Meet Estuardo Duque. A 17 year old, California native who has just qualified for the season finale, Curry Cup on the Underrated Golf Tour - the tour founded by NBA legend, Steph Curry.
Estuardo has put in impressive performances on tour this year leading to qualification as one of the 12 players heading to Bethpage Black on September 15th to play in the season-ending Curry Cup.
Throughout this year’s tour, the +3.6 handicap has been using Clippd, a benefit of the partnership between Clippd and Underrated, to hone his game. Ahead of play starting in Farmingdale, we took a dive into Estuardo’s performances, how he’s been using Clippd and what’s next for him in golf.
Hometown: Oakdale, California
Handicap: +3.6
Years on Underrated Tour: 1
Favorite golfer: Cameron Young
Favourite golf course: Oakdale Golf & Country Club
Favourite club: Pitching wedge
A solid start in Florida
The 2026 Underrated Tour kicked off in Gainesville at Mark Bostick GC, home course of the University of Florida golf programs. The first round saw Estuardo get off to a steady start with a bogey on the 410 yard par-4 5th hole being cancelled out two holes later by a birdie on the 7th. Three birdies and a bogey on the second nine led to a solid -2 and a tied 2nd with three other players out of the 44 individuals in the field.
The final round saw Estuardo repeatedly bounce back. Bogeys on the 3rd and 4th were responded to with birdies on the 6th and 7th whilst a double bogey on the tough par-4 13th (2nd hardest for the tournament at +.48 over par) was brilliantly countered with birdies on 14 and 15.
Those two rounds of 68 and 70 meant an impressive T2 finish for the 17 year old in his first event on the Underrated Tour and stood as a sign of things to come.
Estuardo’s next stop was the Scottsdale Regional at Troon North GC. With temperatures reaching 105°F, it wasn’t just the course and each other the players had to battle.
It was a classic tale of two nines for Estuardo during the first round. Starting on the 10th hole, he carded a two-over par, 38. However, as proved in the first tournament at Gainesville, he's one is one for a bounce back. An impressive two-under par on the harder second nine (front nine on the card) got him back to level and T14 with three other players.
Starting on the front nine for his second round, Estuardo again went against the field on the tougher nine to shoot another two-under par 33 and climb the leaderboard. Unfortunately, that work was undone by a 37 on the second nine. With only seven players shooting under par in the second round, the damage was minor and at the close of play, he was positioned inside the top 10 and firmly in contention for a Curry Cup qualifying place.
The final stop for the regular tour was at the prestigious Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles, Estuardo’s home state. With Curry Cup qualification at stake, the pressure was on.
In a repeat of the Scottsdale Regional, Estuardo didn’t get off to the start he would’ve hoped. Again starting on the 10th hole, bogeys on 11, 12 and 16 contributed to a +2 first nine. But again, resilience kicked in and a superb second nine ensued. Bogey free alongside birdies on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th left him in 5th place.
A steady final round, one-under par, 70 meant he held onto 5th place for the tournament and more importantly, safely secured his place in the qualifying positions for the 2026 Curry Cup. For his three stops on the tour, he never finished outside the top-10.
Putting in solid performances throughout a season doesn't come without hard work and this is where Clippd comes in.
Since having access to Clippd, Estuardo has been one of the most active members on the Underrated tour. Adding both practice and his tournament rounds to help him better understand his game and what powers his lower scores.
Remember, a Player Quality and/or Shot Quality of 100 is the male PGA Tour average.
Current Player Quality: 98
Best area: Putting - Avg SQ 100
Best round in Clippd: -5, 67 - Avg SQ 101
Most important area to work on: Off The Tee - Driver
Estuardo's numbers in Clippd are not far off what we'd expect to see from a PGA Tour player - seriously impressive stuff
Q. Is Clippd the first time you’ve tracked the stats behind your golf?
A. Yes, Clippd is the first time I’ve really tracked the stats behind my golf.
Q. What have you learned about your game through the numbers you see?
A. It makes it a lot easier to figure out what parts of my game I need to work on and where I can improve.
Q. Has it changed anything about your preparation?
A. Yes, it gives me a baseline of where I’m at and where I need to start when I’m trying to improve different parts of my game.
Even though his OTT game is strong, Clippd tells him he needs to focus on thearea becuase as soon as it drops, it has a large, negative impact on his scores
Q. Finally, if you could see any non-PGA Tour player’s golf game in Clippd, who would it be?
A. I’d like to see the data from a top college player. I think it would be interesting to look at their shot quality and short-game strokes gained and see where my game compares to theirs.
Q. How are you feeling ahead of the Curry Cup at Bethpage?
A. I feel great. I feel prepared and ready to go out there, play my game, and see what happens.
Q. What’s the plan for your golf in the future? (i.e. college? Tour? etc.)
A. I’ll be playing college golf at Loyola Marymount University.
Q. What does the Underrated Golf Tour mean to you?
A. The Underrated Golf Tour has given me the opportunity to compete against great players, travel to different golf courses, and meet a lot of people through the game. I think what makes it special is that it gives young golfers opportunities and experiences that we might not get anywhere else. Being able to compete on the tour and now qualify for the Curry Cup means a lot to me.
The Curry Cup starts on September 15th. Follow Estuardo on the live leaderboard here
To find out more about Underrated Golf Tour, click here