Steve Stricker aims for the Sony Open in Hawaii title before his extended rehab for neck injury
Steve Stricker is now attempting to bag consecutive titles on the scenic Hawaiian courses after his stellar victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The top-ranked American will now be heading straight into the second event on the PGA Tour calendar, the Sony Open in Hawaii at the windy Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Stricker, who has been battling a difficult Cortisone neck injury for the last several months, also has a badly affected left arm and has been struggling with his game since the PGA Championship at Atlanta last year.
He has been under treatment for the ailment and is contemplating a possible rehab of four weeks following this event on the tour calendar.
The 44-year-old has done amazingly well, despite his burgeoning injury, pulling in two titles on the PGA calendar for the previous year.
Stricker will be turning 45 on February 23rd and is desperately hoping to bag a major title before he calls it a day.
The lanky American started off the year 2011 with a victory at the Memorial, in June, where he took the better of Brandt Jobe and Matt Kuchar by one stroke.
He went over to successfully defend his John Deere Classic title for the third consecutive time at the scenic TPC Deere Run, pulling in the coveted 3-peat on the PGA Tour history.
Stricker is one of the few players on the PGA Tour who has won multiple events in the last three years, surging to the top of the FedExCup points table on several occasions.
Stricker will be facing 20 out of the 27 players who started off the year at the Plantation Course in Kapalua last week, along with the newly crowned PGA Tour graduates who will be making their debut.
Defending champion Mark Wilson will also be part of the field and will test the patience and experience of the formidable Stricker on a tough layout.
Wilson is not even remotely threatened by the 24 rookies who will be playing in the event, including the nine who will be making their debut. He claims that he is least intimidated by the young guns.
“I haven’t really had any of that,” Wilson said with a smile. “These young kids coming up, they just sweat confidence. I can understand why they would not ask me, a grizzled veteran, what I think about something because they think they can do better, which is fine”.
On a question of whether he used to take advice from his seniors during his rookie tenure on the tour Wilson replied, “I wasn’t that comfortable with it”.
Regardless of Wilson’s brimming confidence, Stricker has much to boast about with his current form and will provide a stiff challenge to Wilson for the top slot.
Stricker has 20 professional victories to his credit in his more than two-decade long professional career, enough to send shivers down the spine of the rest of the field.
Tags: