What’s next for Stephen Curry after his second NBA title? Play in a pro golf tournament
Newly minted NBA champion Stephen Curry, a scratch golfer, is going to test his game against the pros.
Curry has accepted an invitation to play at the Ellie Mae Classic golf tournament, which begins Aug. 3 at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, California, near his home base in the Bay Area of northern California. The Ellie Mae is part of the Web.com Tour, a developmental tour for aspiring PGA golfers.
A Golden opportunity. The @NBA’s @StephenCurry30 has accepted an invitation to compete in a @WebDotComTour event. pic.twitter.com/SDoIyvVLdB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 28, 2017
A year ago, Stephan Jaeger won the event with a 30-under total. As for what Curry is facing? Well, 23 athletes from different sports -- including solid golfers Jerry Rice and John Smoltz -- have played on the Web.Com and all 23 times, those athletes failed to make the cut.
Rice, for example, played in the same event in 2011 and 2012. The NFL Hall of Fame receiver missed the cut in 2011 with rounds of 83 and 76 and withdrew in 2012 after playing 27 holes in 23 over.
Curry is pumped to try to become the first athlete from another sport to make the cut.
People asking why I’m playing. Unexpected invite & Always a dream 2 play golf w/ the pros. @WebDotComTour has so much talent it’s unreal.
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) June 28, 2017
obviously want to play well & see how I handle tournament golf. No expectations except keep ball out of the gallery and not go Happy Gilmore
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) June 28, 2017
It'll be the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event for Curry, who has competed in various celebrity events and pro-ams. The top 25 on Web.com Tour's regular-season money list will earn PGA Tour cards.
Curry will maintain his amateur status, competing on an unrestricted sponsor exemption in the event that benefits the Warriors Community Foundation.
"It is a huge honor to be able to play in the 2017 Ellie Mae Classic, benefitting the Warriors Community Foundation," Curry said in a statement Wednesday. "When I found out I was getting a sponsor’s exemption, I had a lot of emotions about it because I love to play golf. It’s a passion of mine. But to be able to play alongside the next and best of the golf professionals is going to be a huge honor, a huge treat. Looking forward to hopefully not embarrassing myself, but mostly just having a lot of fun, and hopefully raising a lot of money for the Foundation. So it’s gonna be really fun. I hope everybody comes out and watches. I’m going to try to keep it in the fairway and play well, so, see you guys there."
▪ Also Wednesday, Nissan's upscale Infiniti brand announced that Curry would be its new global brand ambassador. The point guard will be featured in ads for the Q50 sports sedan beginning this summer.
The Associated Press Contributed
This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 6:32 PM with the headline "What’s next for Stephen Curry after his second NBA title? Play in a pro golf tournament."