Stephen Curry is a terrific golfer, but as an active athlete, he doesn’t have quite as much time to hone his craft on the course as the many retired athletes who turn to golf as a new competitive outlet after their career ends.
At the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, there are a ton of big names from the sports world that compete every year, with most of the best of them being retired like defending champion Tony Romo, former tennis player Mardy Fish, and former hockey star Joe Pavelski. It’s extremely rare for an active player to be in the mix for the title, but Steph led after the first two rounds, highlighted by an ace in his second round on Saturday that earned him eight points in the modified stableford scoring format.
On Sunday, Curry got pushed by Fish, who took the lead on the back nine and held it on the 18th tee, with Curry needing an eagle to get the six points needed to win the tournament if Fish made par. After a fan yelled in Fish’s backswing on the tee, he had to punch out and could only leave himself a long birdie putt, which he left short, and Curry was able to put his second shot on the par 5 about 20 feet above the hole for eagle.
Naturally, Curry buried the long-range three (this time in a different venue) for a walk-off win, immediately tossing his hat into the air and running over to his wife Ayesha to celebrate.
It’s a pretty incredible putt from Curry, who was freed up to give it a run knowing a birdie (and three points) was going to leave him one shy of Fish. So he gave it a little extra and poured it into the center of the cup for his first golf tournament win, making a little history as the second basketball player to win the tournament (Vinny Del Negro) and a rare active athlete to hoist the trophy.
