Stricker Struggles

After switching back and forth Sunday afternoon between the ends of the Badger women’s basketball loss at Michigan St. on the Big(11)Ten Network and the Rolex 24 at Daytona on Speed Channel (can you tell there was no football on?), I tuned into the Golf Channel hoping to see Wisconsin PGA golfer Steve Stricker cruise to victory in the final round of the Bob Hope Classic.  Stricker was the favorite going in, being the highest ranked player participating in the tournament.  Of course, in golf that doesn’t always mean anything (hell, I even lost to Wally once).

Stricker entered the final round with a three stroke lead over eventual winner Pat Perez, having put up ridiculously low scores the previous two rounds.  Unfortunately by the time I tuned in to watch, Stricker had already taken a triple bogey on the 7th hole to drop back into a tie with Perez.   But the worst was yet to come.  With the wind kicking up on the 10th hole, Stricker hit his tee shot out of bounds.  After taking a penalty stroke on the tee, he hit his 3rd shot into the water and ultimately ended up taking a quadruple bogey on the hole.  Stricker did manage to steady himself, playing even par the rest of the way.  But the damage was already done and he was never able to pull himself back into contention. 

Stricker had a solid season in 2008, making the victorious Ryder Cup team, but had failed to win a tournament.  I was hoping a victory at the Hope would help set the tone for a successful year in 2009.  Certainly Stricker has been through worse, suffering a 3 year slump that resulted in him losing his tour card in 2005.  He resurrected his game and, at age 42, is probably still playing some of the best golf of his career.  Hopefully, he can shake off this latest setback and yet go on to have a good 2009.

Tags: Professional Golf, Steve Stricker