Respectable Curry misses cut
More important to him, Curry avoided slapping a big, embarrassing number alongside his name.
“I’m extremely proud of backing up (the first 74) with another solid round, because it could have gone either way,” he said. “It could have been all that 80-90 talk going into this tournament.”
For all his achievements in basketball — two-time MVP, two-time NBA champion, most three-pointers in a season — Curry fought nerves the past two days. Golf is an altogether different beast, and he knew that many people, including players in this tournament, were skeptical of his ability to compete against tour pros.
So Curry savored the positive vibes in the wake of Thursday’s round. He received text messages from some PGA Tour pros he knows, and he checked social media more than usual to see what people were saying.
Padraig Harrington, on Twitter, said Curry’s score was the first thing he checked Thursday. Jack Nicklaus tweeted his best wishes, thanking Curry for enjoying golf as much as he likes basketball. Curry hadn’t seen Nicklaus’ words until Friday. “That’s crazy,” he said. Even so, as was the case in the opening round, Curry threatened to implode. He did not hook his opening tee shot into a golf cart cup holder, as he did Thursday, but he repeatedly pulled his tee shots left of the fairway, into the rocks and tall, gnarly grass. Golf is hard, even for Curry. He made four bogeys on his first eight holes. Once, attempting a long birdie putt over a steep ridge, he didn’t hit the ball hard enough and it practically rolled back to his feet. He sank a clutch putt to avoid double bogey.
Curry found calming guidance from his caddie, Jonnie West, son of NBA legend Jerry West. Jonnie works for the Warriors, is a member at Stonebrae and often plays friendly rounds with Curry.
“I kept reminding him the first couple holes, we were at this point (Thursday) — through three holes, four holes, five holes,” West said. “Once he got to the back nine, he kind of relaxed and said, ‘Let’s just have fun.’ Then he hit a lot of good shots.”
Curry made five consecutive pars (on Nos. 9-13) to steady the ship. He pocketed his first birdie on No. 14, a short par-4, by smacking his drive into a greenside bunker, plopping out to 8 feet and sinking the putt.
Curry added another birdie on No. 17, momentarily giving him a great chance to beat his opening-round score. But he missed the green on his final hole, and his par putt slid past the edge.
The crowd still gave Curry a nice ovation after he tapped in for bogey, because this is the Bay Area and he’s Steph Curry.
His presence brought uncommon energy to this tournament, which historically sails below the radar. Larger-thanusual galleries followed Curry around the hilly layout with sweeping views of the bay. Among the spectators Friday was his wife, Ayesha.
Curry helped by engaging with fans — he high-fived two young kids as he walked to the No. 16 tee, and then he signed another boy’s shoe while walking down the 18th fairway.
“This is two days of golf I’ll remember for a long time,” Curry said.
Briefly: Stanford alum Andrew Yun shot 62 to zoom into the lead, at 13-under for the tournament. Yun, 26, graduated from Stanford in 2013. … Brandon Harkins, who attended Las Lomas High in Walnut Creek, trails Yun by two shots after posting 65. … Three players besides Yun posted 62 on Friday: Nate Lashley, Martin Piller and Michael Hebert.