Steve Stricker

Born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, Stricker grew up playing golf at Lake Ripley Country Club in nearby Cambridge and the Edgerton Towne Country Club. A 1990 graduate of the University of Illinois, he earned All-American honors as a golf team member in 1988 and 1989. He turned professional in 1990 and began his career on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, winning two tournaments. He earned his PGA Tour card for the first time after finishing T-18th at the 1993 PGA Tour Q-School. He finished 2nd at his second event, the Northern Telecom Open. He showed improvement each year, finishing 50th on the money list in 1994, 40th in 1995, and 4th in 1996, when he got his first two wins at the Kemper Open and Western Open. After that, he slid back to 130th in 1997. Over the next couple of years, his game had its ups and downs. The highs included a runner-up result at the 1998 PGA Championship and a win at the 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Then he had a drop-off, failing to make the top 125 on the money list for three consecutive years, starting in 2003, and losing his fully exempt status. He missed earning his PGA Tour card in 2005 by two strokes at PGA Tour Q-School, then rediscovered his game while hitting balls out of a trailer in the December snow on the practice range at Cherokee Country Club in Madison, Wis. The hard work started to pay off in 2006. Playing out of the past champions category and asking for sponsor exemptions, he only got into three of the first 17 events of the year. But he finished 3rd at the Shell Houston Open, T-6th at the U.S. Open, and T-2nd at the Booz Allen, ending the year with five top-12 finishes to rank 34th on the money list and earn PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year. He won the Comeback Player of the Year again in 2007 with $4.6 million in earnings and a victory at the debut FedExCup event, The Barclays. They had a breakout year in 2009, winning three times and earning $6.3 million to finish 2nd on the money list and 3rd in the FedExCup standings. One of his wins came at a FedExCup Playoff, the Deutsche Bank Championship. Was a member of 1996, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 U.S. Presidents Cup Teams and 2008, 2010, and 2012 Ryder Cup U.S. Teams. He was captain of the 2017 U.S. Presidents Cup Team. Will serve as U.S. Captain of the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
2009 Notes: Enjoyed a banner year, with career-best numbers in wins (3), runner-up finishes (2), top-10s (11), and top-25s (16).
2010 Notes: With two wins during the season, finished 7th in the final FedExCup standings to become one of just three players (Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk) to finish inside the top 15 all four FedExCup seasons.
2011 Notes: Only player on the PGA Tour to record multiple wins in the last three seasons. He made all 19 of his cuts for the second consecutive season and entered 2012 with 42 straight cuts made. He withdrew from the BMW Championship due to neck and shoulder pain that caused weakness in his left hand. Despite the WD, he qualified for the next week's Tour Championship. He is one of three players to qualify all five years during the FedExCup, along with Phil Mickelson and Hunter Mahan. Playing on his fourth Presidents Cup team, he compiled a 2-2-0 record, including a singles victory over Y.E. Yang.
2012 Notes: Opened 2012 with a win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Earned a T-2nd at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, making 18 of 19 cuts with seven top-10s. Placed 18th on the money list. Played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, going 0-4, including a singles loss to Martin Kaymer. He finished the year 20th in the FedExCup standings and 18th on the money list. He kept his streak alive of playing in all four FedExCup Playoff events.
2013 Notes: Announced at the Hyundai that he was entering semi-retirement and would play a limited schedule in 2013 and afterward. Finished 2nd at both the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and WGC-Cadillac Championship. He didn't play at the British Open to spend time with his family as he and his wife celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. They went on a ski trip, and while Mickelson was winning the British, Stricker had an accident on the slopes where he tore his right hamstring. The injury healed enough for him to play at the WGC-Bridgestone and PGA Championship. He had a great run in the FedExCup Playoffs. He didn't play at The Barclays, but he finished 2nd at the Deutsche Bank, T-4th at the BMW Championship, and T-2nd at the Tour Championship, where he finished two shots behind winner Henrik Stenson. Stricker, Mickelson, and Mahan are the only three players to reach the Tour Championship in all seven years of the FedExCup era. He finished 3rd in the FedExCup standings for the year and 7th on the money list. Playing in his fifth Presidents Cup, he posted a record of 3-2-0 in five matches, including a 2-0-0 mark in foursomes.
2014 Notes: He only played 11 events, with his best finish a T-6th at the Memorial. He defended his title with Bo Van Pelt at the unofficial CVS Caremark Charity Classic. He played most of the year with a torn labrum in his left hip, and the injury got so bad that he missed his first FedExCup Playoffs. They placed 116th in the FedExCup rankings and 89th on the money list. He was an assistant captain to Tom Watson at the Ryder Cup matches. I tried to play in the Hero World Challenge and Franklin Templeton but was still in pain, and two days before Christmas underwent back surgery.
2015 Notes: Two weeks before the Masters, Stricker started preparing to play golf in Naples, Fla. Despite some stiffness, he felt good and could walk the course. He practiced at Augusta the week before, then attended the Final Four in college basketball to watch Wisconsin play before returning to Augusta. He finished T-28th at the Masters, along with a T-27th at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, which were his best finishes of the year. They only played in nine events and finished 176th in the FedExCup standings and 180th on the money list.
2016 Notes: At the Valspar Championship, Stricker shared the 36-hole lead on the strength of a second-round 66 before shooting weekend rounds of 72-73 to finish T-7th for his first top-10 of the season. Making his first start in 10 years at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, he joined Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka as runners-up with rounds of 66-71-66-67. They ended the tournament at 10 under par, three shots behind winner Daniel Berger. The T-2nd finish marked his best showing on the PGA Tour since finishing T-2nd at the 2013 TOUR Championship; the result also secured a spot at the British Open. There, Stricker finished 4th for his third top-10 of the year. He played 15 events in 2016 and ranked 76th in the FedExCup standings and 74th on the money list. He ended the year with a 2nd-place showing with teammate Jerry Kelly at the Franklin Templeton Shootout.
2017 Notes: Played on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. On the PGA Tour, he played in 13 events making 11 cuts with 2 top-ten finishes. He was 115th in the FedExCup race. On the PGA Tour Champions Tour made 6 starts with 5 top-ten finishes and was 37th on the money list.
In his first Champions Tour event, Stricker finished 2nd at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic, one shot behind winner Tom Lehman. He held a two-shot lead through 15 holes in the final round, but a pair of critical miscues down the stretch proved costly. He three-putted for a bogey at 16, then hit his tee shot into the water at the final hole, leading to a bogey that sealed his fate after Lehman birdied 16 and 17. Also was T-3rd at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, T-3rd at the American Family Insurance, and T-3rd at the 3M Championship. At the end of the year won the QBE Shootout with partner Sean O'Hair.
Best finish on the PGA Tour, T-5th at the John Deere Classic, and T-7th Dean & DeLuca Invitational.
2018 Notes: On the PGA Tour, played in 12 events making 9 cuts, best finish T-12th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. On the PGA Tour Champions Tour, played in 7 events and won the Cologuard Classic, the Rapiscan Systems, and the Sanford International. Was runner-up at the Chubb Classic and Regions Tradition. Was T-3rd at the American Family Insurance. Served as one of Jim Furyk's vice-captains at the Ryder Cup in Paris, France.
2019 Notes: Played in 7 PGA Tour events making four cuts. He played in 9 PGA Tour Champions Tour events with six top-ten finishes. Best finish on the PGA Tour, T-22nd at the Memorial On the PGA Tour Champions, won the Regions Tradition by six shots. Was T-5th Rapiscan Systems and T-6th at the Cologuard Classic? At the American Family Insurance Championship missed a 10-footer for birdie on his final hole and then made a bogey on the first hole of a playoff to get eliminated as Jerry Kelly went on to win. Next week won the U.S. Senior Open; he opened with a 62, and his 19 under par 261 total was the lowest 72-hole total in the event's history, and his six-shot win over Jerry Kelly and David Toms tied for the largest margin of victory. He became the ninth player to win the event in the first start and the 15th player to win multiple major championships in the same year. He was 6th at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. He finished 12th in the Charles Schwab Cup and 8th on the money list ($1,534,327).
2020 Notes: Played in ten PGA Tour events making five cuts with one top-25 finish. On the PGA Tour, his best finish was T-18th at the Memorial.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 13 PGA Tour Champions events with 11 top-tens and finished 20th in the Charles Schwab Cup. He was T-5th at the 2020 Cologuard Classic, five shots back of winner Bernhard Langer. They had rounds of 66-66-67 at the Charles Schwab Series at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge and finished T-7th, two shots back of the Bertsch/Day/Langer/Perry playoff. He finished T-5th at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National after posting rounds of 66-66-67. They shared the 36-hole lead with Miguel Angel Jimenez and trailed by one with two holes to play at the Sanford International. He bogeyed the par-3 17th to finish two shots behind Jimenez in a T-3rd. In 2021 Colorguard finished T-3rd, three shots back of winner Kevin Sutherland. He won the 2021 Chubb Classic beating Alex Cejka and Roberts by a shot. At the Regions, Tradition finished 2nd as he lost a playoff to Alex Cejka, who birdied the first extra hole. Was T-7th at the American Family Insurance, with a final-round 65, was five shots back of winner Jerry Kelly. He won his third major title on PGA Tour Champions after going wire-to-wire at the 2021 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. Stricker finished at 7-under, six shots ahead of runner-up Jerry Kelly. He was 6th at the Sanford International and ended his Champions season with a T-7th at Furyk & Friends.
On the PGA Tour in 2020, he played in ten events making five cuts with one top-25 finish, T-18th at the Memorial. On the PGA Tour in 2021, Stricker played in 11 events making seven cuts. He finished T-4th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, two shots back of winner Brooks Koepka. For Stricker, it was his first top-four finish on the PGA Tour since his 4th place finish in the 2016 British Open. In September, he captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team to a 19-9 victory at Whistling Straits. But then there were mysterious heart and liver issues that flared up in November, leaving him hospitalized at UW Health University Hospital. His symptoms began with a high fever before tests revealed an elevated white blood cell count, low liver count, and, scariest of all, inflammation around his heart, which jumped in and out of rhythm for weeks. A lack of answers was frustrating and terrifying. According to Gary D'Amato of Wisconsin Golf, his heart jumped out of rhythm four days into his hospital stay and started fluttering. At one point, his heart rate shot up to 160 beats per minute, and stayed there for two hours. He underwent a liver biopsy. He went on a blood thinner. The doctors were scratching their heads, searching for answers. After 11 days at UW Hospital, he improved enough to be discharged on the day before Thanksgiving. Three days later, he was admitted again, feeling worse than ever. His wife, Nicki, kept a bedside vigil. Stricker said doctors still aren't sure what caused him to become ill. But he got better and started playing golf again at the end of the year, His cardiologist cleared him for travel on January 1st, and he and his family rented a home in Bradenton, Florida, where he is staying until now.
2022 Notes: Played in 12 PGA Tour Champions events with ten top-ten finishes. Was 4th in the Schwab rankings and 3rd on the money list with earnings of $2,473,725. Six months after the bug bit him, he was cleared for competitive golf. He returned at the Insperty Invitational and shot 67-65-70 to finish T-2nd, four shots back of winner Steven Alker. The following week he finished T-10th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, six shots back of winner Steve Flesch. But things pulled together at the Regions Tradition. His wife Nicki caddied for him, and he shot 65-68-66-68 to win by six shots over Padraigh Harrington. Shot a final round 65 to finish 2nd at the U.S. Senior Open, a shot back of winner Padraig Harrington. In defense of his Players Championship title, he finished 2nd, two shots back of winner Jerry Kelly. He earned his second win of the season at The Ally Challenge, beating Brett Quigley by a shot. It was his ninth win on PGA Tour Champions (44 starts) and fourth consecutive multi-win season. He finished 3rd at the Ascension Charity Classic, two shots back of winner Padraig Harrington. The 2018 Sanford International champion came from two shots back in the final round to force a playoff with Robert Karlsson, which Stricker won with a birdie on the first playoff hole. In his final start of the season, he won for the fourth time in the year at the Constellation Furyk & Friends. He beat Harrison Frazar by a shot and became the first player to win 11 career PGA Tour Champions titles in 50 or fewer starts since Gil Morgan in 1998 (11 victories in 44 starts). Stricker became the first player to win four times in a PGA Tour Champions calendar year since Bernhard Langer and Scott McCarron won seven and four times in 2017. The Constellation Furyk & Friends was his last even for the season as Stricker decided not to play in the Schwab Cup Playoffs and instead went deer hunting.
2023 Notes: Won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai by six shots for his third consecutive win on PGA Tour Champions and fourth win in five starts overall. It was his 12th win on the Champions Tour, marking his fifth straight season with a victory. He was 23-under 193, including a 12-under 60 in the second round, and played the final 49 holes without a bogey. In his bid for a record-tying fourth consecutive win on PGA Tour Champions, the 2021 Chubb Classic champion finished T-2nd, three shots back of winner Bernhard Langer. Was T-8th at the Cologuard Classic after shooting a final round 71, Finished T-2nd at the Hoag Classic, one shot back of winner Ernie Els who shot a final round 65. He was T-5th at the Galleri Classic and then 2nd at the Insperity Invitational, four shots back of winner Steven Alker. He was T-5th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic the following week and won the Regions Tradition by six shots over Ernie Els and Robert Karlsson. Stricker becomes the sixth player to successfully defend the tournament?s title and extends his perfect streak of top-10 finishes in 2023 to eight and 12 in a row going back to the Ally Challenge in August of 2022.