Motivated Stricker threatens course record, finishes 7th
Colonial Country Club welcomed back an old friend Sunday, prominently placed on the leader board of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational.
Steve Stricker, the 2009 winner here when it was the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, shot a final-round 63 to finish the tournament at 6-under 274. He tied for seventh place with Brian Harman and Scott Piercy. The course record is 61.
“I enjoy coming here. It brings back a lot of great memories from back in 2009,” said Stricker. “Shot that score [63] couple times back in 2009. Had my old caddie on the bag for a week. Had a lot of fun. Sure did bring a lot of memories back.”
While Stricker finished Sunday’s round at 7-under, he was 8-under after making birdie on 14. He did scan the leader boards on the course after the putt.
“You know, I was watching. I knew the guys had a bunch of holes,” he said. “I didn’t think I had an opportunity to win the tournament really, unless I would’ve birdied like the last four and shot like a 58 or 59.”
Those dreams ended on the 420-yard 15th hole when Stricker’s drive landed in the right rough and he needed two more shots just to reach the green. He missed a 20-footer to save par.
“Just a little wind off the left and it just didn’t turn it enough and the wind got it and hung it out in the right rough and didn’t have a play,” he said of the 15th hole. “Tried to get it up and down.”
Stricker had long shot birdie opportunities on his final three holes, from 29, 25 and 35 feet, but each resulted in tap-in pars.
“It’s a good round. I mean, I’m excited about it. In 2009, I went on to win the tournament,” Stricker said. “That’s totally different than the 63 here. I needed the 63 though.”
Stricker needed the top-10 finish to improve his World Golf Rankings and work toward securing a spot in the 117th U.S. Open, which is June 15-18 at Erin Hills Golf Club in Erin, Wisc.
“I’m trying to get in that U.S. Open.,” he said. “That’s what’s motivating me right now.”
Stricker, 50, lives in Madison, Wisc., and it’s the first U.S. Open in Wisconsin. He missed last year’s Open by a stroke in U.S. Golf Association sectional qualifying in Memphis, Tenn.
Stricker sent the USGA a letter earlier this year asking for a special exemption, but was declined. He passed on the Senior PGA Championships this week to compete at Colonial.
“I had committed to Senior PGA, and then as the season got going and the USGA declined the exemption part of things,” Stricker said. “I knew if I wanted to play in the Open that I needed more starts out here to try to work on my world ranking.
“I’m in the 90s somewhere world ranking-wise, and I know they take top 60 after -- there are a couple cutoffs, I think. Then I’ll try to qualify down in Memphis as well.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2017 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Motivated Stricker threatens course record, finishes 7th."