NEW YORK – There was a moment after Steph Curry rang the opening bell at Nasdaq when he stepped back from the mic and crowd and brought both hands to his face in a look of gratitude and disbelief. Curry, standing on a floor of confetti with an Olympic gold medal draped around his neck, soaked in the scene. A few seconds later, a junior from his Underrated Golf Tour walked over to give him a hug.
Curry has lived a life of defying expectations, which is why the NBA superstar’s golf tour and documentary are titled “Underrated.” The three-star recruit put three stars in the tour’s logo, serving as a visual reminder of what’s possible. After the bell-ringing ceremony, Curry Cup participants walked outside onto Times Square to watch themselves on the seven-story MarketSite Tower. There was even a congratulatory text for Curry Cup winners Jaden Soong and Izzie Kelly.
“This tour is obviously amazing and brings me a lot of joy and happiness,” said Soong the day prior in his victory speech, “and you don’t get this type of experience on any other tour.” Soong couldn’t have possibly put it better. There is no tour in the world like Underrated, an all-expense-paid junior circuit that gives those who are underrepresented in this game an opportunity to be exposed to courses and conditions and college coaches they’d likely otherwise not see. Every aspect of the season-ending Curry Cup is first-class, from the event’s signage to the high-quality golf course to the sushi bar.
There’s a goal, of course, of increasing the number of black and brown athletes in the upper echelon of competitive golf. But that’s not the only measure of success. For Curry, golf is the vehicle that opened the door to Nasdaq. It’s what led that same group of kids to a Q&A later that morning with KPMG CEO Paul Knopp, where they learned his story of growing up in a family of seven kids and becoming the first to go to college. Knopp now oversees a firm that does $12 billion in revenue annually in the U.S.
Ken Stackhouse sat in the back of the room as she talked to the junior golfers and marveled at the opportunity. It was Stackhouse’s daughter Mariah, the only black woman with any kind of LPGA status, who connected Curry’s tour with her personal sponsor, KPMG. She immediately felt their missions aligned, and KPMG reached out to Curry’s team to get involved as presenting sponsor.
Following the golf competition, juniors took part in a KPMG Leadership Development Day in New York City which, after the bell-ringing festivities, included a packed day of panels that began with a session on leadership with Curry and Mariah. Even the parents of those who qualified for the Curry Cup were invited to attend their own sessions, including one led by Ken Stackhouse and Curry’s father Dell, a former NBA player.
