Steph Curry's golf tour makes Arizona stop

Steph Curry’s Underrated Golf Tour made a stop in Arizona at Troon North in Scottsdale, July 14-15.

Among the golfers were several Arizona teen standouts, including Ashley Shaw, the Litchfield Park native who previously won the girls division of the Underrated Tour’s stop in Gainesville, Florida, which was held between June 30 and July 2.

Shaw was tied for first after shooting a 3-under 68 on Tuesday and finished fifth with a 2-under for the tournament after Wednesday’s second round.

Underrated Golf, which was founded by four-time NBA champion Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors in 2021, has built its tour around three main pillars: Equity, access and opportunity. It’s designed to encourage participation by diverse golfers ages 12-18.

Those are values that resonated deeply with Shaw, who is committed to golf for the Georgia Bulldogs women’s golf team in college.

“It’s not really about the golf,” Shaw said of Underrated Golf. “I mean, yes, with Underrated we get to play amazing rounds with amazing golfers, but it’s about building relationships. Our three main pillars help us get that opportunity.”

Will Lowery, Underrated tour ambassador, said Underrated began in Curry’s kitchen as he and Lowery mused about making an impact for the community while using golf as a vehicle. Curry is famously known as a scratch golfer.

Five years later, the tour is going strong, and its impact has touched many junior golfers across the country.

For Lowery, helping future generations on and off the course is an inspiration.

“When you see the kids mature and age out of our tour and find jobs, that’s what really makes us proud,” Lowery said. “When we tell the kids ‘Keep your head down, lock in, focus,’ those are lessons you can apply lifelong.”

According to a Gofln, an app-based golf platform study, 26% of golfers will be people of color in 2026. Lowery says that number sinks to 16% for junior golfers and sinks even further to around 2% when junior golfers enter competitive spaces such as the American Junior Golf Association.

Lowery says that is the purpose of the Underrated tour. To open doors to junior golfers who may not have the same opportunities.

Opportunities to connect were something that stood out to Washington State commit Kaitlyn Moreland, a senior this fall at Pinnacle High School who was named to The Arizona Republic’s All-Arizona Girls Golf Team in 2025.

“This tour has helped me grow so much,” Moreland said. “Values like integrity and honesty are always preached here, and I think that brings us players closer like a family. We also travel together, eat together, stay in the same hotels.”

The family environment isn’t the only thing that keeps golfers coming back. East Carolina commit Jack Bachman of Prescott cited the best advice he’s gotten on the tour.

“Just have fun,” Bachman said. “I’ve always been a perfectionist, so just coming out here and being able to say I had fun, even if I had a bad round means the world.”

Evan Pena-Colon of Jacksonville, Fla., won the Scottsdale tournament’s boys division, shooting 7-under. Layla Phillips of Compton, California, won the girls’ division, shooting 5-under.

The tour’s next stop will be the Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey, July 21-23.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Steph Curry’s golf tour makes Arizona stop

Read the full article here