Steve Stricker

Stricker Lights Up the John Deere Classic

The local favorite makes history with his third straight win in the tournament

What’s the Fourth of July without fireworks? Well, this year’s John Deere Classic in Silvis added plenty of pyrotechnics to the nation’s birthday celebration, with four days of excellent weather that produced low scores and a historic “threepeat” by University of Illinois alum Steve Stricker.

A notable exception to the low scoring was John Daly, who carded a 13—no, that isn’t a typo—on the fourth hole on Friday that prevented him from making the cut. I was following the tournament via the Internet and could have sworn that the number posted on the fourth hole by Daly was an 18. An editorial buddy of mine said he was listening to the PGA on satellite radio, and the broadcaster announced that Daly had shot a 19. There obviously was some confusion in calculating Daly’s tally on that hole—and with good reason.

Daly has recently lost a substantial amount of weight, and we hear he has given up drinking. Known for his blowups in past tournaments and for his off-course antics, Daly continued with his round after his disastrous fourth hole and even submitted to a post-round interview. During the interview, he was asked, “So, how did you make 13?” Daly’s response: “Two-putted. Twenty-footer for a 13.” It was nice to see Daly take this horrible circumstance in stride.

The weekend, of course, belonged to Stricker. Down by two strokes after the second round, he was in a perfect position to make a weekend run at history. After shooting a 63 on Saturday and taking a two-stroke lead, Stricker wasn’t going to be denied. Nevertheless, Kyle Stanley, a relatively unknown golfer from Gig Harbor, Washington, stayed hot on Stricker’s heels.

Stanley is a recent graduate of the Nationwide Tour. His best finish heading into the John Deere Classic was a tie for 13th in the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic. On Sunday of the Deere tournament, Stanley got hot on the back nine, scoring birdies on holes 12 through 15 to take a two-stroke lead. Stanley, however, bogied the 18th hole, whereas Stricker made birdies on holes 17 and 18, thanks to putts in excess of 10 feet.

The normally calm and professional Stricker jumped and pumped his fist as the putt on 18 fell into the cup. By completing the threepeat, Stricker joined an elite group of PGA golfers who have won tournaments three straight times.

Stanley, meanwhile, not only got a $486,000 paycheck for his second-place finish, but he also qualified for the last spot at the British Open and was able to jump on the John Deere-chartered plane bound for Kent, England. Stanley continued his excellent play overseas, with an even-par after two rounds (tied with Stricker) to make the cut. Stricker ended up plus-3 for a tie for 12th, and Stanley was plus-11 for a tie for 44th. CG