One week after tough loss, Stricker rebounds with win
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
NORTON, Mass. -- That 10-footer he missed eight days ago on the 72nd hole at The Barclays stuck with him for a while. So did the shot from the fairway bunker that clipped the lip and came up short of the 18th green.
A few days at home in Wisconsin with his wife Nicki and their two daughters helped. But Steve Stricker still couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he'd let a golden opportunity slip away at Liberty National.
"Last week was disappointing," Stricker acknowledged. "I tried to blow it off and tried to say, you know what, I've had a good year, don't worry about it."
But it didn't help. So when he got another chance on Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Stricker didn't blink. He birdied the last two holes at TPC Boston to take over No. 1 in the FedExCup standings and No. 2 in the world.
Asked later to rank the victory among his seven, though, Stricker demurred.
"I just keep trying to look forward," he explained. "That's my bottom line is just to keep grinding it out and not keep thinking about what I have done but look forward to tomorrow and next week and to play well again."
That said, the win did give Stricker a 909-point lead over Tiger Woods in the race for the striking silver Tiffany and Co. trophy and the eye-popping $10 million FedExCup bonus. The two-time Comeback Player of the Year just might be a candidate for another award, too.
With three wins and the very real possibility of a victory in the FedExCup, Stricker has suddenly become a very legitimate candidate for the TOUR's ultimate -- the Jack Nicklaus Trophy that goes to the Player of the Year.
Sure, Tiger Woods has more wins, five to be exact. But Stricker has been the model of consistency all year long with 10 top-10s, including the three wins, as well as two seconds and one third.
Not to mention, his closing 67 was his 28th round in the 60s during the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Is it any wonder people have started calling Stricker Mr. September?
"He may be the second best player at least on this TOUR," Scott Verplank, who tied for second, said. "The guy is really playing good. So I knew he was going to be tough to catch. And it turns out he was."
Stricker isn't one to ponder the possibilities of winning Player of the Year, though. He's just excited about the opportunity to compete against Woods again at Cog Hill, where he's won once and the world No. 1 has four victories, and see what happens.
"We all know who the guy is out here," Stricker said. "I'm just happy to be in the position I'm at and with the opportunity to do something special for myself. He's done enough other special things, maybe let somebody else do something special.
"We all know what he's about and how great a player he is, but this format adds a lot of excitement for a guy like myself or anybody else to kind of challenge him. ... Whoever is going to win this, whether it be him or me or anybody else, you're going to have to play some pretty good golf for two more events, and it's going to lead to a lot of excitement for the fans, the media and the players alike."
Neither Stricker nor Woods can drop out of the top five before the points are reset at the end of this week's BMW Championship. That means a win at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola would give either man the title, and that's why Monday's win at TPC Boston was so big for Stricker.
"It solidifies my chances of winning the FedExCup," he said. "It ensures that I'm going to be in that top five. I can control my own destiny come that last TOUR Championship, and that's what my goal was. ...
"But we've still got a lot of golf left to play. We still have two tournaments left and a lot of things can happen. There's a lot of points still involved. I've still got to play well and I've got to get over this real quick and get ready to play in a couple more days."
Indeed, the unusual Labor Day Monday finish means Stricker and the other 69 players who advanced to the third Playoffs event only have two short days to prepare for Cog Hill, a familiar course to all given its long history with the TOUR but one that has been tweaked by the architect Rees Jones.
"I'm kind of cringing, and I've only got two days and a lot of stuff to do in these two days to get ready to play Chicago," said Stricker, who finished third at Cog Hill in 2007 during the first FedExCup race. "... It's just a short time frame for us to get ready and prepared and move on to the next week. You know, it's in a long stretch as it is.
"But yeah, it's going to be a quick turnaround, and I think you've got to try to pace yourself. I don't even know if I'll pick up a club tomorrow."
Stricker will play the first two rounds with Woods again next week, as he has in the first two Playoff events. The Illinois grad figures he'll have some support given his alma mater, not to mention the proximity to his native Wisconsin.
"So I'll be double dipping from both states," Stricker said. "It will be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully I can keep my good play going."
And with a win and a runner-up in the last two weeks, there's no reason to believe that will change.
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
FAN ZONE
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network