Stricker heads to Scotland after second consecutive Deere Run Win
Steve Stricker is the second straight winner at the John Deere Classic, and believes even better days are waiting for him in the future. He finished with a record-breaking 26 under 258.
Stricker was an early leader, with seven strokes to his advantage after the first round. Going into the final 18 holes he had a six shot lead, which dwindled down to just two with five final holes to play. Stricker didn’t give it up to Paul Goydos, who remained steadily in second place. A critical birdie on the 17th helped him finish with a one under 70.
Stricker and Goydos made golf history at the TCP Deere Run this weekend. On the first day Goydos joined the elite club of four golfers to score a 59. Stricker scored a 60, and their two scores were the lowest scores in one day in the course history. Goydos scored a final 66, which on any other day could have easily been a wining score.
In addition to his victory on Sunday, Stricker has had two other victories this year and banked $792,000 in career earnings so far. The John Deere Classic trophy came with a berth at the British Open in Fife, Scotland, held July 15th to 18th. He will enter the windy competition with high hopes and confidence.
“My confidence level has been building since 2006," said the 43-year-old Stricker, "that season was a good season for me and it's progressively gotten better. I believe I'm a better player today than I was four or five years ago.”
Sticker is ranked fourth in the world, and will be playing on the St Andrew’s old course with the world’s top five golfers: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk. More than the Open Championship, Stricker looks forward to perfecting his game and becoming a better player overall. The potential to do so, he says, is just waiting to be tapped into.
“I also believe that I can get better and that's what excites me, because I still feel like there's things that I can improve on and get better at.”
Stricker was a favourite going into the John Deere Classic, but he didn’t play to the same level of precision he is known for during the first rounds. Stricker worked hard on Sunday to resolve his shaky start.
“It was a tough day,” he assessed, “I’m glad it worked out...I wasn’t the same player as I was for three days for sure...You’re just afraid to make a mistake and it’s hard to play golf that way. I thought I got off to a good start. I wasn’t backing down. I was coming out to try to make birdies right away.”
Sticker had to battle through the trees to get to the game-changing 17th hole. He drove the ball right off the fairway for the second time in two days and had to struggle back from it. He ended up 91 yards from the front green, and knocked the ball six feet with a sand wedge. He carefully measured the putt and stayed calm as fans cheered for him to “Get it in the hole!” He took the shot, and dropped it in.
Stricker has never played the St Andrew’s course and will be working on consistency with the irons before the Open begins on Wednesday. He could be entering the competition with some nasty weather, and will need as much accuracy and control as he can get. Winds clocked in at 50 mph Sunday during practice rounds and the reports are calling for inclement weather with periods of rain and sunshine.
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