MADISON, Wisc. – His face flush, Steve Stricker crossed his arms but he wasn’t going to hold back.
The tears came as he reflected on the 15-year journey to the moment late Sunday afternoon when he was handed the American Family Insurance Championship trophy.
“Look where we are today,” he said, his voice cracking. “It’s really cool.”
The Edgerton native and Madison resident weathered spring like conditions at University Ridge Golf Course superbly, carding a 3-under 69 to finish the PGA Tour Champions event with a new scoring record at 18-under 198. Kirk Triplett, the tournament’s inaugural winner in 2016, held the previous mark at 17 under.
On the last, Stricker rolled in a par putt and then tightly hugged his wife, Nicki.
“I’m just really happy for him,” said Jerry Kelly, who waited after his round to watch his friend finish the job behind the 18th green. “As long as he can get it out of the way and not do it again, you know? No, I’m truly happy for him. What a great family and what they’ve done for this tournament. Even for my tournament. It’s pretty awesome to have a tournament in your hometown like this. It’s definitely because of Steve. He definitely deserves this.”
Nicki Stricker caddied for her husband through the week, and the couple celebrated with a signature handshake on his way to the 18th green, and then with embraces with their daughters Bobbi and Izzi.
Nicki Stricker on what it means to @stevestricker to win the @amfamchamp in his home state of Wisconsin
https://t.co/O28wlgTflD pic.twitter.com/8Qu4z8s9i7
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) June 11, 2023
“It’s very special,” Steve Stricker said of having his family so close. “Anytime I get this opportunity to win a golf tournament and have them be here with me is very special. Nicki’s been on the bag a lot. We’ve all wanted me to win this event and finally it happened. It’s a special day for us.”
Kelly, Stricker and Skip Kendall have competed against one another for decades, and at one time or another all felt the pressure of trying to win the PGA Tour’s Greater Milwaukee Open in the late 1990s and early 2000s. For over a decade, the trio (along with Appleton’s J.P. Hayes) combined for a dozen top-10 finishes at their “home course,” while Kelly and Stricker each had runner-up finishes in the GMO.
Kendall acknowledged they couldn’t help but feel the pressure to win such an event, and Kelly finally broke through on a Wisconsin course when he won the 2019 and 2021 AmFam Championships.
Though Kendall finished well before Stricker on Sunday, the result felt predestined.
“How can you… you can’t write a better script than that,” Kendall said.
And Stricker acknowledged pulling this one out was difficult as he battled his emotions throughout.
“It was very special,” he said. “I had a couple opportunities the first six years and didn’t finish the job on Sunday. Today was a difficult today. Not only with the weather but just fighting my nerves and emotions of trying to win a golf tournament, especially here in Madison. So, yeah, this one is pretty sweet. I held it together today. It’s a day that could’ve gotten away pretty easily just because the conditions were so tough. Held it together, so proud of that part and yeah, this feels pretty sweet to come out on top.”
It is Stricker’s fourth victory on the PGA Tour Champions this season.
Though he would win comfortably by five shots, Stricker did see a challenger emerge in a hard-charging Colin Montgomerie. Playing three groups ahead of Stricker, the Scotsman also thrived in the conditions and set the pace by getting to 14-under for the tournament through 11 holes.
But, he went 3-over down the stretch to lose ground. Montgomerie would end the day with a 3-under 69 to finish tied for fourth.
As for Stricker, his day began as inauspiciously as the weather.
Deep breaths hung in the air into the early afternoon as temperatures plummeted over 30 degrees from the first two sun-splashed rounds. Wind stiffened flags and chilled the air, as opposed to providing a welcome respite from heat. A soft rain brought out the green of the golf course.
Stricker donned an all-black rain suit as he teed off as the co-leader of his tournament, alongside Paul Broadhurst and first-round leader Justin Leonard.
Stricker has never shied away from sharing his feelings, and he knew he’d be nervous. He had not recorded a bogey in 29 consecutive holes over the first two rounds, but would drop a shot on his opening hole. But he birdied no. 2 to get back to 15-under and settle himself.
“To get that birdie right away back on no. 2 is a big deal,” he said. “I really wasn’t flustered today surprisingly. I have been in other years and then today I just, I think I was so determined to do it that I just kept putting my head down. I bogeyed no. 10, I three-putted no. 10 and came back with another birdie at 11. So each time I made a bogey I bounced back and that kind of helped steady the ship and keep it going.”
After five straight pars, Stricker closed his front nine with consecutive birdies on Nos. 8 and no. 9 to give himself a four-shot cushion on Montgomerie.
As Montgomerie faded, no one else was able to mount a charge.
Leonard, who shot a tournament record 62 in the first round, fell off the pace early with by going 3-over in his first five holes and carded a 2-over 74 to finish tied for fourth. Broadhurst fell by the wayside with two bogeys on No. 7 and No. 8. He finished with a 74 to finish tied for second with Steven Alker at 13 under for the tournament.
The top 10 was rounded out by Joe Durant, Stephen Ames, Marco Dawson, Steve Flesch and Ernie Els.
Jerry Kelly couldn’t close the gap
The always honest Kelly began the tournament by saying he talked himself out of it during the practice rounds by not recognizing that the scoring could be low. He followed it up with even-par 72 on Friday, after which he said: “I sucked.”
Despite a 5-under 67 on Saturday in which he made seven birdies, Kelly said he refused to smile – but he did hope the weather would worsen to help his closing argument and “save face.”
While the weather cooperated, Kelly’s game did not. He shot a respectable 2-under 70 to climb all the way up into a tie for 11th, but he felt he left more opportunities on the course.
“Oh, no, still not happy with where I finished,” he said. “I left probably five putts short.
“It was really disappointing. I lined it up, worked really hard at the beginning for pars and then got a couple birdies and I was like alright, here we go, we got the easier nine and I can get something out of it. And then, yeah, I just kind of stalled out. I hit it close enough, I just didn’t make the putts. I’m tired. My legs are gassed. Three weeks in a row, a major, this week, an extra Monday. I’m not as strong as Steve.”