Steph Curry's secret weapons in golf? A YouTuber and his college hoops teammate

San Francisco Chronicle​

18 hours ago

STATELINE, Nev. — Stephen Curry and Jason Richards share deep personal history. They formed the starting backcourt at Davidson for two seasons, with Richards playing point guard and baby-faced Curry scurrying around off the ball.
Curry and Alex Riggs share a different kind of history. Curry watched some of Riggs' golf instructional videos on YouTube four or five years ago, liked the way he explained the swing and reached out on Instagram, a digital cold call.
And now Richards and Riggs both are instrumental members of the Curry golf team.
Their presence was unmistakable Friday at Edgewood Tahoe in the opening round of the American Century Championship. Curry started slowly, posted three birdies on the back nine and finished with 21 points in the modified Stableford scoring system, two behind former San Jose Sharks standout Joe Pavelski.
Curry will begin play Saturday tied for third in the celebrity tournament alongside Lake Tahoe, well positioned to chase the title he memorably won two years ago.
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His connection to Richards traces to the 2006-07 college basketball season, when Curry arrived at Davidson amid little fanfare — long before he was world-famous Steph Curry. Richardson, two years older, was entrenched at point guard. Curry slid into the lineup alongside him.
He promptly committed 13 turnovers in his debut, against Eastern Michigan, before bouncing back the next night to score 32 points against Michigan. Their bond grew over the years and ultimately stretched onto the golf course, where Richards started serving as Curry's caddie at Edgewood about five years ago.
'We know each other so well, we call ourselves 'hand and glove' from Davidson,' Curry told the Chronicle after Friday's round. 'He knows how to kind of challenge me if I'm thinking ridiculous on the course, or keep me having confidence. It's just fun.'
Or, as Richards said, 'When you're college teammates, there's a special bonding experience. That carries over. You go through a lot of ups and downs on a basketball team, and we sure did in those two years.'
Friday offered one example of Curry momentarily 'thinking ridiculous,' and Richards bringing him back. Curry had resurrected his round with consecutive birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, before momentum-halting bogeys on the next two holes.
Then his drive on No. 18 drifted into the gallery on the right, his path to the green blocked by trees. At first Curry planned to punch the ball back onto the fairway. Then he contemplated boldly threading a shot over the tree branches in front of him.
Richards suggested hitting a low shot toward the green, aggressive but safely underneath the branches. Curry listened. He followed with a spectacular third shot, a soft pitch onto the green, to set up his final birdie of the day.
Curry acknowledged Richards' help in making the decision, and also the value of his own self-awareness.
'That was knowing I'm not a professional golfer, and I want to win this tournament,' he said. 'This is kind of a cool shot, let's go for it. That's kind of what happened, and it worked out.'
All the while, Riggs watched closely as he walked inside the ropes. His back story is interesting: He grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, moved to Florida to teach golf and has been based in Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) the past 14 years, working at a club there.
He's posted 129 instructional videos on YouTube, some of which caught the attention of Curry, a self-acknowledged golf geek. He sent Riggs an unsolicited direct message, which Riggs initially thought was a bot until he saw the check mark verifying the sender really was Stephen Curry.
They went back and forth a few times, leading to Curry sending Riggs an eight-minute video of his swing to break down. Then they connected in person in the summer of 2022, when Riggs came to the U.S. to visit tour players, celebrities and amateurs he tutors.
Curry thought Riggs explained the golf swing in a sensible, easy-to-understand way, so they started working together each summer. Not coincidentally, in Curry's mind, his golf game soon improved.
'I didn't have much time in '22, after the Finals, but I kind of grinded and the foundation from that led to the summer of '23. And then we won,' Curry said, referring to his victory at Edgewood. 'So now he's kind of part of the crew, not just because of golf but he's also just a great dude. He has a great presence about him.'
Curry's crew in Tahoe flows with family and friends, most notably Friday's playing partners — his dad, Dell, and brother Seth. Some lesser-known people also make the annual trip, filling notable roles in Curry's quest to excel as a golfer.