Stephen Curry’s ideas to cut his score at golf tourney.
Warriors’ guard aiming to beat odds against pros
Stephen Curry’s tee shot on No. 4 drifted right of its target, took a fortunate hop off the small hill and plopped onto the green about 8 feet from the hole. Curry took some good-natured grief from his practice-round partners after they saw where the ball stopped.
“Local knowledge,” he said, smiling.
Curry hopes his familiarity with TPC Stonebrae comes in handy at this week’s Web.com Tour event in the picturesque hills above Hayward. He returns to the Ellie Mae Classic as its celebrity attraction, pumping star power into a historically low-wattage tournament.
But make no mistake: Curry, befitting a three-time NBA champion and two-time Most Valuable Player, arrives with lofty ambitions.
He knows it’s an extreme long shot to make the cut, but he also lets himself contemplate the possibility. Speaking before his practice round Tuesday, Curry at one point said his goal is simply to play better than he did in last year’s event.
Amid rampant skepticism about how he would fare
against pros one step removed from the PGA Tour — including some who questioned his sponsor exemption — Curry responded with rounds of 74-74. That earned him widespread respect in golf circles, even if he still missed the cut by 11 strokes (at 8-overpar).
He really wasn’t close, in other words.
“I went back and thought, ‘Where can I shave off those 11 shots this year?’ ” Curry said. “Stay away from double bogeys: I think I had two of those last year. I had a penalty shot on one of the par-5s. Little things like that I think about as a true golf nut.
“Now whether I can execute that is another question. But I feel like I can shave off 11 shots. Who knows what the cut will be this year? That’s my goal, try to execute the game plan.”
Curry finished ahead of four players in last year’s 156-man field, including three pros. Three other players withdrew before completing 36 holes.
This time, he arrives with his game a bit sharper than it was in 2017. Then, he played in the tournament shortly after returning from a promotional trip to China.
Now, he’s fresh off a strong showing (tie for 11th) in last month’s American Century Championship, the celebrity event near South Lake Tahoe. Curry also shot 67 at Stonebrae during a casual round this year.
More than anything, though, he finds hope in the way he competed against Web.com Tour pros 12 months ago. Curry was uncharacteristically nervous standing over his opening tee shot — which he hooked off a hill and into the cup holder of a golf cart well left of the fairway.
Curry made three bogeys on his first five holes, putting him in danger of early implosion. He then steadied the ship, thanks mostly to an uncommonly polished short game for a hobby golfer.
“I don’t want to embarrass myself, obviously, but I’ve got some confidence this year,” Curry said. “I definitely feel like I can use the experience last year, and the few chances I get to play tournament golf, to my advantage.”
Curry’s biggest takeaway from his Web.com debut was learning how to ease his nerves on a golf stage. He’s accustomed to the bright lights of the NBA Finals, obviously, but basketball is his livelihood.
He watches tour pros every week on television, but last year’s experiment at Stonebrae gave him a long-sought chance to learn from them in person.
“In Tahoe, I’m one of the better guys out there, so it’s a different kind of confidence,” Curry said. “Out here, I know I’m in well over my head in terms of talent and preparation. But there are little nuances to tournament golf.
“When you’re inside the ropes and you understand just how guys go through their rounds, how they process information, how they snap back from bad shots, just their overall consistency — it gave me a deeper appreciation for the talent out here.”
Curry will play alongside two Northern California tour pros this week in Martin Trainer (who grew up in Palo Alto) and Cameron Champ (Sacramento). They tee off at 9:06 a.m. in Thursday’s opening round and 2:26 p.m. in Friday’s second round.
The tournament will not be televised, but the Web.com Tour will carry live coverage of Curry’s group on its Twitter and Facebook feeds.
Curry played 15 holes Tuesday before leaving for another commitment. For what it’s worth, Curry and Nick Rousey lost their friendly, small-money wager with Taylor Moore and Kevin Dougherty.
Also worth noting: Curry made that birdie putt on No. 4.