Steve Stricker notched his 12th win on the PGA Tour Champions Saturday night, closing with a 65 to win the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai by six.
The highlight of the week for the 55-year-old came a day earlier when he erupted for a course record, 12-birdie 60 in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
After he completed the victory, PGA Tour Champions staffers showed Stricker a video of PGA Tour players at this week’s The American Express congratulating him on the hot round.
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The irony is, while most offered some sort of flattery to the longtime vet, who was either Ryder or Presidents Cup teammate or captain to most of them, a few took the chance to rib him in good fun.
“I mean 60’s only one away from 59, but I guess Stricker, you know, he really struggles with the putter, so he probably has a few he wishes he could get back out there,” World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler said as Stricker starting laughing in the video. “But still a good round.”
Stricker, of course, was one of the best putters on the PGA Tour during his career, finishing inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting four times.
“Hey Strick, heard you were getting close to that magical number. Congrats on a great round, but better luck next time,” said Adam Hadwin said in a second video.
Hadwin has the stat to back up his cheekiness. He shot a 59 at The American Express back in 2017, one of just 11 players to accomplish the feat on the PGA Tour. Kevin Sutherland is the only man to shoot sub-60 on the over-50 circuit, carding a 59 in 2014.
Then there was the group who decided to make fun of Stricker’s age.
“Congratulations on shooting your age. No, I’m just kidding,” Patton Kizzire said. “Congrats on 12-under. That’s an awesome round. Would’ve been a lot cooler if you shot 59, But 12-under will do.”
“Unbelievable round. Way to shoot your age, Stricks. 60 at 60!” Tony Finau added. “No, I’m just kidding. I know you’re not 60 yet, but way to play.”
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Jokes aside, Stricker was moved as he stood off the 18th green, watching the tribute from some of his friends and colleagues.
“That means a lot, you know, that they’ve seen that and they pay attention to that kind of stuff,” he said immediately after finishing the video. “It was a good week. Good start to the year. That tops it off too.”
With the win, Stricker has now won a remarkable 25 percent of his starts on the PGA Tour Champions, the best of all time. That’s nearly double No. 2 all-time senior tour wins leader Bernhard Langer’s win rate of 13.9 percent.
