PLAYERS: Steve Stricker comes back to Earth after Magical Day One

When news came that Justin Rose wasn’t going to be able to play at the PLAYERS, there was one man that was made happier from that news than any other. Steve Stricker, who got in due to the WD.

At 54 years old, no one was expecting much from Steve Stricker. It had been nearly a decade since Stricker has won on the PGA Tour, with him spending the majority of his time on the Champions Tour. Through the opening round, he was proving everyone wrong, especially after a stretch of four straight birdies, with the last coming at the nightmarish 17th hole at the PLAYERS.

He flirted with the top ten, and by the time rounds were completed, Steve Stricker was sitting at -2 in a tie for 11th place, a spot that no one, likely even Stricker himself, thought that he would be in.

During Round Two, Steve Stricker crashed back to Earth at the PLAYERS.

In a move that was more in line with what was expected, Stricker struggled during the second round. It’s nothing against him, you just wouldn’t expect someone in their mid-50s to compete at a course that is playing so difficult.

The trouble started on the par-3 3rd hole, but not in a way you would expect. There was no water and no bunkers involved. Hitting short of the green, he would chip to about ten feet, and face a nice look at converting his up and down. Instead, he would three-putt from there to record a double-bogey.

Then, after finding the GIR at the par-4 4th, he would three-putt once again, this time for a bogey. and getting him to +1 for the tournament. What once looked like a decent shot at making the cut was now out the window, and he would need to play at or better than par for the rest of his round to make it.

The three-putts would continue at the par-4 7th, where a repeat of the 4th would occur. Stricker found the GIR, but walked away with a bogey. There wouldn’t be any more three-putts on the back nine, but there would be a few more bogeys.

Even though he found a birdie late, it was too little too late for Steve Stricker, who would walk away from round two with a scorecard in the high 70’s, and missing out on the cut at the PLAYERS.