| Steve Stricker | |
|---|---|
 Stricker in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Steven Charles Stricker |
| Nickname | Mr. September, Strick |
| Born | (1967-02-23)February 23, 1967 (age 58) Edgerton, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| College | University of Illinois |
| Turned professional | 1990 |
| Current tours | PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions |
| Former tour | Canadian Tour |
| Professional wins | 41 |
| Highestranking | 2 (September 6, 2009)[1] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 12 |
| European Tour | 1 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 18 |
| European Senior Tour | 2 |
| Other | 11 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T6:2009 |
| PGA Championship | 2nd:1998 |
| U.S. Open | 5th/T5:1998,1999 |
| The Open Championship | 4th:2016 |
| Achievements and awards | |
Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an Americanprofessional golfer who plays on thePGA Tour and thePGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including theWGC-Match Play title in2001 and twoFedEx Cup playoff events. His most successful season on tour came at age 42 in2009, with three victories and a runner-up finish on the money list. Stricker spent over 250 weeks in thetop-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking,[2] reaching a career-high world ranking of No. 2 in September 2009. Stricker served as U.S.Ryder Cup captain for the2021 matches, winning atWhistling Straits in his home state of Wisconsin.
In 1967, Stricker was born inEdgerton, Wisconsin. He grew up playing golf at Lake Ripley Country Club in nearbyCambridge and Edgerton Towne Country Club in Edgerton.[3]
A 1990 graduate of theUniversity of Illinois, Stricker earned All-American honors as a member of theIllini golf team in 1988 and 1989.[4][5]
In 1990, Stricker turned professional. He began his career on theCanadian Professional Golf Tour,[4] where he won two tournaments. He joined the PGA Tour in1994. His first success at the top level came in1996 when Stricker notched two victories: theKemper Open and theMotorola Western Open. He recorded seven top-ten finishes in total to finish fourth on the 1996 PGA Tour money list.[6]
In 1998, Stricker played himself into contention in the final round of thePGA Championship atSahalee Country Club nearSeattle.PGA Tour veteranVijay Singh bested Stricker down the stretch thanks to a back-nine surge and claimed a two-stroke victory. This runner-up finish remains Stricker's best result in amajor championship to date. Stricker has finished inside the top-20 six times at theU.S. Open, with his best finish a fifth-place in1999 atPinehurst No. 2. He won his third and most prestigious PGA Tour title at theWGC Match Play Championship in2001, where he defeatedPierre Fulke2 and 1 inAustralia to earn the $1,000,000 prize. This remains as the only time that the WGC Match Play Championship was played outside of the United States.[7]
Stricker lost his tour card in 2004. At age 39 in2006, relying on sponsor exemptions, he managed seven top-ten finishes and was voted the tour's Comeback Player of the Year. In2007 he won his fourth PGA Tour title atThe Barclays on August 26, ending an 11-year victory drought on American soil, although he had previously triumphed down in Australia in 2001. This run of success earned him a spot on thePresidents Cup team in2007.[5]
After his victory at The Barclays, which was the first of the four FedEx Cup playoff events, Stricker reached No. 4 in theOfficial World Golf Ranking, his highest career ranking at that point. Stricker finished runner-up in the2007 FedEx Cup Playoffs behindTiger Woods, and was again selected as Comeback Player of the Year. He was also inducted into the Wisconsin State Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2007.
At theMercedes Benz Championship, the opening event of the2008 season, Stricker lost out in a play-off toDaniel Chopra. This result took Stricker to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, again at the time his highest ranking to date.[8]
At theBob Hope Classic in January 2009, Stricker shot third and fourth round scores of 61 and 62 at the PGA West Palmer and Nicklaus courses to set the 36-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour at 123, beating a record thatPat Perez had held for only two days. (This record fell in October whenTroy Matteson shot 61-61=122 at theFrys.com Open.) His four-round total of 33-under-par in the five-round event also set the PGA Tour record for lowest score relative to par for 72 holes, exceeding Ernie Els' total of 31 under par in the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua. The third-round 61 was Stricker's best score on tour to that point, but a 77 in the final round dropped him into a tie for third.[6]
Stricker won his fifth PGA Tour title atColonial inTexas at the end of May 2009, with a playoff win overTim Clark andSteve Marino. The win was aided by a 60-foot (18 m) chip-in on the 71st hole.[9] He won again in July at theJohn Deere Classic inSilvis, Illinois. After the second round was rained-out on Friday, the field was forced to play 36 holes on Sunday. Stricker shot an afternoon round of 64, which included a hole-out wedge shot foreagle on the 6th hole, and by three strokes over runners-upZach Johnson,Brandt Snedeker, andBrett Quigley. He also matched his career low round on tour with a second round of 61 (−10).[10]
Stricker's third win of 2009, and seventh overall, came in September at theDeutsche Bank Championship, the second of four playoff events. He began the final round tied withRetief Goosen andSean O'Hair, and birdied the final hole to win by one stroke overJason Dufner andScott Verplank. It was Stricker's second FedEx Cup playoff win, a win that also vaulted him ahead ofTiger Woods to the top of theFedEx Cup standings and vaulted him to No. 2 in theOfficial World Golf Ranking, his highest ranking achieved during his career.[11] Stricker has been called "Mr. September" due to his success in theFedEx Cup playoffs, where he has never finished outside the top-25 in his first ten career starts.[6][12]
In February 2010, Stricker won his eighth tour title at theNorthern Trust Open with a 16-under-par 268 winning total. With this win atRiviera, he passedPhil Mickelson and regained his ranking as World No. 2.[13]
In July, Stricker shot a career-low 60 (−11) in the first round of the John Deere Classic.[14] However, a 59 shot byPaul Goydos incredibly put him one stroke back of the lead. He followed with rounds of 66 and 62, for a total of 188, to set a tour 54-hole scoring record.[15] He then shot 70 on Sunday to win his ninth PGA Tour, two strokes ahead of Goydos.
In June 2011, Stricker won at theMemorial Tournament inOhio, his tenth tour title.[16] He opened with 68 and bettered this with 67 in the second round. However, this was made special by the hole-in-one he recorded at the par three 8th hole to hold a three stroke advantage at the halfway stage. Remarkably, he then opened round three with two eagles in the first five holes to open up a six-shot lead midway through round three, but some uncharacteristic mistakes on the back nine saw him fall back towards the rest of the field. He held on to the 36-hole lead to eventually win by one stroke over runners-upMatt Kuchar andBrandt Jobe. With this victory, Stricker became the highest-ranked American in theOfficial World Golf Ranking, at fourth in the world. For the first time in his career, 44-year-old Stricker was ranked higher than all other American golfers, includingTiger Woods andPhil Mickelson. Stricker played the tournament at −20 for the front nine, a record by 6 shots, versus +4 for the back nine.
In July, Stricker gained his eleventh tour win at the John Deere Classic, sinking a 30-foot (9 m) birdie putt at the 72nd hole, one stroke ahead of runner-upKyle Stanley. Stricker bogeyed the 15th and 16th to fall two strokes behind Stanley in a commanding position throughout most of Sunday's round. He then bounced back with a birdie on the par five 17th while Stanley made bogeyed the 18th. Stricker, tied for the lead at this point, drove into a fairway bunker off the tee and then played his second shot just over the back of the green, but holed the putt from the fringe for the victory.[17] This was Stricker's third straight victory at the John Deere Classic becoming just the 10th golfer since World War II to win a tournament three straight times.[17]
Stricker tied a major championship record with a 63 in the first round at the PGA Championship in2011 and led by two shots. His next three days were 74-69-73, and he tied for twelfth. Stricker's career earnings are over $44 million through the end of the 2018–19 season, among the highest of those without a major title.
Stricker started the2012 season with a win in the season-opening Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on Maui. He shot a ten-under 63 on day two and held the lead until the end, three strokes ahead of runner-upMartin Laird. It was his twelfth PGA Tour title.[18] He missed the cut in May atThe Players Championship, his first since the2009 PGA Championship. It ended a streak of 49 consecutive cuts, which was the longest on tour.[19]
At the start of the2013 season, Stricker announced he would cut his schedule "in half," hoping to play just "10 or 12" tournaments.[20] As the defending champion, he finished runner-up at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions despite suffering from a herniated disc. He then reached the quarterfinals at theWGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, his best performance since his victory in 2001.[6]
In 2017, Stricker joined thePGA Tour Champions. In his first event, theTucson Conquistadores Classic, he finished one stroke behindTom Lehman. Stricker asked the USGA for a special exemption to play in the2017 U.S. Open held in his home state, but his request was denied. He eventually earned entry through a qualifying tournament in Memphis. Stricker was the captain of the victorious U.S. team in the2017 Presidents Cup.
In March 2018, Stricker won his first event on the PGA Tour Champions, theCologuard Classic, by two strokes. He then won his second straight start at theRapiscan Systems Classic inSaucier, Mississippi. In September 2018, he won theSanford International tournament on the PGA Tour Champions.
In 2018, U.S. captainJim Furyk named Stricker a non-playing vice-captain for the2018 Ryder Cup team. The U.S. lost 17 1/2 to 10 1/2 to the European team.
In 2019, Stricker won his first senior major championship at theRegions Tradition, claiming a six-stroke win over the field. Then in June of the same year, Stricker won his second senior major at theU.S. Senior Open, again by six strokes overJerry Kelly andDavid Toms.[21]
In April 2021, Stricker won theChubb Classic for his sixth win on thePGA Tour Champions.[22]
In May 2021, Stricker came close to defending his title at the senior major, theRegions Tradition. Stricker birdied the last hole in regulation to force a playoff withAlex Čejka. Čejka won the playoff with a birdie on the first playoff hole.[23]
In June 2021, Stricker won his third senior major at theSenior Players Championship atFirestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Stricker led by eight strokes going into the final round. He shot an even-par 70 in the final round and won by six strokes overJerry Kelly.[24]
In May 2022, Stricker won his fourth senior major title at theRegions Tradition inBirmingham, Alabama. Stricker shot a 4-under 68 in the final round for a 6-stroke victory. It was his first victory since he had to take a leave of absence for health reasons after the2021 Ryder Cup.[25]
In August 2022, Stricker wonThe Ally Challenge and in September 2022, he won theSanford International in South Dakota in a playoff overRobert Karlsson. This brought him to 10 career PGA Tour Champions victories.[26]
In October 2022, Stricker won theConstellation Furyk and Friends by two shots.[27]
In January 2023, Stricker won theMitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on theBig Island of Hawaii by six strokes.[28] In May 2023, Stricker won theRegions Tradition, his 13th PGA Champions Tour win, third Regions win, and fifth senior major.[29] Two weeks later, Stricker won theKitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in a playoff overPádraig Harrington. This marked his 14th PGA Champions Tour win and sixth senior major.[30] In June 2023, Stricker won theAmerican Family Insurance Championship in his home state ofWisconsin and he followed it in July with a third 2023 major victory at theSenior Players Championship.[31][32] In September 2023, Stricker won theSanford International inSouth Dakota for the third time. This marked his sixth title of the year on the Champions Tour and set a new record for most money earned in a single season at just shy of $4 million.[33]
Stricker clinched the 2023 season-longCharles Schwab Cup with two weeks left in the season. His lead of more than two million points overSteven Alker meant that Alker could not catch him even if he won the last two tournaments of the year.[34] This title comes with a $1 million annuity from Charles Schwab.[35]
Stricker married into a golfing family. His father-in-law,Dennis Tiziani, and his brother-in-law,Mario Tiziani, played on the PGA Tour. He and his wife, Nicki, have two children. Nicki is often her husband's caddie.[5]
At the opening ceremony of the2021 Ryder Cup, while captaining the United States team, Stricker revealed that he was a supporter of theChicago Bears despite being from Wisconsin, much to the chagrin of the present crowd, many of whom support the home-stateGreen Bay Packers; the two teams have one of thelargest rivalries within the NFL.[36] At the victory ceremony concluding the event,Dustin Johnson quipped to Stricker, "Next time, let's not tell all the Green Bay fans that you're a Bears fan."[37]
| Legend |
|---|
| World Golf Championships (1) |
| FedEx Cup playoff events (2) |
| Other PGA Tour (9) |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008 | Mercedes-Benz Championship |  Daniel Chopra | Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 2 | 2009 | Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial |  Tim Clark, Steve Marino | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 3,1990 | Payless-Pepsi Victoria Open | 66-68-70-72=276 | −8 | Playoff | Todd Hamilton |
| 2 | Aug 29,1993 | CPGA Championship | 67-71-68-68=274 | −10 | 5 strokes | John Restino |
| Legend |
|---|
| PGA Tour Champions major championships (7) |
| Other PGA Tour Champions (11) |
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (3–3)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019 | American Family Insurance Championship | Retief Goosen,Jerry Kelly | Kelly won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 2 | 2021 | Regions Tradition |  Alex Čejka | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2022 | Sanford International | Robert Karlsson | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2023 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship |  Pádraig Harrington | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 5 | 2024 | American Family Insurance Championship | Ernie Els | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 6 | 2024 | Sanford International |  Richard Green | Won with birdie on fourth extra hole |
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | T38 | ||||
| U.S. Open | 83 | T13 | T60 | T36 | T5 | 5 | |
| The Open Championship | T22 | T62 | T52 | CUT | |||
| PGA Championship | T23 | T26 | CUT | 2 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T19 | T10 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T6 | ||||
| U.S. Open | T27 | CUT | T16 | CUT | T6 | T13 | T29 | T23 | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT | T42 | T59 | T8 | T7 | T52 | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T66 | CUT | T7 | T23 | T39 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T30 | T11 | T47 | T20 | T31 | T28 | T16 | ||
| U.S. Open | T58 | T19 | T15 | T8 | T21 | T16 | T20 | ||
| The Open Championship | T55 | T12 | T23 | 4 | T37 | ||||
| PGA Championship | T18 | T12 | T7 | T12 | T7 | T30 | T42 | T54 |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T44 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||
| The Open Championship | NT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due toCOVID-19 pandemic
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 11 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 16 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 19 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 13 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 34 | 76 | 59 |
| Tournament | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T23 | T11 | CUT | CUT | T51 | T6 |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | CUT | T19 | CUT | CUT | T52 | CUT | T22 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T12 | CUT | T37 | T13 | T38 | T41 | T23 |
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | C | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to theCOVID-19 pandemic
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | n/a | 2 and 1 | Pierre Fulke | |
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | R64 | R32 | 1 | R64 | R64 | R16 | R32 | R64 | R64 | R16 | QF | R64 | ||||
| Championship | NT1 | T35 | T6 | T13 | T16 | T18 | T8 | 2 | 57 | |||||||
| Invitational | T41 | T43 | T6 | T9 | 14 | T2 | 13 | T63 | ||||||||
| Champions | ||||||||||||||||
1Cancelled due to9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Regions Tradition | 4 shot lead | −18 (68-64-70-68=270) | 6 strokes | Billy Andrade,Paul Goydos,David Toms |
| 2019 | U.S. Senior Open | 6 shot lead | −19 (62-64-66-69=261) | 6 strokes | Jerry Kelly,David Toms |
| 2021 | Bridgestone Senior Players Championship | 3 shot lead | −7 (63-68-72-70=273) | 6 strokes | Jerry Kelly |
| 2022 | Regions Tradition (2) | 3 shot lead | −21 (65-68-66-68=267) | 6 strokes | Pádraig Harrington |
| 2023 | Regions Tradition (3) | Tied | −23 (68-68-64-65=265) | 6 strokes | Ernie Els,Robert Karlsson |
| 2023 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | 1 shot deficit | −18 (70-67-64-69=270) | Playoff | Pádraig Harrington |
| 2023 | Kaulig Companies Championship | Tied | −11 (65-73-65-66=269 | 3 strokes | David Toms |
Results not in chronological order
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | T13 | T2 | 1 | NT | 2 | 1 | 1 | T3 | T22 |
| Senior PGA Championship | T41 | NT | T11 | 1 | 8 | T28 | |||
| Senior Players Championship | 6 | T23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | T4 | |||
| U.S. Senior Open | 1 | NT | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| The Senior Open Championship | NT |
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due toCOVID-19 pandemic
| Season | Wins | Earnings ($) | Rank[38] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0 | 3,974 | 255 |
| 1991 | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 1992 | 0 | 5,550 | 261 |
| 1993 | 0 | 46,171 | 186 |
| 1994 | 0 | 334,409 | 50 |
| 1995 | 0 | 438,931 | 40 |
| 1996 | 2 | 1,383,739 | 4 |
| 1997 | 0 | 167,652 | 130 |
| 1998 | 0 | 1,313,948 | 13 |
| 1999 | 0 | 662,461 | 64 |
| 2000 | 0 | 418,780 | 113 |
| 2001 | 1 | 1,676,229 | 30 |
| 2002 | 0 | 789,713 | 88 |
| 2003 | 0 | 150,590 | 188 |
| 2004 | 0 | 440,906 | 151 |
| 2005 | 0 | 397,640 | 162 |
| 2006 | 0 | 1,811,811 | 34 |
| 2007 | 1 | 4,663,077 | 4 |
| 2008 | 0 | 2,438,304 | 22 |
| 2009 | 3 | 6,332,636 | 2 |
| 2010 | 2 | 4,190,235 | 5 |
| 2011 | 2 | 3,992,785 | 8 |
| 2012 | 1 | 3,420,021 | 18 |
| 2013 | 0 | 4,440,532 | 7 |
| 2014 | 0 | 1,154,747 | 89 |
| 2015 | 0 | 269,701 | 180 |
| 2016 | 0 | 1,418,647 | 74 |
| 2017 | 0 | 1,002,036 | 102 |
| 2018 | 0 | 582,566 | 147 |
| 2019 | 0 | 135,670 | 215 |
| 2020 | 0 | 212,582 | 187 |
| 2021 | 0 | 640,311 | 157 |
| Career* | 12 | 44,936,354 | 17[39] |
* As of the 2021 season.
| Season | Starts | Cuts made | Wins (majors) | 2nd | 3rd | Top-10 | Top-25 | Best finish | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 569,250 | 37[40] |
| 2018 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1,196,235 | 13[41] |
| 2019 | 9 | 9 | 2 (2) | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1,534,327 | 8[42] |
| 2020–21** | 13 | 13 | 2 (1) | 1 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 1,747,438 | 13[43] |
| 2022 | 12 | 12 | 4 (1) | 3 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 2,473,725 | 3[44] |
| Career* | 47 | 47 | 11 (4) | 8 | 7 | 39 | 45 | 1 | 7,520,975 | 59[45] |
*As of end of 2022 season
**2020 and 2021 seasons were combined due to theCOVID-19 pandemic
Professional
Steve Stricker in theRyder Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Steve Stricker in thePresidents Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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