Austin Reaves is trying to follow in Steph Curry's footsteps this offseason
Austin Reaves was bored in the offseason after the Los Angeles Lakers lost 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. So he tried to qualify for the Visit Knoxville Open, a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Steph Curry is known for his skills on the golf course. He has an impressive +1.3 handicap score per The PGA Tour and shows his skills whenever he can at pro-am and charity events. Reaves has shown his interest in golf through the media in the past, so he put his skills to the test.
Reaves has a golf-specific social media account on TikTok called "Hillbilly Bogey" that he uses to show off his golf skills. He posts content like him crushing a shot with a left-handed iron at a TopGolf. In addition to his account, he also has an endorsement deal with Travis Matthew.
Austin Reaves has a TikTok golf account named “Hillbilly Bogey” and he's out here crushing iron shots with lefty golf clubs 🤯 pic.twitter.com/kKAt3xxGTe
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 9, 2023
One of his shots went viral when he hit a hole-in-one on a simulated hole No. 7 at Pebble Beach while playing in an event at Riviera Country Club.
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but he entered his name to qualify for a Korn Ferry Tour event on Monday. This was his first time playing in a tournament setting since high school.
Austin Reaves tried to qualify for the Visit Knoxville Open
Reaves failed to qualify though shooting a six-over-par 76. In order to qualify for the first round of the tournament, he had to shoot a 65.
“Like, I was nervous,” Reaves said in a phone interview with The LA Times. “This was the first time I got on the tee box like I was locked in to win this … and it didn’t go that way.”
Austin Reaves gives himself a B- for his debut round of 76 in the @visitknoxopen qualifier. ⬇️@Lakers pic.twitter.com/3olHd3oWzI
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 21, 2024
Austin Reaves, @NBA guard for the @Lakers is competing in the Monday qualifier for the @visitknoxopen 🏀 pic.twitter.com/nF7uB3mrt0
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 20, 2024
He shot three-over-par on both the front and back nine, which is extremely impressive for an NBA guard. His best holes came on the par fives with a score of two-under-par, which also was tied for third in the field.
It was the par-three sixth hole that Reaves struggled to put him back on the scoreboard. He took a six that moved to four over par for the day. Afterward, he hit back-to-back birdies on holes nine and 10 to give him some hope.
For a guy who randomly decided to attempt to qualify for the event, it's pretty impressive that he was able to finish with a sub-80 round. It would be wild to think about how he would finish if he didn't decide to participate after sitting on the couch and bored for a couple of days.
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