Stephen Curry’s adopted golf team is coming to the Bay Area.
The second annual Howard-USF Intercollegiate, a unique tournament designed to give unheralded college programs a chance to play at marquee venues, will take place Monday and Tuesday at Harding Park. The inaugural event was held last year at TPC Potomac in Maryland, not far from Howard’s campus in Washington, D.C.
Curry, the four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP with the Golden State Warriors, brought the long-dormant Howard University men’s and women’s golf programs back to life in 2019. His initial donation, by some estimates approaching $6 million, allowed the school to field golf teams for the first time in decades, and Division I teams for the first time ever.
Howard men’s golf has thrived since making its return in 2020, twice winning the PGA Works Collegiate Championship, essentially the national championship for Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions. The Howard women’s team also has done well, finishing third at the PGA Works in May.
The Howard-USF event was the pandemic brainchild of Dons men’s coach Jack Kennedy and his brother Nick, who is a member at TPC Potomac. They wanted to provide opportunities for programs other than traditional powers to play on courses such as Harding Park, host of the 2020 PGA Championship.
Last year’s tournament featured nine schools, including five HBCUs. The event has grown to 14 teams this year, including four HBCUs (Howard, Alabama A&M, Prairie View A&M and Alabama State) and four Northern California schools (USF, Santa Clara, UC Davis and Pacific).
“We don’t get invited to major tournaments on elite courses, so we had to create our own event,” Jack Kennedy said. “It’s more than just a golf tournament. We’re trying to bring people together.”
Tournament sponsors supply funding for the tournament, so none of the teams must pay an entry fee.
Curry, who hosted a fundraiser for the Howard program this summer at Pebble Beach, is not involved in this Howard-USF event. Kennedy is holding out hope Curry might make an appearance at Harding on Monday, when the first two rounds will be played, or for Tuesday’s final round. A First Tee clinic is scheduled for Sunday.
Kennedy lauded Curry for his work in creating more avenues for minorities to play golf at high levels. Beyond his involvement with the Howard programs, Curry’s Underrated Tour for junior golfers also has made an impact.
“This is one of the best things he does, providing access to golf to people who don’t normally have access,” Kennedy said. “The resources you need are astronomical, and he’s putting way more than any individual should into growing the game. It’s phenomenal.”