Stephen Curry, Golden State's all-time leading scorer, isn't just a basketball savant. He's also a lover of the links — and has long been attached to golf since his early childhood, playing alongside his father, Dell.
In 2019, hopes of burgeoning the game inside the Black community, Curry officially announced his financial support for the re-establishment of the Howard men's and women's golf programs in Washington, D.C., courtesy of a six-year personal patronage.
So this past weekend during the 2021 Masters at Augusta National in Georgia, Curry was watching closely when Lee Elder took to the tee box alongside golf Hall of Famers Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, as an honorary starter for the major.
A golf professional from 1959-2005, Lee was at the epicenter of the 1975 Masters, where he endured a regimen of racism to become the first Black man ever to join the field.
Now, Stephen Curry and Elder are ready to team up as part of a national outreach to minorities — who remain unrepresented in golf's national profile.
“We are a dying breed on the PGA Tour, and I’m speaking of the minorities,” Elder told The Undefeated's Marc. J. Spears. “The minority race, as far as them coming on the tour and playing, it’s just not happening.”
According to Spears, Curry launched a Masters-themed baseball cap through Curry Brand and Under Armour on April 8. Stitched on the cap: “1975,” the year Elder broke the color barrier of The Masters. On the side of the cap, a quote from Elder: “Stay the course.”
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan did just become the first Asian-born player to ever win the Masters, but in his interview with Spears, Elder noted the 2021 field only had one Black player (Cameron Champ) within its ranks.
Stephen Curry, meanwhile, wants to be the young legs for Elder, with hopes of the two pushing ahead with a unified message.
“Golf is such an individual sport,” Curry told Spears. “I can’t imagine how lonely that was, with the anticipation and buildup. To cross that threshold for the first time and the uncertainty and the unknown there, with it only being him and the magnitude of that moment, I honestly can’t imagine it.”
Through his Under Armour brand, Curry carries assorted golf equipment, including hats, polos, shorts and spikeless cleats.
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