Stricker's comeback tale gains confidence and consistency  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents HONOLULU, Hawaii -- A year ago, Steve Stricker was writing tournament directors for sponsor exemptions. The veteran made the most of the ones he got, too, posting seven top-10 finishes to go from three years of oblivion to 34th on the money list -- earning PGA TOUR Comeback Player of the Year honors in the process. So perhaps it's only fitting that Stricker starts the final round of his first tournament of 2007 with a chance to author another storybook ending with a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii.  Three straight 67s have Steve Stricker in the thick of things. (Jim Rogash/WireImage)
Stricker shot his third straight round of 67 on Saturday, making birdie on two of his final three holes. The result is a 54-hole total of 9 under, which leaves him tied with Ted Purdy and four strokes off the lead held by Charles Howell III. Admittedly, Stricker's name is just one on a leader board filled with potential feel-good stories. There's Howell, who's bidding for his first win since 2002, and Paul Azinger, the cancer survivor and Ryder Cup captain whose last win came at Waialae in 2000. And what about Paul Goydos, who needed a tie for third in the final event of 2006 to move from 160th to 97th on the money list and remain exempt? Or, the crème-de-la-crème of underdogs in lovable 16-year-old Tadd Fujikawa? This time a year ago, though, Stricker was coming off a tie for 42nd in Q-School -- which did nothing to improve his status on TOUR but turned out to be a huge motivation for him. He recommitted himself to the game, and the results were swift. Stricker opened the 2006 season with a tie for 14th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and three events later posted his first top-10, a tie for third at the Ford Championship at Doral. Six more followed -- including third at the Shell Houston Open and a tie for sixth at the U.S. Open, where he held the 36-hole lead. Stricker was second a week later at the Booz Allen Classic. "Going to TOUR school, kind of got me fired up," admitted Stricker, who had finished outside the top 150 on the money list for three straight years. "I don't know what happened. I just decided deep down that I needed to work on it a lot harder. I did that. I got off to a good start last year and you know, built that confidence all through the year. "This year I come in with a lot of confidence. I feel like I'm ready to play. Even though I had not played for two months, I still feel that I wasn't that far removed. I still have all of the same good feelings like I had then." The $1.8 million Stricker earned in 2006 was more than he'd won the previous four years combined. The confidence he gained, though, can't be quantified quite as easily. It was a process that continued throughout the year. "I think the Q-School part got me that desire back again," Stricker said. "The finish at Houston, I think gave me a little bit of confidence to move forward. I mean, I felt great. I finished third there. But you know, I hit it better, put it that way. "And then I think leading up, playing well in the Open and handling it the way I did (was big). I had the lead after two rounds and I came out and hit it probably better on that Saturday round to start the round and I was more nervous than anything and hit it well. That gave me a big boost. "And then you know, finishing in the top 10 there and I'm going from no status to getting into some of these majors and (I) finished second the next week. So I kind of got on a roll there and the confidence just built." Stricker, who lives in Madison, Wis., didn't know quite what to expect when he got to Hawaii after the limited practice time in the snow and cold weather. He's been steady, though, and now Stricker has a chance at his first win since the 2001 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Stricker said he noticed that the leaders appeared to have put things in neutral midway through the back nine on Saturday. "I told my caddie if I could get a couple coming in and get a little closer ... at least we'll have a chance for tomorrow, " he said, and he was right. Stricker caught a break after a bad drive on the 16th hole and he was able to hit a sand wedge to 12 feet for birdie. A 6-iron on the par-3 17th produced a 25-footer that Stricker also buried. "So it was a good finish," he said. "I made a couple of putts coming in and (I'm) excited for tomorrow." And Stricker's ready to come back -- pun intended -- for more. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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