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Stricker adds two more vice captains to U.S. Ryder Cup team

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Steve Stricker

United States Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker announced Monday that he has selected Davis Love III and Zach Johnson as vice captains for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.  The U.S. team will face Europe on Sept. 25-27 at Whistling Straits.

Love and Johnson join Jim Furyk as U.S. vice captains.  Stricker will announce one more vice captain before the tournament.  Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Tom Lehman are potential candidates.

Stricker, Furyk and Johnson all played for Love and the 2012 U.S. team at Medinah Country Club.  Stricker and Furyk also served as vice captains under Love on the victorious 2016 U.S. team at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.

 

43rd Ryder Cup stays put while golf schedule sees several other changes

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Whistling Straights

While there’s a number of changes ahead with regards to golf events, the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits will remain on the same dates, Sept. 25-27.  Other events weren’t quite as fortunate, facing changes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The British Open has been canceled for 2020 and the other three men’s major championships have moved to late summer and fall.  The announcements came via news release issued jointly Monday by the world’s major golf organizations.

The PGA Championship, scheduled for May 14-17 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco will now be held August 6-9.  The U.S. Open, previously set for June 18-21 has been moved to Sept. 17-20 and will remain at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York.

The Masters Tournament has been moved to Nov. 12-15 at Augusta National Golf Club.

The Royal & Ancient decided to cancel the Open Championship in 2020 and will be played at Royal St. George’s in 2021.

The Ryder Cup will immediately follow the U.S. Open.  Madison’s Steve Stricker will captain the U.S. squad.

Stricker won’t get the chance to defend his U.S. Senior Open title.  The U.S. Golf Association canceled that championship for 2020.  Stricker won the 2019 U.S. Senior Open by six strokes at Warren Golf Course in South Bend, Indiana.

The U.S. Senior Women’s Open has also been cancelled.

Another record year for American Family Insurance Championship

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Jack Salzwedel – Steve Stricker – Nicki Stricker

The 2019 American Family Insurance Championship raised a record $2.4 million for charity.  In its fourth year, the 2019 event raised a record $2,404,000, an increase of $337,000 (21 percent) over 2018.

It brings the total amount raised for charity since the inaugural event in 2016 to $7,185,000.

Half of the 2019 proceeds will be distributed to the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.  Nearly 100 other primarily local charities will share the remaining $1.2 million in varying amounts.

The grand total raised and charitable organization recipients were revealed at an event on Wednesday at the American Family Insurance corporate headquarters.  The event featured championship host/player Steve Stricker, his wife, Nicki, American Family Insurance Chair and CEO Jack Salzwedel, numerous tournament sponsors, and volunteers.

The fourth annual American Family Insurance Championship was held in June at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison.  More than 70,000 spectators from 32 states attended during the three days of tournament play.

Next year’s event will be held earlier than previous years with the three day tournament running from June 5-7.  Madison’s Jerry Kelly will return as defending champion and Stricker will play in the tournament for the fourth time.

 

Kelly wins on PGA Tour Champions

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Jerry Kelly – File Photo

Jerry Kelly played bogey-free golf on Sunday, closing with a 4-under-par 68, posting a 2-shot victory in the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan.  It’s the second victory of the year for the Madison native, drawing him closer to Schwab Cup leader Scott McCarron.

Kelly had a pair of birdies on the front nine, and he took control on the back nine, making his final birdie on the par-3 17th.  Woody Austin shot a final round 69 to finish along in second place.

Kelly also won two months ago, capturing the American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge in Madison.  He becomes the fourth multiple winner this year on the PGA Tour Champions, joining McCarron (three wins), and Steve Stricker and Bernhard Langer (two each).

Kelly earned $300,000 for the win after finishing the tournament at 16-under par.

Fox Point’s Skip Kendall finished tied for 48th.

 

Stricker has first day lead at Senior Championship

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Steve Stricker

Madison’s Steve Stricker has the first round lead at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship.  Stricker was at 5-under-par through 17 holes when play was suspended by rain and lightning for the day.

Stricker’s opening round included a hole-in-one on the 184-yard, par-3 seventh at Firestone Country Club.  He was in the middle of the 18th fairway when play was stopped.  He’ll resume play at 7 a.m. Friday morning.

Stricker is seeking his third straight major victory on the PGA Tour Champions after winning the Regions Tradition and then the U.S. Senior Open.

Paul Goydos was second at 2-under after five holes.  Madison’s Jerry Kelly was one over after six holes.

PGA Tour

Roberto Diaz fired a 9-under 62 to take the first-round lead in the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.  Adam Long and Russell Henley are two strokes back.

 

Stricker dominates for U.S. Senior Open win

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Steve Stricker (File Photo) – Copyright USGA – John Gress

Madison’s Steve Stricker shot a final round 1-under 69 to post a six-shot win over Jerry Kelly and David Thomas to win the U.S. Senior Open Championship in South Bend, Indiana on Sunday.

Stricker finished at 19-under 261, breaking Kenny Perry’s U.S. Senior Open record by three strokes.

It’s the second PGA Champions Tour major victory of the season for Stricker.  He earlier won the Regions Tradition in May by six strokes.

Just a week ago, Stricker lost the American Family Insurance Championship in a playoff to Kelly.  Sunday, he got a little bit of revenge against his long time friend.

Stricker shared the first round lead with Toms after a record-tying 62.  He pulled away on day two and nobody could stay with him.

Stricker earned $720,000 for the win, but even more importantly, he earned a spot in next year’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot, where he tied for sixth back in 2006.

 

Stricker tops the leader board at U.S. Senior Open

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Steve Stricker

One week after falling short at the American Family Insurance Championship, Madison’s Steve Stricker finds himself tied for the lead with defending champion David Toms at the U.S. Senior Open in South Bend, Indiana.

Stricker fired an opening round 8-under par 62, tallying seven birdies and an eagle in his opening round.

Toms had 10 birdies, which set a U.S. Senior Open record.

Stricker and Toms are two shots better than Madison’s Jerry Kelly and Kirk Triplett.

 

Kelly wins AmFam title in a playoff

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Madison’s Jerry Kelly held off tournament host Steve Stricker and World Golf Hall of Famer Retief Goosen in a playoff to win the American Family Insurance Championship  on Sunday at University Ridge.

Stricker missed a birdie putt from 8-feet away on the final regulation hole that would have given him the title.  Stricker then dropped out of the three way playoff on the first extra hole.

Kelly needed to more holes to knock off Goosen, winning with a birdie on the par 4 15th hole.

Kelly actually had the chance to win it in regulation as well, but he bogied the final hole of regulation to let Goosen and Stricker back into the mix.

Stricker missed some chances with the putter in the final round and still had an opportunity to win late. [Read more…]

Stricker captures his first major

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Steve Stricker

Madison’s Steve Stricker captured the first major of his professional golf career, winning his first senior major in Birmingham, Alabama.  Stricker closed with a 4-under-par 68 for a six-shot victory at the weather-delayed Regions Tradition.

Stricker took a two-shot lead into the final round and then went bogey-free on Monday, finishing at 18-under-270.  It was  his fourth win in 18 PGA Tour Champions starts.

Stricker won 12 times on the PGA Tour but never captured a major.  His best chance came at the 1998 PGA Championship, when he finished second to Vijay Singh.  Stricker also was runner-up to Miguel Angel Jimenez at last year’s Regions Tradition.

Billy Andrade, Paul Goydos and David Toms tied for second, but Stricker had no challengers down the Stretch.

Stricker now has a quick turn-around as he’s schedules to compete at the PGA Championship later this week at Bethpage Black.

American Family Championship gets more commits today

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PGA TOUR Champions rookies Darren Clarke, Retief Goosen and Chris DiMarco have committed to the 2019 American Family Insurance Championship, to be held June 21-23 at University Ridge Golf Course.

The three will join tournament host Steve Stricker, Jerry Kelly, Scott McCarron and Kirk Triplett, who earlier made commitments.  The full 78-player field for the championship will be set June 14.

Clarke, of Northern Ireland, is best known for his victory at the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s in England.  The veteran of the European Tour and PGA TOUR has 21 tournament wins worldwide.

Goosen, of South Africa, will be enshrined into the World Golf Hall of Fame in June.  He’s a two-time major champion, winning the U.S. Open in 2001 and 2007.

DeMarco won three times on the PGA Tour.  He is perhaps best known for his final-round battle with Tiger Woods in the 2005 Masters, where Woods outlasted him in a sudden death playoff.