Curry likely to host PGA Tour event in Bay Area in 2019
PGA Tour and Octagon officials are planning to hold a new tour event in the Bay Area in September 2019, with Warriors guard Stephen Curry as tournament host, a source told The Chronicle on Thursday.
Octagon, the sports management company, will run the tournament. The venue has not yet been determined, as Octagon officials seek corporate partners and a host course. Curry’s agent, Jeff Austin, works for Octagon.
The tournament will be part of the PGA Tour’s fall schedule, after the FedEx Cup playoffs conclude.
This addition comes as the tour prepares to reshape its schedule. The new lineup will debut with the 2018-19 season, as the Players Championship moves to March, the PGA Championship moves to May and the tour’s playoff events wrap up before Labor Day, to avoid conflicts with football.
Still, the tour again will launch its “wraparound” season with fall events during football season. That schedule has started in early October in recent years, with the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort in Napa. It was not immediately clear how the new Bay Area event, part of the 2019-20 season, will impact the tournament at Silverado.
Also uncertain is whether Curry plays in the new event.
Curry, an avid golfer, played in a Web.com Tour event, the Ellie Mae Classic, in August at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward. Curry, who landed a spot in the field on a sponsor exemption, shot 74-74 and missed the cut — but brought an avalanche of attention to a tournament that typically sails below the radar. — Ron Kroichick PGA: Marc Leishman shot a 10-under-par 61 to take the first-round lead in the Byron Nelson. Jordan Spieth was eight shots back in his hometown event, which returned to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving.
Leishman, who had one of the best scoring averages in tournament history at the previous course, opened with an eagle, started the back nine with three birdies and reached 9 under with an eagle at the 14th. LPGA: Annie Park turned a blistering stretch on the back nine into a mistake-free 6-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead on a crowded leaderboard at the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va. Jessica Korda, Azahara Muñoz, In Gee Chun and Jaye Marie Green also shot 65.
Nasa Hataoka and 2016 winner Ariya Jutanugarn were one back. Hataoka’s bogey-free round included an ace at the par-3 17th, her first as a pro. PGA Tour Champions: Miguel Angel Jimenez shot an 8-under 64 to take a two-shot lead over four players after the first round in the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala. European Tour: Thomas Detry shot a 4-under 67 and was part of a seven-way tie for the lead after the first day of the Belgian Knockout in Antwerp.