Hot seat an unfamiliar spot for Stricker
Steve Stricker has sailed through a quarter-century in professional golf without a single controversy dogging him, without a single public misstep, without a single critic in the media or among his peers.
It’s easier to hit a 1-iron out of fiveinch rough than it is to be universally admired on the PGA Tour, but Stricker – shy by nature, unfailingly polite and patient to a fault – has pulled it off just by being himself.
The 50-year-old Madison resident is the tour’s consensus Mr. Nice Guy.
“There isn’t anything not to like,” said Jim Furyk. “He’s soft-spoken. He’s humble. He’s a loyal friend. What would you say that is not likable about him? It’s sort of like when you talk about the best players in the world and what are their weaknesses – well, they have no weaknesses. Steve’s personality is like that.”
However, by agreeing to serve as captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team, Stricker is about to face the kind of scrutiny, and potential criticism, he has blissfully avoided.
The biennial match-play competition between 12-man teams from the United States and the rest of the world (minus Europe) is scheduled for Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J.
Everything from Stricker’s organizational skills to his leadership ability to his management of 12 disparate personalities and egos will go under the mi-
croscope. The U.S. has a 9-1-1 record in the Presidents Cup, so there also is considerable pressure to uphold a winning tradition.
Stricker has played in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup enough times to know the rule of thumb: when the team wins the players get the credit and when the team loses it’s the captain’s fault. Hal Sutton and Tom Watson are two recent examples of captains who were roasted after their Ryder Cup teams lost.
“Yeah, that comes with the territory,” Stricker said. “It’s all good. I’m just excited to be in this position to have the opportunity to do it. I never thought I would be in this position so it’s exciting for me to be captain of this team.”
Stricker will face the first potential salvo of criticism Wednesday when he announces his two captain's picks on Golf Channel from Cherokee Country Club in Madison.
Specifically, will he name 47-year-old Phil Mickelson to the team?
Mickelson has made the last 22 U.S. teams (Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup) and would bring a wealth of experience and a vital cockiness to the team room. On the other hand, he hasn’t won since the 2013 British Open.
Stricker recently told Mickelson to “show me something” in order to get picked and Mickelson responded by tying for sixth Monday in the Dell Technologies Championship, his best finish since March. He was the only player in the field to break 70 in all four rounds and credited treatment for an unspecified condition for improved focus and energy.
He moved up to No. 15 on the Presidents Cup points list; the top 10 made the team automatically. Assuming Stricker picks No. 11 Charley Hoffman, can he skip over Brian Harman, Jason Dufner and Gary Woodland to add Lefty?
“Either way, I’m going to get criticized and that’s fine,” Stricker told me over the weekend. “I’m prepared for that. No one else has really stepped up and showed us anything and that bodes well (for Mickelson).”
The U.S. team, led by Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and 2016 Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed, is deeper and more talented than the International team, at least on paper. Most of the Americans have spent a lot of time on leader boards in recent months.
“I think what we’ve got going right now is as good as what you could expect or hope for,” Stricker said. “It seems like week in and week out we’ve got guys playing very well. I think we have a little bit more depth but you still have to put the ball in the hole and beat the other guy and in match play that’s hard. … Hopefully, that depth we have can show through at the end.”
It’s generally believed that Stricker has the inside track to being named captain of the U.S. team for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. A loss to the International team next month wouldn’t necessarily hurt his chances but it might cause some to wonder if he’s the right man for the job.
Either way, he’s on the hot seat. It’s not quite as comfortable as the deer stand he typically occupies in the fall.