Although Stephen Curry is a fantastic golfer, he doesn’t have as much time as retired players who use golf as a new competitive outlet once their careers are over to polish their craft.
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Every year, several of the biggest names in sports, like the current champion Tony Romo, former tennis player Mardy Fish, and former hockey player Joe Pavelski, compete at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. Having a chance to win the tournament is exceedingly uncommon for a current player, but Steph was in the lead after the first two rounds thanks in large part to an ace in his second round on Saturday, which netted him eight points under the modified stableford scoring system.
Fish overtook Curry on Sunday and maintained it at the 18th hole, leaving Curry needing an eagle to earn the six points necessary to win the tournament if Fish shot par. Curry was able to put his second shot on the par-5 hole about 20 feet above the hole for eagle after Fish had to punch out after a fan yelled in his backswing on the tee. Fish could only give himself a lengthy birdie putt, which he left short.
Naturally, Curry hit the long-range three-pointer (this time in a different location) to seal the victory in a walk-off, raising his hat in the air and sprinting to his wife Ayesha to share the joy.
Curry made a fairly amazing putt since he knew that even with a birdie (and three points), he would still be one point behind Fish. He gave it a little extra and poured it into the cup’s center as a result, winning his first golf competition and becoming only the second basketball player (after Vinny Del Negro) to lift the trophy.