Steve Stricker Strikes Again Winning at Colonial

In the beginning of the week it was all Stricker as he posted a pair of 63s to begin the famed Crowne Invitational at Colonial. Tim Clark was right there with him and the leader by two after three rounds. Steve Marino shot 62 on Saturday.

Stricker beat them both on the second playoff hole on Sunday afternoon to capture only his fifth PGA TOUR victory.

Fort Worth native and golfing icon Ben Hogan won that many tournaments right here at Colonial Country Club. Hogan won the first two ever played in 1946 and 1947 at what is today the longest running Tour stop at its original home.

He won again back-to-back in 1952 and 1953. The “wee ice man” won for the last time at Colonial fifty years ago in 1959. 

Stricker, the 42-year old Wisconsin native opening round of 63 was matched by Woody Austin and Tim Clark on Thursday. Austin played consistently all week and finished T6 with Vijay Singh.

Singh was paired with fellow old timer Kenny Perry the first two days and they both shot 64s on Thursday.

Perry a two-time winner at Colonial in 2003 and 2005 wanted to be the first after Hogan to get his name on the trophy three times.

“Something (winning for a third time) I would like to do, no doubt. I think there are 10 guys with two wins in this tournament. I would love to break out of there (and get a third win). (Thursday) It's only one day, we got three more days to go.”

The Ryder Cup Champion who did not touch a club for two weeks credits technology for part of his golfing prowess with three wins last year and one so far this year.

“Technology has helped me. Technology has hurt some of the players, but it actually helped me with the golf ball now. It doesn't spin a lot. I can launch it high with no spin. TaylorMade came out with a new 460 driver. I put it in play the first time today and I picked up 5 mile an hour swing speed going from the R9, to the R9 460. I was averaging 166 (mph) ball speed. When I went to the 460 I was having 172 (mph) so that's about 10 to 12 yards further. I hit the R9 really straight. I have a lot of power. The driver goes and the ball goes so I'm able to hang with those kids.”

Perry would falter on Friday shooting a 2-over par 72 and finish T36.

Even after shattering the 36-hole record by two strokes Stricker was unaware of it and trying not to get ahead of himself.

“Really? I did not know that. I would rather have the trophy (than records), and we're halfway through. I have to stay focused and try to continue to do the things that I did these last couple of days and try to, you know, just keep making putts. That solves a lot of problems. Just keep doing that, and hopefully, you know, I don't want to think about results. It's too early. Just try to continue what I'm doing.” 

At the midpoint of the tournament there were no ties among the top seven players on the leader board. They were all separated by one stroke—Stricker, Clark, Singh, followed by Sean O’Hair, Jason Day, Austin, and Ryan Palmer.

The new World No. 3 Paul Casey was at T8 seven strokes back of Stricker. With a pair of 66s on the weekend he would finish solo fifth place. Not bad after winning the BMW PGA Championship the flagship event of the European Tour last week at Wentworth Club in England.

Casey has a breakout season going after winning his first PGA TOUR event at the Shell Houston Open and losing to his friend and neighbor Geoff Ogilvy at the WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship.

Friday’s cut came at even par 140 with 79 players making it to at least Saturday. Since there were more than 78 players a secondary cut to the low 70s and ties came again after Saturday’s third round.

Notables to miss the first cut were Stricker’s Wisconsin buddy and Zurich Classic of New Orleans Champion Steve Stricker, Q-School graduate and Honda Classic winner Y.E. Yang, PLAYERS contender Alex Cejka, Davis Love III, 2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelman, NBC Sportscaster and 1989 Champion Ian Baker-Finch and Texan Chad Campbell who withdrew after straining his left calf muscle during the second round.

Five golfers were classified as “Made Cut Did Not Finish” or “MDF” after Saturday’s round including Mark Calcavecchia and Ken Duke. A total of 74 players ended up finishing the tournament on Sunday.

Saturday at Colonial Country Club was “Pink Out Day” in support of Amy Mickelson and her battle against breast cancer.

Though not normally considered a “pinko” Steve Marino was “tickled pink” with his round of 62 which vaulted him from T8 to T2 at the end of the day.

Tim Clark followed his opening 63-64 with a 66 to command the two shot lead over Stricker, Marino and Jason Day. Stricker finally cooled off after his opening pair of 63s and shot 69.

Day a relatively unknown Aussie on the PGA TOUR is playing this year with partial exempt status after finishing last year No. 136 on the Money List. He is a member and lives within 15 minutes of Colonial. He is playing consistently the first three days and carding a 65 each day he is looking for his first PGA TOUR win along with Clark and Marino.  

If Day could have shot a fourth 65 on Sunday he would have won the tournament by three strokes. Instead he shot 69 and missed out on the playoff by one stroke.

Clark in his eighth season has six second place finishes to his credit.

“It's never easy being the front runner. It's a little bit tougher than coming from a few shots back. But I have lead a few tournaments on the European Tour going into the last round and have been able to shoot a good score. It's about staying calm and not getting too far ahead of yourselves. This is a great course for doing that, too. You still have to come out and play good golf. If someone is going to catch me tomorrow they have to play really good, so that's good to know.”

Clark is quite proud of his performance on the PGA TOUR.

“I'm really happy with how my career has gone so far. I've played pretty solid and just unfortunately didn't have the wins to back up a lot of good play. That's not something that I really think about a lot. It's tough to win out here. Everyone knows it. Hopefully I do get that win sometime and it makes things easier. That's all I can hope for.”

Marino had to shoot 62 to get into the mix.

“I thought I played pretty well the first two days. I'm looking up at the leader board and I'm 7 shots back and I am kind of scratching my head thinking what's going on. I got hot today and made some nice putts and played great and all of a sudden I'm right up there.”

Amy Mickelson was on everyone’s mind and for Marino it meant a wardrobe change to pink for the first time. “I'm not really a pink shirt kind of guy. I don't wear pink shirts. I don't wear pink pants. I don't wear pink anything really; maybe I should start (after shooting a pink-hot 62.)”

Marino when asked what his strategy for Sunday revealed his confidence playing aggressively and hitting driver on Colonial’s tricky yet relatively short holes.

“To be honest with you, I really don't have one. I'm just going to go out there and play the way I've been playing. I like this golf course. I seem to know what I'm doing out here. I find myself walking up to the tees and not even pulling the yardage book out to see what's going on. I just feel like I know what I'm doing out here, so I'm just going to go play.”

Stricker cooled off but is in position to win with a hot round on Sunday.

“I wasn't sharp in my irons probably. I had some opportunities to make birdies and didn't make them. It was just one of those days that nothing—I was around the hole a lot, but nothing really going in.”

He took comfort in the fact that though his round had only one birdie it had zero bogeys.

“Any time you play a round and not make a bogey, it was a good round. You know I'm two shots back. I have a chance going into tomorrow which is all I want going into Sunday. I'm in a position where I can, you know, the spotlight isn't on me, or the lead. So I'm in a position where I can try to be a little more aggressive and hopefully make some birdies early.”

“I like a spot having the opportunity to win and that's what I have tomorrow. I definitely feel a little more comfortable chasing rather having a couple shot lead or a shot lead.”

Sunday brought the grand finale all expected in this Texas Shootout. After all two of the first three tournaments in the Texas Swing went to playoff with Paul Casey winning in Houston and Zach Johnson winning in San Antonio. Rory Sabbatini won by two in Dallas last week.

Stricker prevailed though it took some good breaks after some poor play earlier in the round failing to get out of a fairway bunker on No. 7 and three-putting No. 8. He also bogeyed No. 16 missing a short putt for par.

After chipping in for birdie on No. 17 in regulation he watched as Clark came to the 18^th tee with a one stroke lead yet bogeyed the hole to fall into a playoff with him and Marino.

On the first playoff hole Clark missed a seven foot birdie putt to win. Then after Stricker stuffed it in close on his lucky 17^thhole Clark’s approach shot hit the flagstick and careened back 25 feet from the hole.

Marino found the trees left on the second playoff hole and made bogey. Clark missed his birdie putt. Stricker calmly stepped up trying not to think of the recent missed short putt on No. 16 and stroked the four-footer into the hole for the win.

“You need breaks to win out here, and I think that's why winning is so special.  It's so hard to do.  You know there are so many ups and downs through the course of the week, through the course of the last round and things just happen to turn all my way today.” 

Stricker after winning the first playoff event in the history of the PGA TOUR at The Barclays in 2007 has had some disappointing losses earlier this season. He led after three rounds at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic before shooting a 77 on Sunday and finishing T3.

After leading on the back nine on Sunday at the Northern Trust Open he finished second. The once again redeemed champion also had the 36-hole lead at The Transitions Championship before slipping to a T4 finish.

“It's funny how things work out. I've been on the other end a couple, two or three times this year where you think you are going to win and all of a sudden didn't things don't go your way and you end up losing. So this one feels very good.” 

“There are a lot of things that creep into your mind and it's tough to get them out, and you are dealing with swing issues and outside agencies that you can't really control at times; the wind or lie or whatever. But, you know, it just gets tense. Everybody is on edge. That's why it's difficult.” 

Clark was not upbeat after losing a tournament he should have won and recording his seventh second place finish.

“I can't take anything positive from today, as I obviously from the last hole (of regulation) and the playoff; I have a lot of work to do when it comes to closing out golf tournaments. The tournament should have ended on the first playoff hole. I didn't make a confident stroke and I pulled it.”

In two weeks time it is off to Long Island and the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park.

Who knows maybe Steve Stricker is destined to win a Major in his golfing career.

He certainly has the heart and the game to do so.

At the end of the week at Colonial it was strictly Stricker.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]