Austin Reaves has grown into one of the most consistent and reliable contributors on the Los Angeles Lakers. And it is now well known that in his off time, Reaves absolutely loves to be on the golf course and has turned into a decent player there as well.
Reaves recently competed in a Korn Ferry Tour qualifier and did pretty well. He has since confirmed that he will be taking part in the American Century Championship, which takes place July 12-14 in Lake Tahoe and the Lakers guard is excited for the invitation.
“Just super excited,” Reaves said. “Like I’ve said, just the passion I have for golf, if I’m not playing basketball, I’m probably 90% golfing. That’s basically all my life is when I’m not playing basketball so when I got that invitation, it was special because I’ve been paying attention to it the last two or three years so it was special.”
Last year, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was victorious in the tournament, however he won’t be taking part this year as he will be heading to Paris for the Olympics as part of Team USA. Reaves is disappointed that Curry won’t be there this year, but is still looking forward to competing in something he has been following the last couple years.
“The American Century Championship is something that I’ve kind of followed the last probably two or three years,” Reaves added. “Obviously I knew Steph won it last year, sad that he won’t be out there but he’s going to represent our country and try to bring home a gold medal. But as a golf fan, I just enjoy watching NFL players, coaches, all athletes get up there and compete in a sport that they don’t do on the regular. So it’s something that I’ve really been paying attention to the last couple years.”
And Reaves made sure to note that the passion and competitiveness he shows on the court with the Lakers will definitely be there on the golf course as well.
“I mean, I go into everything I do to win,” Reaves noted. “There’s not anything that I go to do, if it’s cards, bowling, whatever you want me to go play, I’m gonna play it to win. I’m sure there will be times where I’m frustrated out there, but it’s such a tough game and you got to get through those times to see what you’re made of.”
Reaves and the rest of the field will be competing for $750,000 in prize money with the winner taking home $150,000. The American Century Championship has raised more than $8 million over the years for many different charities.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves expects to be nervous during American Century Championship
While Austin Reaves has competed on some big NBA stages with the Lakers, he understands this tournament is something different and is expecting some nerves when he’s there.
“I played in a Monday qualifier in Tennessee probably like three weeks ago, but it was just a one-day event,” Reaves said. “The nerves were definitely there, I can see what Adam [Thielen] is talking about, especially in a bigger event like the American Century. So definitely planning to have some nerves, but like he said, I’m just looking to go have some fun.”
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