Steve

Stricker

Stricker even gamely suggested that he, too, could be talked into getting a tattoo if the Americans win back the Ryder Cup. But in between the more playful topics, Stricker touched on more serious subject, like the difficult task of choosing the three names that would go in the two sealed envelopes (one name for injury, two for COVID-19), to be used in the event a player is hurt or tests positive. “You want to make sure you put the right guy in there even though there is no right guy it seems like, right?” he said. “It doesn’t seem like a very good place to be, in that envelope.” As for what’s has surprised him most over the past 48 hours leading into the 43rd Ryder Cup, Stricker said, “I don’t mean to keep blowing smoke up my team’s cheeks, like we talked about earlier, but I knew they were close, but …I mean, this team is really close. That hasn’t surprised me to some degree, but the level of how close they are has surprised me, I guess. That’s a good thing. That’s what I wanted from day one is a family-type atmosphere and everybody to get along, and hopefully that leads to good play.” The 54-year-old captain also confirmed that players have known since Monday who they would be paired with as part of his emphasis on preparation. “I wanted the guys to know what the plan was for Friday on Monday so we can prepare that way,” he said. I think that’s something that in previous teams that I’ve learned, the communication part, getting guys to understand their position and their roles.” Full transcript in link below, but also the U.S. practice groupings on Wednesday were Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in Group A; Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau in Group B; and Daniel Berger, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler in Group C.

“Guys are enjoying themselves with each other. It’s been great in the team room,” said Stricker, who noted that he likes to keep evenings casual and extra obligations to a minimum. “It’s kind of translated out on to the golf course, to tell you the truth. They had a ball today it looked like. They were goofing around and having fun with one another, and that’s no different when we get back to the team room.” If recent history serves as any indicator, Stricker gave everyone the first glimpse into possible pairings as players got in a full 18-hole practice round. Leading off were Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas; followed by Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele; with the final group including Daniel Berger, Harris English, Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka. “I’m really not going to go into pairings quite yet with anybody,” said Stricker. “The opening ceremony will be a great time to let you know.” However, Stricker did let folks in on plans for Tuesday evening: “Tonight we have a dinner with just the team locally here, not too far away. Very casual,” he said. “I don’t enjoy getting dressed up and getting all -- or (wife) Nicki, for that matter. She’s very casual and I’m very casual, so we’re trying to bring this attitude of relaxed and having a good time and being very casual, and we’re hopefully rubbing off on the team that we’re just here to have a good fun time.”

Stricker admitted he had not seen Koepka yet but was confident in his health after the four-time major winner had been MIA since the third round of the Tour Championship, where he withdrew after hitting a tree root and possibly re-injuring his left wrist. “I’ve been talking to him ever since it happened,” said Stricker. “...He tells me everything is 100 percent, and everything is ready and raring to go.” He also shot down any notion that Koepka was not all in on the Ryder Cup, saying, “I’ve had experiences with Brooks over many, many of these teams, and the conversations that I have had with him and what I have personally seen in the team room does not jive up to what I was reading in those articles. …He assures me that he is 100 percent all-in on this team and whatever he need to do for this team to become the winner at the end of the week.” Stricker also weighed in on the likelihood of a Koepka-DeChambeau pairing and the state of their relationship ahead of Friday’s kickoff. “It’s a non-issue, really, for me and the team,” he said. “…I’ve had conversations with them both. They have assured me it’s not going to be an issue. I have no worries whatsoever. Will we pair them together? I don’t think so at this point, but things could change. Could always happen. But probably not. But again, I had a dinner; they all showed up. We had great conversation, great talks. So I’m not seeing it as an issue at all and they are completely on board.” The U.S. leads the series 26-14-2 and boasts a 17-4 record as host, however Europe is the defending champion, beating the U.S. in 2018 in Paris 17 1/2 to 10 1/2.

Commenting on course fit, length off-the-tee, and birdie-making ability, Stricker, with the aid of his assistant captains and analytics team, rounded out the United States Ryder Cup team on Wednesday. Selecting Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, and Tony Finau were to no one’s surprise as many suspected them to be “locks” for the team. Leaving three remaining spots, Stricker selected Player of the Year nominee, Harris English, commenting on his world-ranking and fabulous regular season record. Next was Daniel Berger who posted strong showings in the major championships this season and captured a win at Pebble Beach. With wind potentially playing a factor, Berger has one of the lower ball flights on Tour, allowing him to navigate a course such as Whistling Straits. Rounding out the team was the reigning Rookie of the Year, Scottie Scheffler. Posting great finishes at major championships and World Golf Championships, Stricker commented on the Texan’s efforts in Austin. Making his way to the finals in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Scheffler’s play in the match play format impressed the captain. In total, Stricker selected four rookies in Schauffele, English, Berger, and Scheffler. While Schauffele and Berger have Presidents Cup experience, they have yet to partake in the Ryder Cup.

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.

It’s been a bit of a resurgence on the PGA Tour in 2021 for Stricker having had good showings at both the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Honda Classic. He’ll look to draw on that success as he gears up for this week’s PGA Championship at the Ocean Course. Stricker was one of the few Americans to play well here in 2012 having finished in a tie for 7th. However, the main focus of his press conference had more so to do with the Ryder Cup later this year. Stricker was asked about numerous players such as Collin Morikawa and Will Zalatoris, whom he played a practice round with earlier in the week. When asked about his thoughts on Whistling Straits, the host course for this year’s Ryder Cup, Stricker said, “Yeah, we did some things to kind of enhance the benefit towards our side just like they do when we go over to Europe and play their side. So, it’s minor little things. It’s not going to change the way the course plays dramatically. You know, to be quite honest, it’s going to be I think similar to this, so I’m interested in watching this week and watching the players this week who play well here because it’s kind of got a very similar feel. That’s not Lake Michigan out there but it’s got the same look and same feel and the wind can blow at Whistling Straits, as well. This course, it’s not true links either and neither is Whistling Straits. It’s kind of play it up in the air and you have to fly it into the numbers. Same designer, right, I think Pete Dye both places, so it’s got a very similar feel.”

Stricker has a strong record at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course but won’t get to improve on it this week. He is 5-for-9 in his career with all five of the cuts made doubling as top 15s. The 54-year-old just won the Chubb Classic on the Champions circuit eight days ago so it’s likely safe to assume this is just a scheduling change rather than an injury. Gamers should remove Stricker from all weekly lineups.

This is the 54-year-old’s sixth appearance, first since a best of T5 in 2007, where he was T7 after 18 holes (68-69-70-69). He checked in this week 4-for-7 on the season with two top 25s and one top 10, a T4 at the WM Phoenix Open three starts ago, where he was T5 after Day 1 and T2 at the midpoint (65-66-69-67). On 10 (of 14) fairways, the University of Illinois product squared a lone bogey-5 at hole 6, smothered by five birdies at 3, 4, 12, 13 and 15. He recorded a -0.357 SG: Putting but gained a whopping 5.489 against the field scoring average at last check. The Wisconsinite’s most recent of 12 TOUR victories in 513 prior events is the 2012 Hyundai TOC as the 54-hole leader by five.

The Englishman called it quits during round three of the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, citing a back injury. That made him a risky option for fantasy gamers but there was no indication that he’d be skipping THE PLAYERS until now. The 40-year-old has dipped to 39th in the Official World Golf Ranking and he has just two top 10s over his last 20 PGA TOUR events played. Gamers should wait for a clean bill of health before re-investing.