Steph Curry in wait-and-see mode on Tahoe golf reign — and Warriors tenure

STATELINE, Nev. – Steph Curry stepped onto the No. 7 tee box, spread his arms wide, and mimicked his hole-in-one celebration here two years ago.

Curry looks as comfortable and confident as ever. It’s not the first time he has tried repeating a championship effort, of course. He has won four NBA titles for the Warriors, after all.

After taking a year’s sabbatical from the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament to win Olympic gold in Paris, Curry is happy to be back in the title hunt.

“The energy out here is ridiculous. I missed it last year,” Curry said Thursday. “I’m happy to be back with a lot of great players that we all now.

“I’m coming tomorrow to enjoy the experience,” Curry added. “The course is great. I don’t know about my game, but we’ll find out, compete and keep it moving.”

How much longer will Curry, 37, compete on the basketball court? He’s 16 years into a revolutionary, unparalleled career with the Warriors, and his contract runs through the 2026-27 season, for which he signed a $62.6 million extension last summer.

“I’m just taking it two years at a time. That’s all I have on my contract,” Curry said. “I hope to be in a position where physically I have the choice and it’s not made for me. I’m doing everything I can to stay limber, stay active and do what I do at a high level. I’m just trying to stay in the moment and see what happens in two years.”

Curry is the co-favorite here with 2024 winner Mardy Fish, who is downplaying any rivalry between the two. “It’s pretty soft, to be honest. He’s too nice,” Fish said. “I’ve been trying to push the pressure on him, that he’s the defending champ.”

Introduced at Thursday’s press conference as “co-defending champion,” Curry claimed that Fish badgered him with FaceTime calls “every other day the last six weeks.”

Two months ago, a hamstring injury sidelined Curry as the upset-minded Warriors bowed out in the Western Conference semifinals against Minnesota.

Curry is a decade removed from his first NBA championship.

The Warriors’ offseason has gone relatively quiet, aside from losing Kevon Looney to New Orleans, debating Jonathan Kuminga’s uncertain future, making low-key draft picks, and sifting through rumors about trades and free agency.

Asked about the Warriors’ reported pursuit of free agent center Al Horford, Curry responded: “He’s a champion, a great player. If and when all that stuff happens, I’ll talk about it.”

Curry said he spoke last week with LeBron James – after James’ initial foray into golfing led to Curry’s “rookie hazing” on social media.

“He got his first few swings. I talked to him last week and he told me how much fun he had,” Curry said. “There’s something to work with that swing. That’s what I was going for. He’s got good bones and good foundation. If he spends a little time and gets a little coaching, he’s got potential, for sure.”

Asked if James could someday play in this Tahoe tournament, Curry quipped: “Out here? I mean Charles (Barkley) plays, so probably.”

Curry has six top-10 finishes in 13 appearances since 2010. On top of that is the family rivalry he’ll renew this weekend with his father Dell and brother Seth in the 90-player field.

“You have to have some fireworks going,” Steph Curry said. “You can’t get too down on a bad hole. You have to be aggressive.”

Such as with an ace on No. 7 in 2023?

“The hole-in-one was crazy. It was an unreal moment running down the seventh hole. Thankfully I didn’t hurt myself,” Curry recalled. “Eagles, birdies, you have to go low, you have to attack some flags, you have to make some puts. It’s the best version of golf, because you’re always aggressive and in it. That’s the fun part.”