Back in 2022, four-time NBA champion Steph Curry kicked off the first season of his Underrated Golf Tour, which aims to bring diversity to the game of golf by making it more accessible. On Friday, the first event of season three began at the brand new Old Barnwell Golf Course in Aiken, South Carolina.
Friday was an opportunity for local kids to “play-in” to the tournament and there were six local golfers who qualified, three boys and three girls. They were then invited to begin play with the rest of the field on Saturday and for one golfer who missed the cut in last year’s qualifier, she said this is her year of redemption. “I played one qualifier last summer and didn’t qualify but I was happy I got to redeem myself this year,” said Maya Claffey, “I’ve been practicing a lot, so it felt like all my hard work paid off.”
History was also made on the course as one golfer hit the tour’s first ever hole in one. “I just went up to the tee and shot the yardage, and it was 143. I said, ‘let me just take a nice easy swing’, so I decided to use my 9-iron. These greens are tough so if you shoot it, it will roll all the way off,” recounts Sehlai Purcell, “I hit it to the spot I wanted to hit and then I saw it keep rolling and I thought ‘don’t go down the hill, don’t go down,” and then it disappeared. I said, ‘did I just make a hole-in-one?” She in fact had, the first ever on the Tour, and she spoke about her reaction to the feat. “I was jumping up and down because it was my first hole in one ever, and especially on this tough course and during underrated… It was just simply amazing,” says Sehlai.
This tour prides itself on providing kids with opportunities to grow the game and that is the case for two brothers, neither of whom ever dreamed golf would become their sport. They both spoke about what this opportunity means to them and what is like playing on a brand new course. “Brand new courses usually come with firmness on the greens and fairways so I’m definitely getting a lot of extra distance with how far I’m hitting the ball, but it’s nice. It’s really pretty and the views on some holes are amazing,” says older brother Toa Ofahengaue, “It’s nice to see everyone again having the first tournament back, just to hang out with friends after rounds, get comfortable, and have a great experience.”
His brother Jordan agrees noting how special a tournament like this is. “I’m just super grateful to be here. It really means a lot to just be out here on this course as well,” says Jordan Ofahengaue, “being one of the first people to play on it, I think it’s just a really good opportunity.”
The field was comprised of 48 girls and 44 boys including the six local qualifiers. At the end of the tournament, Jayden Lizama was the winner on the boys side after finishing at 8 under and Alexis Lamadrid got the victory on the girls side shooting 2 under in the tournament. The next Underrated Golf Event is in Portland, Oregon beginning on July 8th.
