Steve Stricker with a stunning shot wins his 1st PGA Tour Champions title of the year
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Steve Stricker ended a four-hole playoff with a shot out of the rough that banged into the pin and set up a tap-in birdie Sunday, his third straight Sanford International victory and his first PGA Tour Champions title of the year.
Stricker had a two-shot lead until a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole at Minnehaha Country Club for a 3-under 67. Richard Green made a 12-foot birdie putt in the final group for a 69 to force extra holes.
Stricker twice had to work hard for par on the par-4 18th in the playoff, while Green narrowly missed birdie chances. They both made par on the par-3 10th before returning to the 18th again.
Stricker pulled his 3-wood into deep rough and hammered a wedge that landed in the front and raced up the steep slope, smacking the pin in the middle and settling 2 feet away. Green missed his 8-foot birdie putt and Stricker tapped in for another Sanford International title.
He was more emotional than usual, winning for the first time since his father died in January. That partially explains why Stricker, who won six times on the PGA Tour Champions a year ago, had to wait so long for his first one of 2024.
“I was trying to win one so bad,” Stricker said. “I owe him everything. We miss a lot. He was the guy who showed me the game, how to act on the course how to be a professional. I was putting some extra pressure on myself to win one and dedicate one to him.”
Minnehaha was the right spot. Stricker now has four victories at the Sanford International, and he became the first player to win a tournament three straight times on the PGA Tour Champions and the PGA Tour (John Deere Classic from 2009 through 2011).
Stricker showed plenty of nerves down the stretch. He was tied with Green until Stricker, playing one group ahead, got up-and-down for birdie on the reachable par-4 15th and Green three-putted for bogey on the 14th.
Stricker wasted one chance to put it away by missing an 8-foot birdie putt on the 16th. But he saved par with a 15-foot putt on the 17th to keep his two-shot lead. On the closing hole, he came up well short of the steep ridge and three-putted, missing a 7-foot par putt.
He had to hook a shot around a tree — just barely — to make par on the 18th on the first playoff hole. He had to two-putt from about 75 feet up the slope on the second extra hole. And then he hit a shot off the pin for the winner.
“They're all hard,” Stricker said.
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