Steph Curry’s encore at ACC celebrity golf motivates others to ace Edgewood Tahoe

STATELINE Nev Steph Curry s year-delayed encore at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament is sure to spark memories of his wire-to-wire accomplishment especially his viral hole-in-one Like his influence in basketball golfers galore will try imitating his shot not to mention his epic wingspan celebration that resembled a fighter jet soaring down Edgewood Tahoe s No fairway I ve gotta do what Steph did I ve got to drop in two or three eagles or two eagles and a hole-in-one John Smoltz an Atlanta Braves pitching legend and current Fox analyst disclosed on a media conference call I was on the parallel hole when I heard the roar and only that roar signifies what happened Two years ago Curry holed out with a pitching wedge on the -yard th hole then returned the next day to sink an eagle putt on that clinched the tournament title which he couldn t defend last year while in Paris delivering an Olympic Gold medal Only six golfers have sunk a hole-in-one in this tournament s -year history and Curry s wasn t even the the greater part fresh This could be the third straight year an ace is dealt across the street from South Lake Tahoe s casinos Raiders legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tim Brown made one on the th hole last year and won a boat in the process An even bigger prize was awarded in when Joe Sakic aced the th hole and scored a million payday that he split with an ACC charity Rudy Gatlin Dan Jansen and Marshall Faulk also are in the tournament s specific hole-in-one fraternity that others are trying to break into this week Tight end George Kittle the ers seven-time captain will be making his tournament debut in search of his first-ever hole-in-one Teammate Kyle Juszczyk also is hunting for his first ace though he made his ACC debut a year ago and tied for th with Jerry Rice and comedian Rob Riggle just ahead of Charles Woodson and Steve Young Kittle has been good luck this offseason when it comes to aces He s played with three golfers who ve hit hole-in-ones from a Cabo San Lucas round in February to loops in Nashville in March and April former Packers tight end Robert Tonyan hit the one in March with him A hole-in-one this tournament could deliver a recreational motorcycle hole No a Mastercraft X boat hole No and a million payout hole No that is split with the Stowers Institute for Medicinal Research An interactive display for fans and players awaits at the seventh hole where Curry made his ace in Smoltz has hole-in-ones in his portfolio but none in his previous appearances in this tournament Of his lucky one came on the par- th hole at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas I could not calm myself down to finish the round even though it was a practice round recalled Smoltz who noted he carded a triple bogey on that same hole the next day in tournament action Ahead of making his seventh straight appearance in Tahoe ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas recalled making aces in three states Hawaii North Carolina and New Jersey and how one of them came when playing between the foresomes of pros Harold Verner and Annika Sorenstam When we got back I made sure to ask them how they did on Neither of them won so I was king for the day Bilas recalled Of all the pin-seekers this weekend perhaps no one is more motivated to match Curry s hole-in-one magic than his younger brother Seth who noted I have none I have none Been on the lip two or three times literally the ball halfway over the cup But no hole-in-ones The younger Curry noted however he once played with a first-time golfer who made an ace in his first round It was insane Seth Curry declared But that s just the crazy thing about hole-in-ones you never know You know who else knows that Rory McIlroy who made an opening-round hole-in-one en path to the AT T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Championship in February Related Articles Why the Warriors haven t made any player trades or free agency moves this summer NBA Summer League takeaways Alex Toohey has up-and-down debut for Warriors A dream delayed Bay Area s Chance McMillian has Warriors career put on pause Warriors make official two trades to add rookies NBA Summer League takeaways Warriors rookie Will Richard makes debut vs Spurs Yep make an ace win a trophy Worked for Curry last time here Steph Curry that is By the way he is slated to tee off on the th hole in Wednesday s p m pro-am