Tag: Steve Stricker

What can Steve Stricker possibly do for a PGA Tour Champions encore?

Last year, 56-year-old Steve Stricker turned in a season for the ages.

Last year, 56-year-old Steve Stricker turned in a season for the ages (and the aged) on the PGA Tour Champions in 2023, winning six tournaments, including three majors, notching five runner-up finishes and placing inside the top-10 in all but one of his 16 starts.

Stricker set Champions season records for both lowest scoring average (67.54) and money earned ($3.9 million). Last June, he also broke the PGA mark with his 55th consecutive round of golf at par or better on a sanctioned tour, topping a guy named Tiger Woods.

“You know, every tournament that I showed up at I had a feeling that I could get in there and have an opportunity to win,” Stricker said Thursday at the Chubb Classic in Naples. “Some of them I did; some I got close. But it was, it’s a great feeling.

“When you’re playing the game of golf, it’s a silly game where you can get on those runs and maintain them and then there are times you’re like what the heck happened and why can’t I get it in the hole,” Stricker said. “Got to ride it out and not think too much about them and keep it rolling. That’s what I did for the most part of the year.”

This weekend, the former part-time Naples and Quail West Golf & Country Club member returns to familiar territory. Stricker won the 2021 Chubb Classic at Tiburon Golf Club by one shot over Alex Cejka and Robert Karlsson and last year finished tied for second behind back-to-back Chubb champion Bernhard Langer.

“We took up residence here for a few years and it’s a nice spot, nice people,” Stricker said. “Beach is right around the corner.

“Tiburón has been a place we’ve played quite a few times over the years, so it’s always fun to come back and play and participate here.”

Stricker opened the 2024 Champions season with a third-place finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, five shots behind tournament champion Steven Alker, the 2022 Champions Player of the Year.

 Steve Stricker of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf and Country Club on May 14, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

“He hit the shots, made the putts when he had to, and neither one of us – you know, I guess we gave him a little run for a little while, but he pulled away there at the end,” Stricker said of Alker. “Yeah, he’s in shape, which means a lot out here. He’s got a good game and he putts it well. So pull all that together out here, that’s going to be a tough guy to beat.”

So too is Stricker, who said he’s looking forward to trying to build upon his amazingly successful 2023 season.

“I’m excited to play,” he said. “I’m excited to continue to work on my game to try to keep that ball rolling like I had it going last year, to try to continue that feel.

“I still have a lot of drive and motivation to prepare and get ready.”

Sister tandem wins First Tee Champions Challenge

Sophia and Stella Travlos of the First Tee – Metropolitan New York chapter captured the 17th annual Golf to Paradise – First Tee Champions Challenge, played Monday through Wednesday as part of the Chubb Classic.

The 16-year-old Travlos sisters finished with a score of 105, five shots better than Marty Burns and John Diamond of Philadelphia. Braden Miller and Harrison White, representing First Tee of Naples/Collier in the competition, shot 115 to place fourth.

Five First Tee chapters participated in the event, playing three different formats on three separate courses.  The two-person teams played a four-ball format at Tiburón Golf Club on Monday, a scramble at Wyndemere Golf Club on Tuesday, and a modified alternate shot at The TwinEagles Club on Wednesday.

The young golfers also participated in a special youth clinic with Champions player Notah Begay III and did a volunteer clean-up service at the S.S. Jolley Bridge near Marco Island.

Watch: Relive crazy hole-in-one celebrations on par-3 16th at WM Phoenix Open

Doesn’t get much better than No. 16.

The WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale is the PGA Tour’s annual party in the desert.

The fan-favorite event is known for many things, none bigger, however, than the stadium-like stands surrounding the par-3 16th.

It’s madness year in and year out, with fans hoping for the opportunity to throw their beers on the green in celebration of a hole-in-one. The latest to do so was Carlos Ortiz — who has since moved to LIV Golf — in 2022.

Relive some of the iconic moments below.

(Mike Sposa (2002), Steve Stricker (1997), Jay Delsing (1991), Brad Bryant (1990), David Edwards (1990) and Hal Sutton (1988) also made holes-in-one at the 16th at the Phoenix Open, but we were unable to find video footage.)

Phoenix Open: Picks to win, odds | Best merch

Steven Alker’s ‘good karma’ and 63 secures victory in memory of late caddie at Mitsubishi Electric Championship

Alker won at the course where Sam Workman caddied for him a year ago for the last time before dying of cancer.

Steven Alker picked up right where he left off, winning the PGA Tour Champions’ season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.

Alker, who won the Charles Schwab Championship to wrap up the 2023 season in November, fired a second straight 9-under 63 at Hualalai Golf Course on Saturday to shoot a 54-hole total of 25-under 191, and win by four strokes over Harrison Frazar and five over last year’s Charles Schwab Cup champion Steve Stricker.

“I knew Stricker and Harrison were going to come at me, so just kept the pedal to the metal,” Alker said.

It wasn’t lost on Alker, 52, that a year ago he finished tied for second on the Big Island with caddie Sam Workman on the bag. Less than three weeks later, the 55-year-old Workman died on Feb. 6 of cancer. When Alker arrived at the course on Tuesday, he was greeted by a rainbow in the sky and during the final round he was the beneficiary of a fortuitous bounce at the par-5 seventh hole when his second shot, a 4-iron from 218 yards, sailed right of the green, bounced off the cart path twice and ricocheted off lava and on to the green about 40 feet left of the hole. He proceeded to drain the putt for an unlikely eagle. Alker couldn’t see it from his vantage point but when he was shown video of the shot later, he credited “good karma.”

“Someone said it kind of kicked off the path and rolled up and went left. Just a fortunate break,” he said. “I was surprised to see it on the left side of the green. Thought it must have hit either someone or something. It could have gone anywhere.

“As I said in my speech, sometimes it goes one way and last year, a couple years ago it goes the other way, so it all kind of works out in the end,” he added. “Made that putt, which was huge.”

Said Stricker, who collected his PGA Tour Champions Player of the Year Award earlier in the week: “You get a bounce like that, and capitalize like that, it’s kind of your day.”

With veteran caddie Troy Martin ably filling the shoes of Workman on the bag, Alker followed up the eagle at seven with a birdie at eight to build a three-shot cushion and never looked back, matching the low 54-hole score in PGA Tour Champions history.

Steven Alker of New Zealand reacts as he sinks his birdie putt on the 18th green to win the PGA Tour Champions Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Golf Course on Jan. 20, 2024 in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Among the well-wishers to congratulate the New Zealand native on his eighth career Champions Tour win in just 54 starts was Germany’s Bernhard Langer.

“Starting off the way you finished,” Langer said. “Good for you. Pretty special.”

“We’ve got the rust off anyway, Bernhard,” Alker responded.

“Well, I’ve got work to do, but you got it,” Langer said.

Alker, who has at least one win in each of his four seasons, dating back to 2021, has found that winning way.

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Golf Writers Association of America names Jon Rahm, Lilia Vu and Steve Stricker as 2023 Players of the Year

All three major champions were first-time winners of a GWAA Player of the Year award.

Jon Rahm, Lilia Vu and Steve Stricker were voted 2023 Players of the Year in their respective divisions by the Golf Writers Association of America. The trio will be honored on April 10 at the organization’s 50th annual ISPS Handa GWAA Dinner in Augusta, Georgia, on the eve of the 88th Masters.

All three major champions were first-time winners of a GWAA Player of the Year award.

Rahm, the GWAA’s Male Player of the Year, captured his first Masters in 2023 after winning three times earlier in the season at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express and the Genesis Invitational.

“I am very grateful to have received this award,” Rahm said in a statement released by his manager. “Our writers carefully follow every event and shot throughout the year, so being chosen as the Player of the Year by them is something I am going to cherish.”

Rahm received 48.9 percent of the first-place votes, beating a field of finalists that included FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland of Norway (33 percent) and Texas’ Scottie Scheffler (18.1 percent), a two-time winner and 2022 GWAA Male Player of the Year.

Lilia Vu of the United States poses for a photo with Annika Sorenstam as she accepts the 2023 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award during the 2023 LPGA Rolex Players Awards at Tiburon Golf Club on November 16, 2023 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Vu, a former UCLA standout who nearly quit professional golf, won her first career LPGA title in her first start of 2023 and followed it up with three more victories, including two majors – the Chevron Championship and AIG Women’s Open.

“I think it’s just been wild,” Vu said at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where she clinched LPGA Rolex Player of the Year honors. Vu became only the second American since Beth Daniel in 1994 to win Rolex Player of the Year, joining Stacy Lewis, who won the award in 2014.

“I came in (to 2023) with no expectations because last year I had too many, and was hard on myself. I’m trying to enjoy every moment and be grateful I’m out here.”

Vu earned 72.9 percent of the GWAA’s first-place votes, defeating two other 2023 major winners and fellow finalists: France’s Celine Boutier (Amundi Evian Championship) and China’s Ruoning Yin (KMPG Women’s PGA Championship).

Stricker, 56, dominated the PGA Tour Champions in 2023, winning six times in 16 starts with five runner-up finishes.

Among Stricker’s victories were three senior majors: Regions Tradition, Kaulig Companies Championship (formerly the Senior Players) and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. He finished runner-up to Bernhard Langer at the U.S. Senior Open in his home state of Wisconsin.

“It’s always special to be recognized by the GWAA, and especially since the award is about the whole year and what I was able to accomplish this year,” said Stricker, winner of the GWAA’s Hogan Award, given to a player who “continues to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness.”

Stricker claimed 79.9 percent of the first-place votes, defeating Langer, who set the all-time mark for PGA Tour Champions victories (46), and Stephen Ames, who won four times last season.

Not surprisingly, Stricker cited two moments with family as particularly special highlights.

“First, having (daughter) Izzi on the bag for the win at the Senior PGA,” he said, “and secondly, the PNC Championship, where our whole family was involved. We didn’t come close to winning, but that whole experience was amazing.”

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 withdraws from season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship

“I was eagerly looking forward to competing in this event to cap off this season,” Stricker said.

PHOENIX — Steve Stricker has withdrawn from the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship after announcing that his dad was taken to the hospital.

“He is currently receiving care and it is important that I am here for my family during this challenging time,” Stricker wrote in the statement released through the PGA Tour Champions on Wednesday.

Originally on the pre-tournament news conference schedule, Stricker was then slated to arrive late Wednesday for his first-round tee time Thursday.

Stricker clinched the season-long championship two weeks ago. He didn’t play in the first two playoff events but was all set to play Phoenix Country Club this week in what would have essentially been a four-day victory lap. His six wins and 15 top-10s in 16 events in 2023 gave him such a commanding lead that he became the third golfer in the circuit’s history to clinch the Cup title before the finale.

Statement on Behalf of Steve Stricker

Unfortunately, I will be withdrawing from this week’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship. I was eagerly looking forward to competing in this event to cap off this season – which has been an incredibly special one for me – but a personal emergency has come up that requires me to stay home.

My father was admitted to the hospital on Monday afternoon. He is currently receiving care and it is important that I am here for my family during this challenging time.

I would like to express my gratitude for the tireless efforts of the PGA Tour Champions staff, tournament directors, Charles Schwab and all of the sponsors this season, who have provided us with the opportunity to participate in a season-long race that has been nothing short of exceptional. I am truly grateful for the support and encouragement I have received throughout the season.

Finally, I want to extend my best wishes to all the players playing in the season finale. I will be following the event from afar, cheering for my friends and fellow competitors.

I appreciate everyone’s understanding and support during this time.

Stricker is at $3,986,063 in on-course earnings this season. His withdrawal means no he’ll get no money this week, which will keep him from becoming the first to earn $4 million in a season on the Champions tour.

“It’s a shame,” said Steven Alker after his pro-am round Wednesday. Alker who won the Cup at year ago. “He’s the No. 1 man. He’s got it sewn up. I’m sure he would’ve liked to be here and play and we would have, too, just to see him finish it off in style. It’s sad news.”

Last year’s tournament champion, Padraig Harrington, said he’ll be missed this week.

“We’re all at that age in our lives, we’ve a lot going on, it’s part of life,” he said. “We feel for Steve. I’m sure he would have loved to have been here and take a bow for his great year. But there’s more important things than golf. Family comes ahead of it, and he’s definitely doing the right thing staying at home. We wish him and his family and his father all the best.”

Stricker’s withdrawal means the field is now 35 golfers. The 72-hole tournament concludes Sunday.

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5 things to know about the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship (which already has a winner)

On Sunday, regardless of his position on the leaderboard, Steve Stricker will hoist the Schwab Cup trophy.

PHOENIX — For just the third time since it started in 2001, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship has been decided before reaching the final event of the year.

Steve Stricker lapped his over-50 cohorts in 2023, winning six times, including three senior majors. He’s closing in on the $4 million mark in earnings for the season, and even if he were to finish last this at Phoenix Country Club, he’d earn enough to become the first Champions player to reach that plateau in a single season on tour.

Stricker had more than doubled the No. 2 golfer on the money list, Steven Alker, and with such a sizeable lead, Stricker chose to skip the first playoffs event. Then, anyone with a shot to catch him finished far enough down the leaderboard that he was able to clinch the season title without even playing.

He also chose not to play last week’s TimberTech Championship but will compete in the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship, an event he skipped a year ago. On Sunday, regardless of his position on the leaderboard, he will hoist the Schwab Cup trophy for the first time.

Steve Stricker takes week off, clinches Charles Schwab Cup anyway with two playoff events still remaining

Steve Stricker’s amazing season just got better. And he didn’t even play this past weekend.

Steve Stricker’s amazing season just got better. And he didn’t even play this past weekend.

Holding a commanding lead in the season-long points race, Stricker benefited from his nearest competitors underperforming enough to allow him to clinch the Charles Schwab Cup with two events still to be played.

The first of the three events in the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs took place in Virginia, with Harrison Frazar winning in a one-hole playoff. Stricker didn’t play, choosing to take the week off. Participation in the playoff events isn’t mandatory and besides, Stricker had such a commanding lead in the points race, there was a scenario whereby he could skip all three playoff stops and still claim the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup.

The PGA Tour Champions post-season had 72 players qualify but only six had a mathematical chance at winning the points race but none of them made a serious run in Stricker’s absence: Ernie Els tied for seventh; Stephen Ames tied for 20th; Steven Alker and Bernhard Langer tied for 25th and David Toms tied for 35th.

Three weeks ago, ahead of the Furyk & Friends event on the Champions tour in Jacksonville, Stricker verbally committed to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club, Nov. 9-12, saying “I’ll definitely be at the last one.”

The next tournament is Nov. 3-5 at the TimberTech Championship. Stricker has said he “probably won’t” play that one.

The finale in Phoenix is a 72-hole event with only the top 36 in the points eligible. It’s a no-cut event and even if Stricker should finish last, he’d bank $16,500 and become the first on the Champions tour to surpass the $4-million mark in a season. He currently stands at $3,986,063.

Stricker’s early clinch is not the first time it’s happened on the PGA Tour Champions. In 2002, Hale Irwin did it after the 32nd of 35 events. In 2014, Bernhard Langer clinched after the second-to-last event of the season.

Steve Stricker could skip Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs and still win season-long title

There are just three events left in the 2023 season to determine the top player on the PGA Tour Champions.

There’s dominating your tour and then there’s what Steve Stricker is doing in 2023.

Stricker has such a massive lead in the season-long points race on the PGA Tour Champions that it’s possible he could skip all three playoff events and still win the title.

Since 2001, the winner of the season-long race has won the Charles Schwab Cup. The Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs are a three-tournament series used to determine the winner of the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup.

Stricker has been the hands-down best player on the circuit in 2023, winning the most events and earning the most money. The money earned through last week’s SAS Championship has since been converted into a points list for the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs and Stricker’s lead will be difficult to overcome.

Here’s what else you need to know about the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.