “You are more excited. I remember my first year there, I was never so scared in my life. I was out of my element. I remember the only year [Hall of Fame baseball great] Robin Yount played, he was a really good player, but he teed up on 10 and dribbled one into the little creek in front of the tee. I asked him how it was, and he said, ‘I’ve played in World Series, but I’ve never been so nervous as I was on that tee box.’ It’s good to have that adrenaline, but once you get past that, it’s just playing golf.”

It’s also a great excuse to take in Tahoe’s matchless beauty while taking care of business.

“It’s my only week in the year when I have nothing going on,” Smoltz said. “Last year I probably played 108 holes of golf beforehand, I was so excited to get out there. This year I will pace myself a little more. My wife and I think it’s a great place to go and relax. With baseball, I only thought about pitching when I went out there on the mound. I’m the same way with golf. I relax, have fun, have a good meal, get my sleep, and really look forward to getting out there and playing a round of golf. I want to see how far I can take it. I don’t take myself too seriously, I laugh at myself, but it really is the only week I have nothing else going on but golf and fun. That’s why I look forward to it.”

Now, if only he could finagle his way into the Masters.

Next: The saga of Sir Charles, and where the rest of us should play during the tournament.

Find out who’s playing at www.tahoecelebritygolf.com

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