Hours before Finals win, golf invite arrived in inbox
June 12 was a good day for Stephen Curry, even before he and the Warriors secured their second NBA championship in three years.
Curry awoke from his customary game-day nap about 1:30 p.m., checked his email and discovered an invitation to play in the Ellie Mae Classic, this week’s Web.com Tour event in Hayward. Curry, skimming quickly, figured the invitation was to play in the pro-am until he spotted the dates (Aug. 3-6).
“I thought, ‘The pro-am is
multiple days? That doesn’t make any sense,’ ” Curry said Tuesday. “So I read it again, and I saw in the second paragraph it said, ‘sponsor exemption.’ I know what that means.”
That meant Curry was invited to play in the actual tournament. He’s borderline obsessed with golf, so he quickly accepted.
Curry shared this story with The Chronicle as he walked the course at TPC Stonebrae during Tuesday’s practice round. He played alongside Web.com pros Nick Rousey and Taylor Moore, alternately listening to their golf-related advice and answering their basketball-related questions.
They watched Curry repeatedly find trouble with his tee shots. He also showed nice touch around the greens, leaving several chip shots close to the hole.
Curry was good-natured throughout the round, clearly enjoying this rare opportunity to prepare for a PGA Toursanctioned event. He tees off at 8:55 a.m. in Thursday’s opening round, with Sam Ryder and Stephan Jaeger.
And know this: Curry holds no illusions about where he fits in the golf galaxy. He realizes these players are one step away from the PGA Tour, the world’s highest level, and he knows that puts them on a different plane than even a scratch player like himself.
He hopes to make the cut, but he also seems to understand it’s an extreme long shot.
“It probably would require me to play two of the best rounds I’ve played in my life,” Curry said.
His annual outlet for competitive golf, the celebrity tournament near South Lake Tahoe, carries a much more relaxed vibe. That’s where he catches footballs from Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo, or dances alongside Justin Timberlake and Alfonso Ribeiro.
This week, Curry finds himself thrust into a more serious, businesslike arena — where tour professionals are fighting to keep their jobs, or vigorously chasing a promotion.
“I highly doubt I’ll hit a good shot, drop my club and go chest bump my playing partner,” Curry said.
His participation in this tournament has drawn a wide range of responses, especially on social media. Many fans, and some players, found it inappropriate for the Web.com Tour to offer Curry a sponsor exemption.
Their stance: This is an event for tour pros trying to earn their living. Curry’s presence is all about promoting the tournament and selling tickets, absolutely.
Moore, a Web.com rookie, understands the criticism but also sees the positive impact.
“I could definitely see the ridicule,” said Moore, 24. “For a lot of guys, this is their job and for them to have a spot in this tournament could be the difference in their career.
“But I think it’s pretty cool for a world-class athlete like Steph to play in an event like this and kind of promote our sport in a different light. … I don’t have a problem with it.”
Curry spoke to reporters for about 10 minutes after his practice round. Among the non-golf matters he addressed:
On the Warriors’ offseason moves to keep their core together: “The front office did an amazing job. Obviously, we want to preserve what we’ve got and keep the chemistry alive. Thankfully, we got most everybody back, so that’s what you want.”
On the video in which Curry and Kyrie Irving seemed to mock LeBron James’ dancing: “Obviously, I didn’t know anybody was filming it, so when I saw the video, I knew it was going to blow up. If you look at just that 20 seconds, you don’t understand what I was doing. … He’s got me doing the dance.”
At any rate, Curry will remain in public view at least Thursday and Friday, thanks to that email he unexpectedly received hours before he scored 34 points and the Warriors rolled to a clinching, 129-120 victory over Cleveland.
“Amazing day,” Curry said. “That goes down in the history books, for sure.”