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AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP

July 21, 2016

Stephen Curry

Stateline, Nevada

THE MODERATOR: After a two-year hiatus, the American Century Championship would like to welcome back Steph Curry. He's one of the tournament favorites.

He's listed at 6-to-1 odds at Harrah's/Harveys race and sports book across the street. So you can still get a bet down.

A lot has happened in the two years since you've been here: 2015 NBA Championship; 2016 Finals; consecutive MVP awards; three-time All-Star.

He's played three times in the American Century with the best finish of fourth in 2013. He has three teammates working out for the summer Olympics. Kevin Durant just joined the team, and the burning question on everybody's mind is where's Riley. (Laughter).

STEPH CURRY: Exactly. She's with the rest of the fam back home. But it's nice to be here. And I always enjoy this week, the hospitality from American Century and folks at NBC and the entire staff.

So they make this week special. Ever since, I guess, my first time here, back in 2010, it's like the highlight of my summer. I definitely enjoy coming here, playing golf in front of a lot of great fans, enjoying something different than basketball.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. They announced today, maybe you've heard, that the All-Star Game's getting pulled out of Charlotte. Any thoughts on that?
STEPH CURRY: It's very -- I didn't know that.

Q. Apparently the NBA is not happy with the stance on the bathroom issue and how it's apparently kind of an anti-LGBT issue. So probably going to move it to New Orleans but they haven't decided yet.
STEPH CURRY: Without talking more about the law -- I've kind of spoken about that before. But just from a guy that's grown up in Charlotte and that is basically my hometown, it's disappointing for the city not to be able to celebrate the game of basketball as they had planned. I obviously understand Adam Silver's decision. I have to kind of think about it some more. It's really fresh. I was kind of still planning on going to Charlotte.

Q. How has the time off in the last four or five weeks and declining to play in the Olympics, how has that helped you heal a little bit from all those nagging injuries in the playoffs, and how much golf have you got to play in the last four or five weeks?
STEPH CURRY: I wasn't obviously too happy with the situation of having to pull out of the Olympic Games. Mine was 100 percent injury-based.

When I got hurt in the playoffs and knew that the recovery time over the course of the summer was going to be important for me to get ready for next year, try to give Mr. Colangelo and Coach K and the whole USA staff more time to figure out what they needed to figure out for their roster.

Obviously a lot of great guys that are going to go win the gold and represent our country well.

I wish I would be able to play in the Olympics. I never played in it before, so I was looking forward to it. But with the situation as it is now, to be able to, like you said, rest and get ready for next season, do what I need to do to prepare my body, it is a nice built-in mental break as well to be able to play some golf and be out here and enjoy this experience.

So I've played a good amount, not a lot since the season was over with; but, I mean, I'm excited about these next three days.

Q. How does it feel to be playing on the course with your dad this year?
STEPH CURRY: It's special. We had a meeting last night, and I think they mentioned it was the first time they had a father-son duo in the tournament. So that's very special.

I remember back when I was 10 and my dad was telling me: Hey, I'm going on a trip this week to play out in Lake Tahoe. I didn't really know where Lake Tahoe was going back, living back in North Carolina.

So I remember back in '98, when he was preparing for his first time here, and to have him back as well as myself, it's a special time.

So it will probably get really competitive between us two, which is how it always is. And we love that kind of back and forth on the course. So to do it in this kind of setting is very special.

Q. Some day maybe you'll play here with Riley.
STEPH CURRY: Yeah, maybe, we'll see.

Q. But in all seriousness, you were one of the leaders in 2013, right up until the end, when you were here. What are your goals for this year's tournament: Beat your dad, beat Andre, all the above?
STEPH CURRY: I mean, hopefully I can accomplish all those. It's really awkward, kind of, for me coming out here and being in a competitive golf atmosphere. I don't get to do it but once a year, except my, like, local tournaments back home in Oakland.

But it's a really weird mindset to kind of try to take my mentality on the basketball court and bring it here on to the golf course. I don't want to have too high of expectations on, like, each hole, just try to enjoy the process, but hopefully get out to a good start tomorrow and be in the conversation and see what happens.

So they say, I guess -- I'm a golf junkie. I watch every tournament pretty much. I watch interviews. I watch warm-up routines. All that stuff. So here, like the pros say, you don't win it on the first day but you can lose it on the first day. Hopefully I can get off to a good start tomorrow.

Q. And I imagine you won't be wearing a mouthpiece during the golf --
STEPH CURRY: You never know. I might pull it out. If I make a double bogey, the fans on whatever hole better watch out; I might throw it. I might throw it at them.

Q. Is it true that some of you guys, Andre and maybe you were playing during the days off during, not the finals, but the playoffs?
STEPH CURRY: Every time we have a day off, which is very rare in our line of work, but that's something we like to do. Like I said, it's a nice way to take your mind off the game and just go out and relax and have fun.

So Andre's really into the game. I'm really into the game. And we get out and have some fun.

Q. Can you compare your experience with the gallery as a two-time MVP versus your first time coming to Tahoe?
STEPH CURRY: It's totally different, for sure. I enjoy it. I mean, last year -- or my first time here I definitely could go from hole to hole with ease. A couple of years ago it was a nice reception, a nice gallery on every hole I played.

But even yesterday and today, it's night and day this year. I enjoy it. The good thing is I haven't really gotten nervous, which I mean obviously it's practice round; today was the pro-am.

But I feel like, having been here three times, I kind of understand how to bottle your emotions a little bit. But I enjoy that atmosphere, because you play golf all the time but you don't get to play in front of this many people and feel the energy of the crowd.

You hit a bad shot, they boo; you hit a good shot, they cheer you. It's awesome. So I love it.

Q. You mentioned you watch a lot of golf. And I was wondering if you have any kind of favorite players or favorite tournaments or finishes recently that stick out in your mind?
STEPH CURRY: I mean, I'm pretty in tune with everything that happens on the PGA TOUR. Jordan Spieth is my guy. I love watching him play.

But golf on the TOUR, obviously, everybody wants to see Tiger come back, but I think it's in a really good place with how much talent is out there and the exciting finishes you have, week in, week out.

Obviously what Henrik Stenson and Phil did last week was unbelievable. It's exciting. Every week you get to tune in and see who is playing well. And I enjoy -- I literally will sit on the -- my wife hates it -- but I will literally sit on the couch and watch six hours of coverage, enjoy every minute of it. It's fun to watch those guys and do what they do at such a high level.

Q. And since you won't be at the Olympics, are you planning -- are you excited to kind of do the same thing, sit on your couch and watch the coverage, and do you want to watch basketball or would you rather watch gymnastics? What will that look like?
STEPH CURRY: I watch most of it. Obviously I have a vested interest in three teammates that are playing on the men's national team for basketball. So I'll be watching those guys on how their chemistry is, seeing how they bring it back to the Warriors.

But I'm a sports -- I'm a golf junkie, but I'm a sports fan. I'll watch pretty much everything that's on. Me and my sister are watching men's volleyball prelims the other day; if it's sports, I'm watching it.

Q. When you size up the competition in this field, who do you think is the man to beat?
STEPH CURRY: If you just follow -- I follow the odds. I've played with Mardy Fish a lot. Played with him, I think, two years ago in one of the weekend rounds. And obviously saw what Mark Mulder and Gagne did last year here.

So you assume somebody is going to play out of their mind for three days, and it's probably one of those three guys. I hope to be in the conversation, too.

So it's fun to have guys that have been here before, won it before, finished real high, and they always want to come back and do a little bit better. So gotta chase them.

Q. As a follow-up to that, speaking of the odds, how do you think 6-to-1 is: Fair? High? Low?
STEPH CURRY: Should I give that away? (Laughter). No. The funny part is I feel like somebody is stalking me, like, at my local course and sizing up my game.

I don't know how they come up with the odds; I just got off the basketball court. I don't know. I'm pretty confident, let's just say that, in my game right now, for what it is. So if that means a win, then I'll be real happy.

Q. On the green, every time you're trying to get it into the hole, is that why you think you can shoot from anywhere on the court and make it?
STEPH CURRY: I have much less confidence on the greens than I do on the court. But, yeah. Everybody asks like if putting is like shooting free throws. Like that six-footer for par or something like that. It has a very similar kind of mindset. And it's just you, the ball and the target.

A lot more variables in golf. But the biggest thing is like just routine. Like I think that's the biggest correlation between golfers and basketball players, is for me I really rely on my routine every single day when I get ready for games and how I prepare.

Just like those guys, for each round and each shot, I'm sure that they keep their routine pretty consistent. And that's when they're at their best.

Q. You addressed the issue of getting Kevin Durant when you guys signed him. I'm just curious, in the last couple of three weeks, if anything's changed; or if you've had a chance to talk to him and what you guys have talked about?
STEPH CURRY: KD was smart. He joined our team and then he ran off to China. (Laughter). So he had some business to take care of over there.

I didn't get to talk to him much right after. But since he's been back, I've talked to him right when they started Team U.S.A. practice.

So it hasn't been much detail about what we're going to be like as a team. It's more like the collective mindset of having each other's back and doing what we need to do to get ready for the season.

So it will be exciting. Yesterday was the first time I saw Kevin Durant in a Warrior T-shirt. I like did a double-take; it was the weirdest thing ever, because it's still kind of fresh.

But we're going to love having him. It's going to be an interesting transition because it is such a different team than we had last year, and you have a guy like that with such a high caliber player, you gotta figure it out.

But the collective IQ we have on that squad, I like our chances. And it's going to be fun.

Q. I know you're a big women's golf fan. Say a word or two about your experiences with Lydia Ko.
STEPH CURRY: She came to practice this past year and we were putting 94 feet across the court, and I was just kind of looking at her clubs, kind of seeing how she set up her bag and talked about techniques in putting and things like that.

So, once again, if it's sports and women's golf, men's golf, and it's on TV, I'm watching it. I watched those ladies do what they do at such a high level, and she's obviously a big basketball fan and a fan of ours, too. So it was cool to have that interaction.

I still have a Lydia Ko-signed golf ball in my sock drawer that I'll keep for a while.

Q. You think she can be as good as Annika Sorenstam?
STEPH CURRY: I'm sure she thinks she can. I would assume that's the confidence you have to have. So time will tell, obviously, but she's on her way.

Q. There's a YouTube video of Kevin Durant's golf swing.
STEPH CURRY: I need to see this.

Q. Now that he's coming to the Bay Area, do you think you'd be able to help him out with that?
STEPH CURRY: I'd give him some pointers, yeah, if he wants to get into it. I think he'll need some custom clubs, for sure, with that height and wing span. But golf's for everybody, so it should be interesting to get him out there.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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