Host Stricker fires 66
Area native trails Broadhurst by three
MADISON – Paul Broadhurst’s massive gallery in the first round of the American Family Insurance Championship consisted of his wife, the wife of one of his playing partners and a spectator or two who got lost trekking around University Ridge and stumbled upon an Englishman making birdies.
If a 63 falls in the forest and no one cheers it, does it count?
Most assuredly, it does. And so Broadhurst finds himself leading the tournament going into the second round Saturday and paired with tournament host Steve Stricker. He’s preparing for “Stricker shock”— playing in front of thousands of Madisonians with a rooting interest in their native son.
“There are quite a few fans following him, so that will be a test,” Broadhurst said. “I’m looking forward to it. He’s a local favorite, I’m sure, with the galleries, but I’ll give it my best shot.”
The “Summer of Steve” continued with Stricker firing a 6-under-par 66. The 50-yearold PGA Tour Champions rookie has broken par in all 11 of his rounds on the round-bellies tour (68.0 average) and has played his last 52 holes without a bogey. He is tied for third with Kenny Perry and Billy Andrade.
Stricker is going to win on this tour. Very soon. Like, maybe Sunday afternoon.
“Steve Stricker is a Hall of Fame player and he’s playing in his hometown and he’s got a lot of people rooting for him,” said Fred Couples, who played with Stricker and shot a 67. “He played very, very well. I
would be shocked if that’s not his highest score of the week, 6 under. It looked very easy.”
The truth is, Stricker’s round could have been better. He missed a short birdie putt on No. 15 and three-putted for par on the par-5 16th.
“I threw a couple of opportunities away on the way in,” he said. “It could have been a shot better, maybe two, but all in all a good start. … I played OK. I didn’t play my best, but I played pretty good.”
You know you’re on form when you shoot a bogey-free 66 and describe the round as meh.
Broadhurst’s 9-under 63 included seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 11th. Last year, he won twice as a rookie on the PGA Tour Champions, including The Senior Open Championship. But he has struggled with his putting lately.
“I changed my putter a couple weeks ago,” he said. “I’m using the (TaylorMade) Spider that Jason Day uses so well. I’ve been trying a couple things out. Sometimes it works. (Putting) will be the key over the weekend, I think.”
Broadhurst and Stricker will play the second round with Brian Henninger, who fired a 65. They are scheduled to tee off at 10:40 a.m.
Henninger, originally on the alternates list, got in the 78-player field on a sponsor’s exemption after Mark Wiebe withdrew.
“I bugged the tournament director Nate (Pokrass) for a couple weeks,” Henninger said. “I knew that I might be close but I didn’t find out until Monday, actually. So I was really excited and made my plane reservation and flew over here.”
Jerry Kelly, Stricker’s Madison neighbor and partner in tour team events, also got off to a good start with a 68 and was in a tie for 13th place. He nearly made two holes-in-one. On No. 3 his 6-iron tee shot finished less than 6 inches from the hole and on No. 12 his 5-iron shot stopped 3 inches short of the cup, dead center.
“It was fun,” Kelly said of his round. “The people were fantastic, as always, and I got it going early. I got the good feelings of being in Wisconsin and playing well.”
Stricker is coming off a tie for 16th at the U.S. Open and is playing well. He didn’t disagree with Couples’ contention that he could go low over the next two days. There are five par-5s at University Ridge and Stricker is long enough to reach all but one of them in two.
“I mean, the potential is there,” he said.
How sweet would it be if the people’s champion won for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions, just across town from his house, with his wife Nicki toting his bag and thousands of fans going ballistic?
Hold that thought. Two rounds to go.