Three-time champion Steve Stricker will skip the U.S. Senior Open as the defending champion to make his 10th PGA Tour start this season and 15th appearance in the John Deere Classic.
The 54-year-old, 12-time Tour winner won the Deere three years in a row from 2009-2011, and this season he has three top-20 finishes on Tour and nine top 10s – including two wins – in 11 starts in Champions events. Stricker, the U.S. Ryder Cup team captain, arrives at TPC Deere Run off a win at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at Firestone. “Having this tournament mean so much to me over the years, it just felt like a no-brainer to come back here and to play here,” said Stricker. “It’s an easy trip for me. … I always enjoy coming here, and it’s been hard to miss the last few years, to tell you the truth. The Senior Players has been opposite the John Deere Classic, so that was switched this year, and being 50 years, I thought it was a good time to be here.” In 14 previous starts at TPC Deere Run, Stricker has missed the cut only once – in his tournament debut in 2003 – and has four other top 10s to go with his three JDC titles.