Stricker earns a spot in the U.S. Open
Steve Stricker made his first big splash in a major championship in 1995, tying for 13th place in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and earning a trip to the ’96 Masters.
Twenty-three years later, he’s going back to Southampton, N.Y.
Stricker, 51, shot rounds of 68 and 65 in 36-hole sectional qualifying in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday to earn a spot in the U.S. Open, June 14-17, at Shinnecock Hills.
Stricker, of Madison, tied for second in the sectional, five shots behind winner Sam Burns.
Stricker has won 12 times on the PGA Tour and has won twice this year on the PGA Tour Champions. Though he has never won a major championship, he has 13 top-10 finishes, four of them coming in the U.S. Open. He tied for fifth in 1998 and finished solo fifth in 1999.
Last year, he also advanced through sectional qualifying and went on to tie for 16th place at Erin Hills.
Stricker was the only Wisconsin golfer to make it through sectional qualifying this year. Amateur Matt Tolan of Eau Claire shot 71-70 in Springfield, Ohio, but missed the cut by three shots.
Others who failed to advance were Ben Bendtsen III of Mt. Pleasant and David Spengler of Luxemburg in Springfield; Charlie Delsman of Colgate, Peter Webb of Madison and Kyle Henning of Brookfield in Memphis; Max Hosking of Madison and amateur Sammy Schmitz of River Falls in Richmond, Texas; and amateur Harrison Ott of Brookfield in Columbus, Ohio.
They had plenty of company. Among those who failed to advance was Retief Goosen of South Africa, who won the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Also missing the cut were former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and former British Open champion Stewart Cink.
Among the qualifiers were Keegan Bradley, Patrick Rodgers, Aaron Baddeley and Adam Scott.