Steph Curry Joining PGA Tour for 1 Event in 2021 Season
Steph Curry has starred in the NBA for 11 seasons, which has included a pair of MVPs, three NBA titles, and six All-NBA honors. As a side hustle, Curry fancies himself as a golfer and has moonlighted for a couple of Korn Ferry Tour appearances in the past few years. Curry is taking his golf game to the next level in 2021 as he will be joining the PGA Tour for an event in San Francisco at Harding Park, this year’s host of the PGA Championship.
Steph Curry has a solid golf game
In 2017, Steph Curry played his first-ever professional golf tournament at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in California, where he carded a two-day total of 8-over, which included five birdies. The following year, Curry returned to the event and ended the two rounds at 17-over 157, but did play his best professional round, firing a 71. He missed the cut both years.
Curry said despite not making it to the weekend, he enjoyed himself and gained a newfound appreciation for the players and their abilities. “It felt like the NBA Finals, for sure,” he told Golf.com. “The adrenaline rush. So anxious to get out there and play. But I am super confident out there on the court. I am iffy on the golf course. “
In addition to those two events and his annual appearance at the American Century Championship celebrity tournament near Lake Tahoe, Curry pledged $1 million last year to fund the Howard University golf program.
He also held a charity event at Harding Park in San Francisco last September, in conjunction with his foundation and the PGA of America. Curry is also an ambassador for PGA Junior League, an initiative designed it introduce the game to kids.
PGA Tour interested in working with the NBA star
The PGA Tour has kept a watchful eye on Steph Curry’s golf game and his willingness to serve as an ambassador and preach the gospel of golf. As a result, the PGA Tour has worked behind-the-scenes to partner with Curry and launch a new tournament in the Bay Area.
“To partner a PGA Tour tournament with an iconic global athlete like Stephen Curry would be an extraordinary opportunity and one we’ve been pursuing, as widely reported in recent months,” the tour said in a statement in January 2019.
“We look forward to continuing discussions with Stephen Curry, his family’s foundation, and other parties with the hopes of ultimately bringing a PGA Tour event to the Bay Area.”
Steph Curry golf tournament in 2021
After two years of discussions between the PGA Tour and Steph Curry about hosting a golf tournament, the momentum for an event picked up steam in recent months. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission was expected to approve a proposal Thursday that would revise the city’s contract with the PGA Tour, and allow the three-time MVP to host a Tour event at Harding Park, the site of Curry’s charity event.
The event would debut in September 2021 during the fall portion of the PGA Tour schedule, and the contract is expected to run for at least five years. Workday, the finance and human-resources software company, which sponsored a recent PGA Tour event in Ohio, has agreed to be the title sponsor.
While there are countless positives from the deal, there is one downside. Harding Park would no longer host the 2026 Presidents Cup. However, before the Curry event starts in 2021, Harding Park will have its first chance to shine August 6-9 at the PGA Championship, the first major in the course’s 95-year history.
Steph Curry might not have the golf skills to be good enough and play full-time on the PGA Tour, but his enthusiasm for the game and willingness to inspire others to participate in it is first-class. That energy has finally been rewarded with a tournament that will allow him to spread the gospel of golf to a national audience.
