Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and the PGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-Match Play title in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and two

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is the championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction in 2007 marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Since its inception, the competition has been sponsored by FedEx. In 2022, the PGA Tour ...

playoff events. His most successful season on tour came at age 42 in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, with three victories and a runner-up finish on the money list. Stricker spent over 250 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, reaching a career-high world ranking of No. 2 in September 2009. Stricker served as U.S.

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

captain for the 2021 matches, winning at Whistling Straits in his home state of Wisconsin.

Early life

Born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, Stricker grew up playing golf at Lake Ripley Country Club in nearby

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and Edgerton Towne Country Club in Edgerton. A 1990 graduate of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, Stricker earned All-American honors as a member of the Illini golf team in 1988 and 1989.

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 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, and his first success at the top level came in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

when Stricker notched two victories ( Kemper Open, Motorola Western Open) and seven top-ten finishes to finish fourth on the 1996 PGA Tour money list. In 1998, Stricker played himself into contention in the final round of the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

at Sahalee Country Club near

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. PGA Tour veteran Vijay 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 a major championship to date. Stricker has finished inside the top-20 six times at the U.S. Open, with his best finish a fifth-place in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

at Pinehurst No. 2. He won his third and most prestigious PGA Tour title at the WGC Match Play Championship in

, where he defeated Pierre Fulke 2 and 1 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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. Stricker lost his tour card in 2004. At age 39 in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, relying on sponsor exemptions, he managed seven top-ten finishes and was voted the tour's Comeback Player of the Year. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

he won his fourth PGA Tour title at The 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 the

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

team in

. 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 The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...

, his highest career ranking at that point. Stricker finished runner-up in the

2007 FedEx Cup Playoffs The 2007 FedEx Cup Playoffs were held from August 23 to September 16. They consisted of four events. The events in order are The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship (PGA Tour), BMW Championship and The Tour Championship. These we ...

behind

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

, 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 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. At the Bob 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 that Pat Perez had held for only two days. (This record fell 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, but a 77 in the final round dropped him into a tie for third. Stricker won his fifth PGA Tour title at Colonial in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

at the end of May 2009, with a playoff win over Tim Clark and Steve Marino. The win was aided by a chip-in on the 71st hole. He won again in July at the

John Deere Classic The John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July, usually the week before The Open Championship, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois. History The tournament bega ...

Silvis, Illinois Silvis is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. It is part of a larger metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is situated across four counties in Illinois and Io ...

. 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 Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

on the 6th hole, and by three strokes over runners-up 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 Sean M. O'Hair (born July 11, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life O'Hair was born in Lubbock, Texas. Rather than play college golf, O'Hair turned professional in 1999 after his junior year at high s ...

, and birdied the final hole to win 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

to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and vaulted him to No. 2 in the

, his highest ranking achieved during his career. Stricker has been called "Mr. September" due to his success in the

playoffs, where he has never finished outside the top-25 in his first ten career starts. In February 2010, Stricker won his eighth tour title at the Northern Trust Open with a 16-under-par 268 winning total. With this win at Riviera, he passed

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...

and regained his ranking as World No. 2. In July, Stricker shot a career-low 60 (−11) in the first round of the John Deere Classic. However, a 59 shot by

Paul Goydos Paul David Goydos (born June 20, 1964) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he was a two-time winner. Early life Goydos was born and raised in Long ...

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. He then shot 70 on Sunday to win his ninth PGA Tour, two strokes ahead of Goydos. In June 2011, Stricker won at the

Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament (branded as the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Inc., Workday for sponsorship reasons, and also referred to as simply the Memorial) is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, his tenth tour title. 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-up

Matt Kuchar Matthew Gregory Kuchar (born June 21, 1978) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and formerly the Nationwide Tour. He has won nine times on the PGA Tour. Kuchar briefly enjoyed success in the early 2000s before suffering a ...

and Brandt Jobe. With this victory, Stricker became the highest-ranked American in the

, at fourth in the world. For the first time in his career, 44-year-old Stricker was ranked higher than all other American golfers, including

and

. 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 birdie putt at the 72nd hole, one stroke ahead of runner-up Kyle 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. 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 tied a major championship record with a 63 in the first round at the PGA Championship in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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 the 2012 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-up Martin Laird. It was his twelfth PGA Tour title. He missed the cut in May at

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as THE PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...

, his first since the 2009 PGA Championship. It ended a streak of 49 consecutive cuts, which was the longest on tour. At the start of the 2013 season, Stricker announced he would cut his schedule "in half," 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 his victory in 2001. In 2017, Stricker joined the PGA Tour Champions. In his first event, the Tucson Conquistadores Classic, he finished one stroke behind Tom Lehman. Stricker asked the USGA for a special exemption to play in the 2017 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 the 2017 Presidents Cup. Tiger Woods 2018 US Open 02

In March 2018, Stricker won his first event on the PGA Tour Champions, the Cologuard Classic, by two strokes. He then won his second straight start at the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Saucier, Mississippi. In September 2018, he won the Sanford International tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. In 2018, U.S. captain Jim Furyk named Stricker a non-playing vice-captain for the 2018 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 the Regions Tradition, claiming a six-stroke win over the field. Then in June of the same year, Stricker won his second senior major at the U.S. Senior Open, again by six strokes over Jerry Kelly and

David Toms David Wayne Toms (born January 4, 1967) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. From 1992 to 2017, Toms was a member of the PGA Tour, where he won 13 events, including one major, the 2001 PGA Champions ...

. In April 2021, Stricker won the Chubb Classic for his sixth win on the PGA Tour Champions. In May 2021, Stricker came close to defending his title at the senior major, the Regions Tradition. Stricker birdied the last hole in regulation to force a playoff with

Alex Čejka Alexander Čejka (born 2 December 1970) is a Czech-German professional golfer. Čejka was born in Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia. He left the country with his parents as a refugee at the age of nine, eventually settling in Munich, where ...

. Čejka won the playoff with a birdie on the first playoff hole. In June 2021, Stricker won his third senior major at the

Senior Players Championship The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played in 1983 and the age minimum is 50, the standard f ...

at Firestone 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 over Jerry Kelly. In May 2022, Stricker won his fourth senior major title at the Regions Tradition in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. 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 the 2021 Ryder Cup. In August 2022, Stricker won The Ally Challenge and in September 2022, he won the Sanford International in South Dakota in a playoff over Robert Karlsson. This brought him to 10 career PGA Tour Champions victories. In October 2022, Stricker won the Constellation Furyk & Friends by two shots. In January 2023, Stricker won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on the Big Island of Hawaii by six strokes. In May 2023, Stricker won the Regions Tradition, his 13th PGA Champions Tour win, third Regions win, and fifth senior major. Two weeks later, Stricker won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in a playoff over

Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three men's major golf championships, major championships: The Open Championship in 2 ...

. This marked his 14th PGA Champions Tour win and sixth senior major. In June 2023, Stricker won the

American Family Insurance Championship The American Family Insurance Championship is a professional golf tournament in Wisconsin on the PGA Tour Champions, played at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin, Madison. The inaugural edition in June 2016 featured an 81-player fie ...

in his home state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and he followed it in July with a third 2023 major victory at the

. In September 2023, Stricker won the Sanford International in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

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. Stricker clinched the 2023 season-long Charles Schwab Cup with two weeks left in the season. His lead of more than two million points over Steven Alker meant that Alker could not catch him even if he won the last two tournaments of the year. This title comes with a $1 million annuity from Charles Schwab.

Personal

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. At the opening ceremony of the 2021 Ryder Cup, while captaining the United States team, Stricker revealed that he was a supporter of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

despite being from Wisconsin, much to the chagrin of the present crowd, many of whom support the home-state

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

; the two teams have one of the largest rivalries within the NFL. At the victory ceremony concluding the event,

Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two Men's major golf championships, major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open (golf), 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 ...

quipped to Stricker, "Next time, let's not tell all the Green Bay fans that you're a Bears fan."

Professional wins (41)

PGA Tour wins (12)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Canadian Tour wins (2)

Other wins (9)

*1987 Wisconsin State Open (as an amateur) *1990 Wisconsin State Open *1991 Wisconsin State Open *1998 Wisconsin State Open *2000 Wisconsin State Open *2009 The Shark Shootout (with Jerry Kelly) *2013 CVS Caremark Charity Classic (with Bo Van Pelt) *2014 CVS Caremark Charity Classic (with Bo Van Pelt) *2017 QBE Shootout (with

)

PGA Tour Champions wins (18)

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (3–3)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 27 (2010 Masters – 2018 US Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2006 U.S. Open – 2006 PGA)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

¹Cancelled due to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

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.

Senior major championships

Wins (7)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order'' "T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to

PGA Tour career summary

''* As of the 2021 season.''

PGA Tour Champions career summary

* ''As of end of 2022 season''
** ''2020 and 2021 seasons were combined due to the

U.S. national team appearances

Professional * Dunhill Cup:

(winners) *

(winners),

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

(winners),

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

(non-playing captain, winners) *

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

(winners),

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

(non-playing captain, winners)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stricker, Steve American male golfers Illinois Fighting Illini men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Presidents Cup competitors for the United States Winners of senior major golf championships Golfers from Wisconsin People from Edgerton, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Dane County, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin 1967 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

Professional career

Personal

Professional wins (41)

PGA Tour wins (12)

Canadian Tour wins (2)

Other wins (9)

PGA Tour Champions wins (18)

Results in major championships

Summary

Results in The Players Championship

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Senior major championships

Wins (7)

Results timeline

PGA Tour career summary

PGA Tour Champions career summary

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

External links