Steve Stricker returns to defend his title at Memorial hoping to reserve a berth in Ryder Cup ahead
The formidable Steve Stricker will now be returning to the venue of his victory at the Memorial Tournament in hopes of retaining the title he won last year.
Stricker won the Memorial last year in his run of two victories on the calendar year after which he went over to land the John Deere Classic at his favourite hunting ground, the TPC Deere Run for the third time in a row.
He is only few of the players on the PGA Tour who have the accolade of achieving 3-peat in their grizzled careers.
Bogged down by a late Cortisone injury last year, Stricker has remained off-course for most part of the current year and though he won the season opener Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January, Stricker has not played two consecutive weeks in a single
run.
Despite of his absence from mainstream golf, the sturdy American is in great form and believes he can successfully retain the title this week.
He said, "Really I have no two-week stretch anymore at home. So I have one week at home and then come back and play a week, stuff like that, but no long breaks anymore. So it'll be a busy summer”.
Although Stricker is still among the top-ten on the Official World Golf Rankings, he feels he is having problems with his short game and putting.
He added, "My putting has been actually giving me some problems here and there. I don't feel like I'm that far off. I've been hitting a lot of good putts. They're just not going in”.
Winner of an impressive 20 professional titles in his stellar career, Stricker has won 12 of them on the PGA Tour.
He has also been part of the Ryder Cup American team in 2008 and 2010 and has successfully guided the team to a victory in 2008.
His major aim for the moment however remains an inclusion in the Ryder Cup team this year and is well aware of his position on the points table.
He said, "I pay attention to it every week. Even if I'm not playing, I see where I'm at on that list. I knew that I had fallen out of the top eight this last week”.
Stricker believes that there are still three major events left on the calendar year and there is no need to hit the panic button for the moment.
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