Charlotte native and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry will receive the Charlie Sifford Award for his work in advancing diversity in golf.
Curry launched Underrated Golf in 2021, a purpose-driven business with a commitment to provide equity, access and opportunity to participate in golf to student-athletes from every community. Starting in 2019, he funded the Howard University golf team for six years. Before Curry’s contribution, Howard had not fielded a golf team since the 1970s. Curry also won the 2023 American Century Championship for celebrity golfers at Lake Tahoe in July.
Curry will be presented the award on Monday, June 10, at the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the week of the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst.
“I’m incredibly honored to be chosen as the recipient of this year’s Charlie Sifford Award and am grateful to the World Golf Hall of Fame for the recognition in this sport that I am so passionate about,” says Curry in a statement. “I believe that we have the opportunity to grow the game of golf by providing equity, access and opportunity to young golfers who have that same passion, dedication and determination as so many of us out on the green.”
The Sifford Award was created in 2021 to honor an individual who personifies Sifford’s groundbreaking achievements in golf. Also a Charlotte native, Sifford was the first Black player on the PGA Tour. He died in 2015 at age 92. The former Revolution Park Golf Course in west Charlotte is now known as the Dr. Charles L. Sifford Golf Course at Revolution Park.
Sifford turned professional in 1948, but was excluded from the PGA Tour until 1961. Despite the injustice of having some of his best years behind him, Sifford won the Travelers Championship (1967), Genesis Invitational (1969) and finished in the top-60 on the money list in his first nine years on the Tour.
In 2004, Sifford was inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of his historic contributions in breaking barriers for generations of minority golfers who would follow in his footsteps, including Tiger Woods, a 2022 inductee. Sifford also was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
Curry was the seventh pick out of Davidson College in the 2009 NBA draft. Since joining the NBA, Curry has been selected to eight All-NBA Teams and voted league MVP twice. He has helped lead the Warriors to four NBA championships.
Curry’s father, Dell Curry, had a 16-year NBA career and starred for the Charlotte Hornets from the team’s first season in 1988 to 1998.