Steph Curry’s golf triumph came with an unwanted assist.
Curry was battling former tennis player Mardy Fish for the lead at the American Century Championship as they reached the final hole at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course on Sunday.
As Fish, who was leading by three points (pars are worth 1 point, birdies 3 and eagles 6), hit his final tee shot of the tournament a fan could be heard screaming.
Fish hooked his tee shot into trees on the right and was forced to pitch out, settling for a par on the par 5.
“That was awful,” the NBC Sports reporter following the group said and declared that it was on purpose. “…Those things are really done by cowards. That’s the way it is. Stupid cowards.”
Curry was able to take advantage of the situation with a clutch eagle putt to overtake Fish and claim his first ACC tournament crown.
“You have to acknowledge it, it was an unfortunate situation,” Curry told reporters after the tournament.
“A guy trying to sabotage what was going on for a moment. Mardy is such a class act. I complimented him for the way he bounced back to give himself a chance to win.”
If Fish, who had parred 18 the first two days of the tournament, had birdied he would have been tied Curry with 75 points and the two would’ve headed for a playoff.
“Congrats stud,” Fish tweeted at Curry afterwards.
It is unclear if the fan was caught.
“I felt embarrassed for all the other fans,” Curry said. “There’s so much great love from the 99.9% of the people who come into this environment. And they’re so supportive and bring so much energy. You got one guy who loses his mind for a second.”
Despite the controversial ending, it was a week full of highlights for the star Warriors guard.
On Friday, he made an incredible sidewinding putt and followed that up with a hole in one on Saturday.
“I’ve always dreamt of a situation like this on an 18th green in front of a crowd like that to make a putt,” Curry told NBC Sports. “You just stick to the routine. Have so much confidence in yourself and live with the results. Thankfully it went in, which is insane. Been playing in this thing for almost a decade and to finally get a win it’s pretty special.”
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers finished fifth while defending champion Tony Romo ended in eighth place.