Steph Curry one-upped himself on Sunday. A day after his iconic ace, he sank a final-hole, 18-foot eagle putt to capture the American Century Championship title in dramatic fashion.
Needing to make the long-shot putt on the 18th green to win, the Warriors star did what he seemingly always does in the clutch – he delivered. And he did it in style, turning away to begin his wild celebration even before the ball landed in the cup.
STEPH CURRY WITH THE CLUTCH EAGLE ON THE 18TH HOLE TO WIN THE AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP 🤯🤯🤯
pic.twitter.com/in7jCsUTkk— Guru (@DrGuru_) July 16, 2023
Curry sprinted toward the gallery at Edgewood Tahoe Resort, stopping to hug his wife Ayesha and then triumphantly picking up his son Canon as the crowd roared its approval.
For Curry, winning the popular tournament in Stateline, Nev., on Sunday was a dream come true. Heading into the 18th hole, he trailed former tennis star Mardy Fish by 3 points in the modified Stableford scoring system, meaning he needed to make the putt for the improbable 6-point eagle to win the tournament. A miss would mean a second-place finish for Curry.
“I always dreamt of a situation like this, on the 18th green in front of a crowd like that, to make a putt,” Curry told NBC Sports. “Thankfully it went in, which is insane.”
Steph Curry is still Steph Curry so he walked away celebrating before his winning putt dropped pic.twitter.com/3rnQp3Tf6f
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 16, 2023
Curry’s 75 points enabled him to edge Fish (73) as former Sharks star Joe Pavelski (66) finished in third place. It had been 23 years since an active athlete had won the Tahoe tournament – NFL kicker Al Del Greco of the Tennessee Titans won it in 2000.
Curry joined onetime Warriors guard Vinny Del Negro, who won it in 2021, as the only NBA players to hoist the trophy at Tahoe’s 34-year-old tournament.
The top of the final leaderboard of the three-day tournament featured more Bay Area greats, including ex-A’s pitcher Mark Mulder (fourth place, 59 points) and former Cal star quarterback Aaron Rodgers (fifth place, 56 points). NFL great and former Stanford star John Elway (50) tied for ninth place.
Curry’s father, Dell, wound up in 11th place with 48 points; his little brother, Seth, was tied for 46th place with -13 points.
Defending champion Tony Romo finished in eighth place.
Curry is the first Black winner in the history of the tournament. His first-place prize of $125,000 will be donated to charity because Curry is an amateur golfer.
Noted duffer Charles Barkley finished 81st in the 93-player field.