Steve Stricker - Professional Career

Professional Career

Stricker turned professional in 1990, and began his career on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, where he won two tournaments.

He joined the PGA Tour in 1994. His first success at the top level came in 1996, when Stricker notched two victories (Kemper Open, Motorola Western Open) and seven top ten finishes on his way to finishing fourth on the 1996 PGA Tour money list.

In 1998, Steve Stricker played himself into contention in the final round of the PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Redmond, Washington. Thanks to a back-nine surge, PGA Tour veteran Vijay Singh bested Stricker down the stretch and claimed a two-stroke victory. This runner-up finish remains Stricker's best result in a major championship to date. However his most consistent major championship in his career has been the U.S. Open. Stricker has finished inside the top-20 six times at the U.S. Open, with his best finish a fifth-place in the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

Stricker won his third and most prestigious PGA Tour title at the 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he defeated Pierre Fulke 2 and 1 in Australia, to earn the $1,000,000 prize. This was the one and only occasion that the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship was played outside of the United States of America.

Thereafter Stricker went through a slump, and lost his tour card in 2004 after several years of poor form. In 2006, relying on sponsor exemptions, he managed seven top-10 finishes and was voted PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year. His renewed form continued throughout 2007 and he won his fourth PGA Tour title at The Barclays tournament on August 26, 2007, 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 in the 2007 Presidents Cup team. After his victory at The Barclays, which was the first of the four FedEx Cup playoff events, Stricker reached No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest career ranking at that point. Stricker finished runner-up in the 2007 FedEx Cup Playoffs behind Tiger Woods. Again, he was selected as PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year. He was also inducted into the Wisconsin State Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2007.

At the Mercedes Benz Championship, the opening event of the 2008 season, Stricker lost out in a play-off to Daniel Chopra. This result took Stricker to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, again at the time his highest ranking to date.

In the 2009 Bob Hope Classic, 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 that Pat Perez had held for only two days. (This record would fall in October when Troy Matteson shot 61–61=122 at the Frys.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. He shot a 77 in the final round, however, and ended up finishing in a tie for third.

Stricker won his fifth PGA Tour title at the 2009 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial at the end of May with a playoff win over Tim Clark and Steve Marino. This win was made possible by a crucial 60-foot chip-in on the 71st hole of the championship.

Stricker won again in 2009 at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois for his sixth career victory on the PGA. 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 for eagle on the 6th hole. He went on to win the event by three strokes over Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker and Brett Quigley. He also matched his career low round on tour with a second round of 61 (−10).

Stricker's third win of 2009 and seventh overall came in September at the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second of four playoff events. He began the final round tied with Retief Goosen and Sean O'Hair, and birdied the final hole to win the event by one stroke over Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank. It was Stricker's second FedEx Cup playoff win, a win that also vaulted him ahead of Tiger Woods to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and vaulted him to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest ranking achieved during his career. Stricker has been called "Mr. September" due to his success in the FedEx Cup playoffs, where he has never finished outside the top-25 in his ten career starts.

In February 2010, Stricker won his eighth PGA Tour title at the 2010 Northern Trust Open after shooting a final round 70, which was enough for a 16-under-par 268 winning total. With this win, he deposed Phil Mickelson and regained his ranking as World No. 2.

In July 2010, Stricker shot a career-low 60 (−11) in the first round of the John Deere Classic at TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. However, a 59 shot by Paul 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 the PGA Tour's 54-hole scoring record. He would then shoot 70 on Sunday to win by two strokes over Goydos and earn his ninth PGA Tour win.

In June 2011, Stricker added another prestigious title to his career resume with a victory at the 2011 Memorial Tournament. This was the tenth PGA Tour title of his career. Stricker opened the tournament with a 4 under round of 68 and bettered this on day two with a 67, 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 Matt Kuchar and Brandt Jobe. With this victory Stricker became the highest-ranked American in the Official World Golf Ranking at No. 4 in the world. For the first time in his career, Stricker was ranked higher than all other American golfers, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Stricker played the tournament at −20 for the front nine, a record by 6 shots, versus +4 for the back nine.

Stricker won his second tournament of 2011 and 11th overall on the PGA Tour at the John Deere Classic. He beat Kyle Stanley by one stroke after holing a 30 foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole of regulation play. Stricker had been in a commanding position throughout most of Sunday's round, however he bogeyed the 15th and 16th to fall two strokes behind Stanley. He then bounced back with a birdie on the par five 17th while Stanley made bogey on 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 would hole the putt from the fringe for the victory. 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.

Stricker, who is considered one of the best players without a major championship, shot a major championship record 63 in the first round at the 2011 PGA Championship and led by 2 shots after 1 round. However he faded away on the last 3 days shooting rounds of 74-69-73 and ended up in a T12. Stricker's career earnings are over $35 million, which is the highest for those without a major championship.

Stricker started the 2012 season with a win at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Hawaii. He shot a 10 under par round of 63 on day two and held the lead until the very end, winning by three strokes over Martin Laird. It was his twelfth PGA Tour title. Stricker missed the cut at the 2012 Players Championship, his first since the 2009 PGA Championship. It ended a streak of 49 consecutive cuts, which was the longest on the PGA Tour.

At the start of the 2013 season, Stricker announced he would cut his schedule "in half" in 2013, hoping to play just "10 or 12" tournaments. 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 the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, his best performance since he won the tournament in 2001.