At 51, Stricker stacks up with kids
SOUTHHAMPTON, N.Y. - Steve Stricker could be back in Madison right now, leisurely preparing for the PGA Tour Champions event he hosts next week, just a few miles from his house.
Come to think of it, he could go all-in on the Champions tour, where he would enjoy less stressful competition in 54hole, no-cut events on friendlier courses. Based on results from his infrequent forays into AARP golf, he would be a threat to win every time he teed it up.
So what is he doing at Shinnecock Hills, tackling the most unrelenting, most unforgiving, most physically and mentally demanding test in golf, otherwise known as the U.S. Open?
The answer is that Stricker, 51, can’t quite tear himself away from the PGA Tour, from measuring his game against those of players half his age. He still connects with young stars such as Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth, stills hangs with them on the course if not off it, still thinks he can win on the right track. Like this one?
“I don’t know about this one,” he said, “but you never know.”
It’s not as if he has something left to prove. Stricker won 12 times on the PGA
Tour, most recently in 2012, and was a two-time comeback player of the year. He won the 2012 Payne Stewart Award and captained the 2017 U.S. Presidents Cup team to a runaway victory. Other than winning a major championship, he’s checked every box.
Stricker is the second-oldest player in the U.S. Open field (Kenny Perry is 57) but other than a creaky back he’s in good shape physically and his game has shown few signs of advancing age. He’s still sneaky long and straighter than ever off the tee, he’s money with a wedge in his hands and he’s among the top three or four putters of his generation.
He also has one of the best U.S. Open records among non-winners of the major, with eight top-20 finishes, three top-10s, a 72.22 career scoring average and 18 cuts made in 20 starts. In fact, he’s made the cut in 26 consecutive majors, a streak that dates to the 2009 PGA Championship.
“I knew it was up there,” he said. “I didn’t know how many.”
Told that Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus share the record at 39 consecutive cuts in majors, Stricker laughed and said, “So, I probably won’t get there.”
He’s made eight starts on the PGA Tour this year, with a tie for 12th at the Valspar Championship and a tie for 18th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic his best finishes. He confessed to a goal that seems almost laughable considering his career earnings of nearly $44 million.
“I’m trying to keep my (PGA Tour) card,” he said. “That’s truly what I want to do. I’m watching that (money list) every week.”
At some point, he’ll focus on the PGA Tour Champions, where he has eight top-three finishes in 11 starts since turning 50 in February 2017. In five starts this year, he’s won twice, finished second twice and slumped to a tie for fifth with partner Jerry Kelly in the Bass Pro Legends.
“I don’t know what it’s going to take to commit (to the Champions tour),” he said. “I don’t want to rush it. I still enjoy playing out here. It’s a long shot to play well out here and to win but I still have that drive to try to do that.”
His balancing act between the tours has caused some scheduling headaches. Last week, he survived 36-hole U.S. Open qualifying on Monday and then played in the FedEx St. Jude Classic. This week, it’s the Open, which takes a lot out of every player regardless of age, and next week he hosts the American Family Insurance Championship; he is a company ambassador and teamed with AmFam to form a foundation that has distributed more than $2.6 million to charities over the last two years.
Stricker entered the U.S. Senior Open, June 28-July 1, but has told the United States Golf Association he probably won’t play. That would be four consecutive weeks of tournament golf, practically a record for Stricker, and as many as 17 competitive rounds in 28 days.
“I’ve got to admit, I’m tired,” he said. “I’ve played a lot already. This is a year’s worth already for me. I’m not burned out. I’m still excited to play, but my body is telling me otherwise.”
Stricker will be ready to pull the plug by late summer and in the fall he’ll idle away the hours in his deer stand, waiting for a trophy buck to wander past.
But what about the PGA Tour Champion’s Charles Schwab Cup and its $1 million bonus? Stricker is in fourth place on the Champions money list despite playing in just five events. Would the Schwab Cup move onto his radar if he had a chance to win it?
“I don’t know,” he said, and then grinned. “It depends on if it gets in the way of my hunting.”
Priorities.