The Match VIII: Steph Curry-Klay Thompson face off vs. Patrick Mahomes-Travis Kelce in new golf rivalry

NBA All-Stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have achieved more victories than most other athletes in their era, but one of their early losses still lingers in their minds.

“Our first time playing golf as a two-man team, was it the Grand Canary Islands?” Curry begins. “We were playing on the 2014 Team USA together if memory serves me right. I think we got beat by Clyde Drexler and who was the other guy?”

“Dominique Wilkins,” Thompson adds, matter-of-factly.

“That's right. And we were betting milkshakes at the time, no money.”

To clarify, this was a golf match, not a two-on-two basketball game. Although a matchup between Curry and Thompson vs. Drexler and Wilkins, both in their prime, would be an exciting hypothetical.

This took place the summer before the "Splash Brothers" (nickname for Curry and Thompson) would win their first of four NBA titles, and Curry would win his first of back-to-back MVPs.

Meanwhile, NFL tight end Travis Kelce had just played his rookie season with the Kansas City Chiefs. Future two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes was a few weeks from starting his freshman year at Texas Tech.

Nearly a decade later, these championship duos will meet at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas for Capital One’s The Match VIII. They will take a break from their professional careers in Golden State and Kansas City to battle it out in a 12-hole scramble on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Curry and Thompson are not only skilled athletes but also experienced golfers. Curry played high school golf at Charlotte Christian School in North Carolina, where he became the No. 1 golfer by his senior year. He currently holds a 0.3 handicap index and peaked at +1.3. He’s finished as high as T3 in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament.

“We'll win ‘The Match’ first and then two weeks later, the American Century up in Tahoe, I know I have the game to do it,” Curry says of his competitive golf goals this summer. “I'm still fact-checking, but I don't think there's been an active athlete who’s won it before. It's like all the guys that, you know, are on the other side.”

It turns out former NFL player Mark Rypien and former NHL player Dan Quinn won the event during their playing careers in 1990 and 1992, respectively. However, as the tournament has grown, winning has proven more challenging for active athletes to win. This reflects Curry’s confidence in his current game.

On the other hand, Thompson is more of a casual player, with a regular goal of breaking 80. Before his recent injuries, he would play about once a week at Diablo Country Club in the Bay Area.

“I've been playing a lot this past month obviously because I don't wanna embarrass myself on television,” he says laughing.

For Thompson, his role in The Match will resemble his positioning in the Golden State.

“I'm going to take the same formula we do on the court,” Thompson says. “Steph attracts all the attention, but I could sneak in there, put one on the pin playing best ball, so I'm just going to get in where I fit in and help Steph out as much as he needs me.”

If the Splash Brothers are about patience and finesse, Mahomes and Kelce bring the opposite approach with their football background: power.

“I've been playing since I was a kid, just kind of swinging the club,” says Kelce, the 250-pound tight end. “I've never taken any lessons or anything like that. I've just been putting the driver on the ball and seeing it fly as far as it can go, things like that.”

Casual stuff like that. Kelce says he does not submit his golf scores, but estimates his handicap is around a 10. He claims he and Mahomes can drive the ball “330-plus,” but Mahomes quickly dials himself back to the 315-yard range.

Like Kelce, Mahomes has never had a lesson, although his game and swing are both influenced by his father, Pat.

“My dad played professional baseball as a pitcher, so they're always on the golf course, so I would always just swing the club around,” he explains.

Mahomes said he especially picked up golf when he started in the NFL, choosing it to fill his downtime. He estimates he went from a 15 to a 7 handicap rather quickly.

“My swing’s a baseball swing, but I've kind of figured it out,” Mahomes says. “My plan is once I get done with football, I really want to focus on my golf game, I might go through a little bit of a swing change, but I don't want to go through the swing change and be terrible. We'll figure it out when it comes. My other little plan I have is when my son starts learning how to golf, when he's getting a lesson, I might be on the side just taking a few lessons for myself there.”

While the Chiefs crew may be proudly self-taught, Curry has no shame getting critiques. Legendary golf instructor Butch Harmon, who is based in Las Vegas, recently posted a photo with Curry.

“Butch gave me one little swing thought that I'll probably talk about on the telecast if I hit a good shot and give him a shoutout,” Curry says.

Other than that, Curry is trying to “build a little confidence but not overcomplicate” his swing in preparation for The Match. He previously participated in The Match III in November 2020, where he and Peyton Manning lost 4 and 3 to Charles Barkley and Phil Mickelson.

After playing against Kelce and Mahomes in the American Century Championship in the past, Curry has a legitimate scouting report on the opponent this time around.

“You can hear them from any hole that they're out on the course. That's usually led by Travis,” Curry quips.

“I've seen the swings. They've been up in Hawaii at Pat's tournament getting dialed in and all that, so it doesn't scare us. I know they got game and I know they're competitors, but we'll have their number on Thursday. I don't know if Travis even thinks about the hole he’s on or the shot. I know he just pulls his driver out and just tries to hit it as far as he can. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'm hoping on Thursday, it doesn't.”

Curry’s focus may need to be on helping Thompson with his swing. In a recent Golf Digest video analyzing all four players’ swings, Collin Morikawa, without hesitation, ranked Thompson as having the worst swing in the group. The five-time PGA TOUR winner said Thompson’s swing looked “stiff as ever” and his 10-finger grip is “a bad start.”

“Collin, he's my enemy No. 1 right now,” Thompson exclaims. “He's dogging my swing, I'm not gonna lie. It hurt a little bit. I was like, ‘Dang man.’ But you know what, it's good. I'm being doubted. I love it. I respect Collin's game. I respect his career. He is an incredible player, but I just can't wait to put one on the pin and look at the camera and just say, that's for you, Morikawa!”

Thompson’s solution to his swing issues: Surf the internet.

“I am a millennial. I've been watching a lot of YouTube,” he says.

“I've just been trying to pick up little tips from the pros, and we're so lucky in the age of the internet that all the information's out there. I've just been trying to get in golf mode and have not watched any basketball the last few weeks. Just all golf stuff. A lot of Tiger highlights, too.”

Despite Thompson’s leaky swing, Curry’s rich golf history has the Splash Brothers in the driver’s seat going into Thursday. As of Monday, DraftKings Sportsbook was listing Curry and Thompson as strong favorites at -265. Kelce and Mahomes were at +225.

“I don't think we're underdogs in this at all, man,” Kelce says. “I don't know about Steph and Klay, but Pat and I have never lost in Vegas, and that's not a shot at the (Las Vegas) Raiders because we've won Pro Bowls, we've won golf tournaments. I'm not sure if the Wynn wants to see us on the roulette table or the craps table as much as they wanna see us on the golf course.”

The golf part is true. Kelce and Mahomes won the inaugural 8AM Golf Invitational hosted by Justin Timberlake and Wynn Las Vegas in 2022. Although, Mahomes, like Curry, lost in his “The Match” debut last June, as he and Josh Allen fell to Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers 1 up at Wynn Golf Club.

“I will say, the first tee box of last year, I tried to tell Travis this was the most nervous I've ever been in a sporting event,” says Mahomes, who has played in three Super Bowls. “Those fans are lining that fairway and I mean, I hit a lot of fairways, but sometimes those things get a little loose, so I tried to tell them to back up as much as possible.”

While Curry still carries point guard responsibilities on Team Warriors, Mahomes is clearly the quarterback on Team Chiefs.

“Pat's the more consistent player,” Kelce says. “We know what we're gonna get out of his game, and on top of that, when the putter's hot for ‘One-Five’ (Mahomes’ jersey number) baby, it's gonna be a great day! We're gonna try and get that thing rolling nice. Our games kind of complement each other when we're playing in a scramble-type atmosphere like this. I think if we can keep one of us in the fairway, man, we both have some power with the driver.”

Something must give between these two future Hall of Fame duos. Will it be the precision of the Splash Brothers or the strength of Chiefs Kingdom adding another title to their storied careers?

The Match VIII has also partnered with the No Kid Hungry campaign, an organization which aims to end childhood hunger in the U.S., as the event’s charitable beneficiary. As part of the initiative, The Match VIII will feature four different challenge holes:

Hole 4: DraftKings Sportsbook Closest-to-the-Hole Challenge, for up to $2 million

• If a hole-in-one is made, $2 million will be donated on that team’s behalf.

• If a shot is hit within 5 feet of the hole, $250,000 will be donated on that team’s behalf.

• If no challenges are hit, $100,000 will be donated on behalf of the team whose shot on the green was closest to the hole off the tee.

Hole 6: Wagoneer by Jeep Closest-to-the-Hole Challenge, for up to $2 million

• If a hole-in-one is made, $2 million will be donated on that team’s behalf.

• If a shot is hit within 5 feet of the hole, $250,000 will be donated on that team’s behalf.

• If no challenges are hit, $100,000 will be donated on behalf of the team whose shot on the green was closest to the hole off the tee.

Hole 8: Max Hole-in-One Challenge, for up to $2 million

• If a hole-in-one is made, $2 million will be donated on that team’s behalf.

Hole 12: Microsoft Bing Closest-to-the-Hole Challenge, for up to $5 million

• If a hole-in-one is made, $5 million will be donated on that team’s behalf.

• If a shot is hit within 5 feet of the hole, $250,000 will be donated on that team’s behalf.

• If no challenges are hit, $100,000 will be donated on behalf of the team whose shot on the green was closest to the hole off the tee.

Tune in to watch The Match this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.