Tag: Izzi Stricker

Watch: Steve Stricker’s daughter Izzi roasts her dad over his golf fashion sense

“We pulled up the archives and we got some brutal pictures,” Izzi told her dad.

There isn’t much to critique Steve Stricker in his golf game over his career. Twelve-time PGA Tour winner. Seven-time major winner on the PGA Tour Champions. Ryder Cup captain in his home state of Wisconsin. Winner of many prestigious awards for his work on and off the golf course. The list goes on.

But his fashion?

That’s another story.

And his daughter Izzi, who’s spending more time with Dad on the golf course these days, did what any good teenager would do: Roasted him on social media in the most adorable way.

Izzi spent the weekend with Steve, serving as his caddie at the PGA Tour Champions’ The Galleri Classic in Rancho Mirage, California. During the event, she took a break to grade his wardrobe choices over the years. This included his hairstyle back in the day.

“We pulled up the archives and we got some brutal pictures,” Izzi, a Waunakee High School senior and Wisconsin Badgers golf recruit, told him at the beginning of the video.

First up was a picture of Steve sporting a mullet — likely from the 1990s.

“Is that a mullet?” she asked. “If you zoom in, you got a lot of hair back there.”

Apparently, Stricker’s good friend, Tiger Woods, was wondering the same thing.

“Tiger just texted me this last week and asked if I had a mullet,” Steve said.

Izzi likes that look, though.

“He still gels his hair like this in the morning and I think he gets memories of flashbacks,” Izzi said, as they both laughed. “That’s a good hairstyle. Overall, slick back, nice.”

At 57 years old, Steve said, “I wish I had it back there. Not much there.”

The hairstyle must have run in the family during this time. A photo of Steve with his wife, Nicki — who has served as his caddie for years — popped up.

“Now that’s a mullet,” Steve chimed in, as he and his daughter shared a good laugh.

Izzi approved. “Mom looks good,” she said. “She looks different, but she looks good.”

Izzi, who won the WIAA Division 1 high school state golf championship as a junior and senior, rated his shirts on the next two photos. She gave them a “five” and a “two” on a 1-10 scale.

“Oh, God. Oh,” she said about one polo.

“What is that? Looks like a curtain,” Izzi said laughing.

A photo of the family, including a younger Izzi, was next, from a golf tournament. Izzi was in her mom’s arms.

Steve Stricker of the United States and daughter Izzi Stricker look on from the 18th green during the first round of the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 16, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

“She was definitely a momma’s girl,” Steve said. “I could never hold her. But now look at us today (as they hugged). But back then, I couldn’t touch Izzi.”

The two are inseparable these days and Izzi has been part of her dad’s biggest moments on the golf course the last two years.

She was there when Steve was an assistant captain of the US’ Presidents Cup victory in 2022 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. She approved of his look at that event as they viewed a photo of the family together.

“You had some good outfits there, I remember,” Izzi said. “That was fun. Ten out of 10.”

Then a photo appeared of the two posing with the huge trophy that Steve won at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship last May, his sixth major championship at the time. Izzi had a role in the win as well. She caddied for Steve for the first time at the tournament.

“We matched that day, too. Remember?” Izzi reminded him.

“Definitely 10 out of 10,” Steve said.

Izzi one-upped him.

“Eleven out of 10,” Izzi said, smiling.

“Great memories of that one,” Steve said.

This past weekend at The Galleri Classic offered more memories for Wisconsin’s first family of golf. Stricker tied for sixth with Izzi on the bag.

Christmas comes early for the kids at PNC Championship who call it the best week of the year

The PNC Championship is the highlight of golf’s silly season and the annual hit-and-giggle delivered again in 2023.

ORLANDO — With Paddy Harrington in the midst of college exams back home in Ireland, Ciaran Harrington took his older brother’s place at the 2023 PNC Championship. Six weeks removed from breaking his left leg playing high school rugby, 15-year-old Ciaran joined his father Padraig – in his first competitive round – at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in front of thousands of fans on live television. Ciaran found that he hit his best shots in front of packed grandstands, when he could feel his stomach in his throat.

“You know, it was always going to be a bit of a push to get him ready for this,” said Padraig, “and then when he broke his leg, it was like he’s had 10 days of a crash course in how to play golf. And he’s done brilliant.”

Padraig Harrington pictured with his son Ciaran at the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 14, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

This year’s PNC field featured 11 former world No. 1s, nine World Golf Hall of Fame members and eight Ryder Cup captains. The field of 20 teams – one of the most sought-after invitations in golf – combined for 62 major championship titles.

Lee Trevino, 84, has teed it up in all 26 editions of the event, while 12-year-old Will McGee, the youngest in the field, made his second appearance with mom Annika Sorenstam. McGee cried down most of the 18th hole just thinking about the fact that he’d have to wait a whole year to do this again.

There’s so much to enjoy about the PNC. Pros smile more this week inside the ropes than they do all year. It’s a chance to talk about something other than the weekly grind. In fact, it’s often a pro’s favorite subject: family.

There were seven teenagers in this year’s field, plus 12-year-old Will. Tiger Woods’ son Charlie, of course, generated the most buzz for a fourth consecutive year, but there were plenty of worthy storylines in rain-soaked central Florida.

Cameron Kuchar, 16, has been holding a golf club since he was in diapers and one day dreams of winning the Masters. He plays on the South Florida PGA Junior Medalist Tour with Charlie and Justin Leonard’s son, Luke, who was also in the field.

Steve Stricker, 56, was invited to the PNC for the first time after a rule change was made to allow PGA Tour Champions major winners. He partnered with youngest daughter Izzi, 17, who will follow in the footsteps of her mother Nicki and sister Bobbi on the golf team at Wisconsin beginning in the fall of 2024. Izzi is a two-time state champion and the 2023 Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin State Co-Player of the Year.

Last May, Izzi was inside the ropes with her father when she debuted as his caddie at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, where Steve beat Padraig Harrington in a playoff.

The PNC offered a new twist in that the Strickers strategized together over shots that she’d hit as well.

The Strickers played alongside world No. 1 Nelly Korda on Saturday and Team Woods on Sunday, and Izzi called it the coolest week of her life. When asked if she chatted much with Charlie on Sunday, Izzi said briefly.

“We were both really dialed,” she said. “Not much came out of our mouths.”

The Stricker clan is close and highly competitive. When questioned if his daughters had ever bested him on the golf course, Steve said maybe in a three-hole stretch.

“But if it’s 18 holes,” he continued, “I can honestly say I don’t think either one of them – because I start to grind if it gets close. Then I start talking to them and getting in their ear and trying to throw them off a little bit if that’s going to happen.”

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Like Ciaran, golf isn’t even Tanner Furyk’s main sport. The 19-year-old son of Jim Furyk plays lacrosse at The University of the South, where he’s majoring in economics.

To be invited to the PNC, a member of each team must have won at least one major (PGA Tour, LPGA or PGA Tour Champions) or the Players Championship, while the partner must not hold any playing status on a professional tour.

Brady Duval watches his tee shot on the first hole with his father David Duval during the first round of the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

David Duval and his son, Brady, finished runner-up to the Langers this year. It marked a record-tying fifth time that Berhard Langer has won the PNC with one of his sons. Brady calls the PNC by far the best week of the year.

David teaches Brady, a freshman on the golf team at Coastal Carolina, to swing the same way he has all his life.

“It’s all our teacher (Shan LeBaron) now teaches him now, too, and there’s a reason for it,” said David. “Because it makes it easier. You don’t have to pound balls all the time. You don’t have to work on timing. Somebody told him last year – slow down a little bit. The way I tell him to swing a club, if you’re doing it right, speed up. It’s only going to go straighter and further.”

Early in the week at PNC, David asked longtime friend Peter Jacobsen to come over and explain a move he’d been trying to get across to Brady. In less than 10 minutes, Brady understood.

“Because we’re saying the same thing,” said David, “but you sometimes have to say it in six or seven ways until the person, the individual, understands it.”

Ciaran doesn’t consider himself a golfer, but he left Orlando certainly hungry to get better. With Paddy still in college next December, Ciaran will likely get the nod again from dad and wants to be ready.

For years, Will McGee asked his mother if he could play with her in the PNC. But Sorenstam and her husband, Mike, wanted to be sure that Will was ready for this kind of spotlight. They wanted to make sure that the emphasis was on fun.

Will is undeniably addicted to golf, but certainly not because he was pushed into it. If anything, Sorenstam has worried that Will might get burned out because he rarely shows an interest in much else.

That’s certainly the recipe Padraig Harrington prescribes for those interested in getting their children involved in the game.

“Just let the kids just have a bit of fun and just no pressure, no stress,” said Harrington. “They’ve loads of time, you know, you don’t need to be good at this game at six years of age, or eight years of age or even 12 years of age. It could be even a burden to be good at that age. So, you know, let them enjoy.”

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As Steve Stricker grinded to hit it past Nelly Korda at PNC Championship, daughter Izzi Stricker took notes

“She has got one of the best swings in the game of golf,” Steve Stricker said of Nelly Korda.

ORLANDO — Izzi Stricker said she felt numb on the first hole of the PNC Championship, though she did pipe her drive down the middle. Partnering with her father Steve in their first PNC, oddsmakers had the Strickers as a favorite to win this week, enjoying the same odds as Tiger Woods and his son Charlie and Justin Thomas and his father Mike.

Izzi, a two-time Wisconsin girls state champion, has committed to play college golf at Wisconsin, where she’ll be a freshman in the fall of 2024. Both her mother, Nicki, and sister, Bobbi, played golf at Wisconsin.

Izzi Stricker daughter of Steve Stricker of the United States embraces her mother Nikki Stricker as sister Bobbi Stricker looks on from the 18th green during the first round of the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

A 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, Steve won six times this season on the PGA Tour Champions, including three majors.

In Saturday’s opening round of the PNC, the Strickers were paired alongside former No. 1 Nelly Korda and her father Petr. Izzi was hoping she’d get the chance to play alongside Korda, a major champion and Olympic gold medalist.

Steve noted he often pulls up videos of Nelly’s swing when working with his daughters.

Photos: 2023 PNC Championship

“I mean, she has got one of the best swings in the game of golf,” said Stricker. “You know, men or women.”

The Strickers opened with an 8-under 64 in the scramble format, tied with the Kordas, and trail Matt Kuchar and his teenage son Cameron by seven.

Steve, 56, who was invited into the field after a rule change was made to allow PGA Tour Champions major winners, said he was grinding to make sure he could hit it past Nelly on a waterlogged day at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. Four sets of tees are in place this week. Steve and Nelly are both playing from 6,578 yards. Izzi and Petr are playing from 6,036 yards.

“I was grinding to make sure that I could hit it past her on a few holes,” said Steve with a smile. “She got me once and she let me know it, too. So from that point on, I swung a little bit harder to make sure I could get it past her, but she’s got some length.”

Steve and Izzi Stricker to make PNC Championship debut thanks to rule change and ban on LIV players

“It’s actually a blessing and a surprise that we’re here.”

ORLANDO – Steve Stricker never thought he’d have a chance to play in the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. After all, he never won any of the four major championships or the Players Championship, which is a requirement to be invited to the prestigious two-person scramble competition.

“So we never thought, at least I didn’t, we’d have the opportunity to play here. So it’s actually a blessing and a surprise that we’re here,” Stricker said.

How it happened is a story in itself. Rules, the saying goes, are meant to be broken. Tournament founder Alastair Johnston said there’s precedence such as the time he permitted Paul Azinger to play with Aaron Stewart, Payne Stewart’s son after he died in a plane crash or a pro such as Bubba Watson to play with a father-in-law. So, as of this year, Johnston decided senior majors are good enough to enter the field.

“I’m not denying it, I did it. As I told a couple of players who will remain nameless, I’m in charge so eat it!” Johnston said, noting that he’s not allowed to invite LIV members such as Watson and LIV CEO Greg Norman, both past participants, which limited his options.

PNC: Saturday tee times | Photos

Stricker said it has been a several-year process and recalled PGA Tour Champions rules official Joe Terry inquiring with him if he would be interested in participating.

“Joe T. mentioned that they were trying to maybe change the rules, get us in — I don’t even know what the rules are, who gets invited, right? That’s kind of a mystery to me,” Stricker said. “So Joe T. put it in my ear a couple years ago, and he asked if we would play. I’m like, ‘Well, yeah, most definitely we’ll play if we have the opportunity.’ ”

Stricker figured he’d been passed over again when he hadn’t heard any news but about a month ago an invitation from Johnston was sent directly to Stricker’s agent/brother-in-law Mario Tiziani.

“He immediately called me because he knew how excited I was going to be,” Stricker said.

2023 PNC Championship
Izzi Stricker, daughter of Steve Stricker, reacts after making a putt on the fifth hole prior to the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on December 14, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

The invite specified that he had to play with daughter Izzi, not older daughter Bobbi, who is pursuing a professional career, in the 36-hole two-person scramble competition, which begins on Saturday. (Relatives can’t have pro status.) Izzi, 17, is currently a senior in high school and a stick in her own rights, who committed to attending the University of Wisconsin and playing for the women’s golf team in 2024-25. Izzi was the Wisconsin Girls State Champion for her division the past two years and was named the 2023 Wisconsin Co-Player of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin. The golf gene definitely was passed along to the Stricker girls – mom Nikki played at Wisconsin too and earlier this summer played in her first USGA championship in 31 years. But the girls haven’t beaten dear, old dad yet, who was a force to be reckoned with on the Champions Tour, claiming the Charles Schwab Cup this season.

“I start to grind if it gets close,” Steve said. “Then I start talking to them and getting in their ear and trying to throw them off a little bit if that’s going to happen.”

It will be a full family affair with Bobbi on the bag for dad and Nikki handling caddie duties for Izzi.  

“We play golf, but never in a competitive setting. So to be able to team up with him and, like, analyze, come up with a game plan, it will be really fun,” Izzi said.

Steve Stricker’s second major win of 2023 is a family affair at 83rd KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

Stricker’s youngest daughter, Izzi, looped for her pops like a pro in her debut.

FRISCO, Texas – Steve Sticker is yet again a major winner on the PGA Tour Champions.

The 2021 Ryder Cup captain took down Padraig Harrington on the first playoff hole of the 83rd KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship to take home his sixth major on the senior circuit.

The win is also his second major title of the season after claiming the 2023 Regions Tradition earlier this year. With Joe LaCava Jr. on his bag that week, Stricker opted to keep it in the family this week at Fields Ranch East.

Stricker’s youngest daughter, Izzi, looped for her pops like a pro in her debut. Never caddying for her dad before, both Strickers admitted they had some nerves coming down the stretch, but they never let it get in the way of the special moment.

“She did well,” Stricker told reporters. “Both of us, we got a little, we clammed up a little bit coming in. I think we were both – I had my head down grinding and trying to figure out how to get it in the hole at times…But all in all, after it’s all said and done, it was a lot of fun.”

The rising high school senior shared a similar sentiment.

“Yeah, I was pacing,” Izzi told Golfweek. “Like he (Stricker) said, we were kind of clammy, we didn’t really talk much but I knew if I kept my focus, we would give off similar vibes and I needed to keep my head down as much as he did.”

So what was the coolest part of the week for Izzi?

“I have always watched him outside the ropes and this is a whole different experience,” she said. “I learned so much about his mental game, too. I see his physical game all the time but I never really get to see him that close in a major championship so I learned a lot on the mental side.”

For Stricker, the win also holds a special place in his heart.

“This means a lot,” he said. “I said it in there when I was toasting the people inside there that I spent a lot of time with the PGA of America during the Ryder Cup. I got to know a lot of people. We spent basically three years, two and a half years because of the COVID issue and I developed a lot of friendships. John Lindert from Wisconsin as well and just special people to me and our family. I mean, they gave me an unbelievable opportunity to captain a Ryder Cup team in my home state.”

For Padraig Harrington, his chance at a wire-to-wire victory came and went a handful of times Sunday.

After losing the lead to after a Stricker birdie on No. 11, the 51-year-old had a day of what-ifs.

“I look back to the two shots I look back on that with a bit of regret is how I played my second shot safe on 14,” he told reporters after losing in the one hole playoff.

Playing it safe proved not to be the move as he hit his approach into the hole through the green and into the rough.

“That’s the one that I’ll look back on and go, you know, I shouldn’t have bailed out. Maybe I shouldn’t have bailed out there. That’s – but I thought I was fine. I thought I would have had a reasonable eagle chance from there.”

Trailing Stricker by a stroke on the par-3 17th, he squandered another opportunity to force the issue. Luckily for him, both he and Stricker made bogey and made their way to the par-5 18th.

Needing a birdie to tie, Harrington used his PGA Tour Champions-leading length to get on the green in two for a 30-foot eagle putt to win. He’d walk away with a birdie, forcing a playoff with Stricker and another chance to seal a wire-to-wire victory.

First to play, Harrington pulled driver, looking to apply pressure on Stricker but left the drive well out to the right. In the penalty area, Harrington tried to advance the ball but caught it on the hosel, keeping him in the hazard and forcing a drop.

2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
Steve Stricker embraces his caddie/daughter, Izzi Strickerr, after winning the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

What followed was one of the best shots of the week. From 272 yards out, his 5-wood never left the flag and nestled behind the hole to about 10 feet.

“If I hole the putt we could say it was one of the best shots I ever hit. The fact that I didn’t hole the putt we’ll forget about it.”

He laughed. “Golf is cruel.”

Low PGA pro

PGA Professional Mark Brown had one goal in mind coming into Sunday’s final round: earn his wife a new kitchen.

As part of the winnings for low PGA Professionals at the Senior PGA Championship is a kitchen suite courtesy of title sponsor, KitchenAid. Having been co-low pro at the 2019 Senior PGA at Oak Hill, Brown reaped the reward but has since moved, now residing in Florida.

The 56-year-old PGA Teaching Professional at the Yacht & Country Club in Stewart, Florida, had the outright lead by three as he stood on the 17th tee. A quick bogey still gave him a two-shot cushion over Tim Weinhart who finished at 6 over and had already left the property.

Disaster very nearly struck Brown as he crawled away with a double-bogey on the par 5 18th. 

Mission failed successfully. 

The double kept him from having the solo honor but nonetheless, he’ll keep his wife happy with a new kitchen suite making its way to Hobe Sound, Florida.

As for Weinhart, the 53-year-old PGA Director of Instruction at Heritage Golf Links in Tucker, Georgia, was still shocked that he had played himself back into it. He left the course and was halfway through a double-double at In-N-Out when he heard he tied Brown.

Not in the field to start the week, Weinhart was an alternate and a late addition to the field.

“Monday we played a practice round and we’re like, well I hope we get in,” he told reporters. “I got a known call late Monday night or not late, 6:45. 7 o’clock. I was grateful.”

While the pair did not finish high enough for an exemption into the 84th KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, the duo put a nice bow on a historic two week stretch for PGA Teaching Professionals that began with Michael Block in Oak Hill.

The 84th KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship heads to Michigan in 2024 where Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Michigan, will play host.

Steve Stricker’s daughter Izzi followed his Champions Tour victory by using four straight birdies to win a state title

Izzi Stricker used a career-best four straight birdies on holes 8 through 11 to get a lead she wouldn’t relinquish.

Suffice it to say, this has been a pretty good week in the Stricker household.

On Sunday, by attacking the par 5s and making only one bad swing on the final hole when it didn’t matter, Steve Stricker broke a five-way tie for the most victories on the Champions Tour by winning his fourth title this season, the Constellation Furyk & Friends. The 2021 Ryder Cup U.S. captain won by two shots over Harrison Frazar and three over tournament host Jim Furyk at the Timuquana Country Club near Jacksonville.

But not to be outdone, his daughter Izzy — a junior at Waunakee High School near Madison, Wisconsin — captured a title as well, one she’d been plotting out for a full year.

The younger of Steve Stricker’s two children, Izzi headed into the second day of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 girls golf championship four strokes off the lead. During the second and final round, however, she fired a 2-under 70 at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, to catapult her way to victory — one that she’d been thinking about since failing to win the title in 2021.

“This was my goal since last state tournament,” Stricker told Wisconsin.golf. “I practice all the time with my family and just having a good attitude in the practice — there’s highs and lows of the season and just knowing that anything can happen. I put my head down all season.”

Izzi used a career-best four straight birdies on holes 8 through 11 to get ahead of Westosha Central’s Kylie Walker, who led after the opening round of play.

Using a steady diet of two-putts on the way in, Izzi made par on each of the final four holes and waited for Walker to finish up. Things got interesting as Walker birdied both 15 and 16 and barely missed an approach on the final hole that would have evened things up.

“I really didn’t know what to expect coming in. I didn’t know it was going to rain so that was a battle. But I knew I had to shoot under par. I knew that’s what was going to do it. So I just kept my head down and tried to make as many birdies as I could,” Stricker told Wisconsin.golf. “I had 68 in mind, which it didn’t need to be. I don’t like playing for a number, though. I just know if I give it my best, it’ll be good enough.”

This marked yet another impressive accomplishment for the Wisconsin-based family. Steve Stricker won the 1984 state boys golf championship at SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point and went on to win a dozen times on the PGA Tour. He has since added 11 more victories on the PGA Tour Champions, including the win at Furyk & Friends.

Steve Stricker’s wife, Nicki, was a four-year letter-winner on the University of Wisconsin women’s golf team where grandfather Dennis Tiziani was head coach from 1989-2003. Tiziani also coached the Wisconsin men’s team from 1977-2003.

And Izzi’s older sister Bobbi played tennis in high school, but then walked onto the Badgers golf team and watched her scoring average drop from 79 to 74.6 by her senior year. After graduating from Wisconsin, she won the Wisconsin Women’s Amateur Championship with her mom on the bag.

Bobbi was just one of the many who showered Izzi with adoration after the victory, using Twitter to say, “My last shoutout to my baby sister. You are a star. I’m so happy for you @IzziStricker. ADD STATE CHAMP TO HER NAME.”

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