PGA Championship 2011 Leaderboard: Why Steve Stricker Will Choke This Weekend

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Steve Stricker is currently leading Americans' hopes for a major winner after he shot a major record-tying 63 in his first round.

Leading by two strokes going into Day 2, people want to know if he will keep up his performance level.

Whether or not he falters today, he is certainly going to choke over the weekend, and here are five reasons why.

He Isn't in the Lead by Much

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Not only is he a mere two strokes ahead, but it will be hard to imagine him shooting the same low score twice this tournament. Tying a major record twice won't be easy to do for a 44-year-old who has never even won a major before.

He did come in second at this event once, but that was 13 years ago. His current resurgence has not yet proven him to be as strong a player as he was, even though he had three top-20 finishes at the other majors this year.

America's Expectations of Him and Pressure

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After years and years of being projected to win a major, it seems that there are very few years left for this American.

With a seemingly new major winner occurring during the course of the past few years, Stricker may feel that it is now his time, but by being in the lead so early in the tournament, he will make it seem too easy to accomplish.

America is desperately hoping for a native to win, but Steve Stricker may not be that guy, and the pressure can prove to be too much for his psyche.

The Final Holes Are Tricky

Anders Hansen frustrated with the bunker
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Many players, including Anders Hansen above, have been having difficulty with the final holes (16-18 especially).

Phil Mickelson also said that one must make birdies before those holes because it probably won't happen on those tortuous areas.

If Steve Stricker does not succeed early in his following rounds, he will have a heap of trouble to deal with, including bunkers, water, bad lies and misleading greens.

He Hasn't Produced a Top-10 PGA Championship Finish Since 2006

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How well somebody is playing in golf heavily depends on the now, and recent results. Although he has done well this year at the majors (not top-10 finishes either, though), he has not done incredibly at this tournament in particular as of late.

2006 was the last time he placed in the top 10 (T7), and it will be hard to believe that he can duplicate his result from half a decade ago at a much older age now.

People Are Catching Up and There Are Three More Rounds to Go

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As I am writing this, Adam Scott is three under and has not finished his second round of play yet. He is many people's favorite to win, especially after his impressive WGC-Bridgestone Invitational victory last week.

Many other people are catching up to the score of seven under (par) as well (Jason Day will look to catch up to the leader soon), and Stricker has not even played his second round yet. It seems improbable that he will shoot another 63, and it seems more reasonable to say he will choke in the next three rounds of tough golf.