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Western Open turns 100 Stricker a Player to Watch this week at Cog Hill
Posted: Monday June 28, 1999 01:03 PM
By Benjamin Berman, CNN/SI History is this week's theme as the PGA Tour makes its yearly stop at the Western Open. The Western Open, located in Lemont, Ill., is the oldest tournament on the circuit. This year, it celebrates its centennial. The Western Open began back in 1899 with Willie Smith defeating Laurie Auchterlonie in a playoff. It almost seems that to be one of the game's great players, a Western Open championship must be on your resume. Past champions include Chick Evans, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. And it doesn't stop there. In the 1980s, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Tom Weiskopf and Mark McCumber etched their names on the trophy. And in the '90s, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Price and Tiger Woods all won this event. With all the rich history and great champions, who is the Player to Watch for this tournament this year? Obviously, it's Steve Stricker. OK, Stricker doesn't have a nickname like "Golden Bear," and the gallery that follows him is hardly called an "Army," but he's got game. Especially at this event. Stricker won the Western Open in 1996, blowing out the field and winning by eight strokes. His 270 total was the third-lowest in the history of the tournament. Last year, Stricker finished tied for fifth place with a 10-under 278 total -- seven strokes back of the winner, Joe Durant. Why does Stricker -- a two-time winner in his five-plus years on the PGA Tour -- have some of his best performances at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club? No stranger to the Midwest, Stricker was born in Edgerton, Wis. and went to college at the University of Illinois where he was an All-American in 1988-89. Although he calls Tampa Bay home these days, Stricker spent a great deal of his youth learning the game on Midwest courses. Stricker is just getting started in 1999. He has three Top-10 finishes, including two in his last three events. His 5-over finish at the 1999 U.S. Open earned him fifth place. Stricker was the only golfer to break par in the third round at Pinehurst. His 1-under 69 Saturday round left other golfers shaking their heads and wondering if it was Stricker's year. However, a 3-over 73 in the final round left him in a tie for fifth. In 1999, Stricker has made 11 of 14 cuts in and ranks No. 30 in all-around statistics. He also ranks 11th in putting and 7th in par-4 performance. In 1998, he didn't win, but he came close on several occassions. In all, Stricker racked up 10 Top-10 finishes last year, including a second-place finish at the PGA Championship and a fifth-place showing at the U.S. Open. Stricker made 20 of 21 cuts in '98, and ranked No. 12 in all-around statistics and scoring average, as well as No. 7 in putting. After joining the Tour in 1994, it took Stricker two year's to make a name for himself. But the did in a big way. In 1996, Stricker won both of his PGA titles -- the Western Open and Kemper Open. Quietly, Stricker also has made people take notice of his flatstick. One of the PGA's elite putters, he is slowly becoming a given to crack that Top 10 in putting statistics. At 32, with his history of consistent play, Sticker figures to be making noise for quite some time. Steve Stricker's name may not be uttered in the same breath with Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer. But at the Western Open, Stricker already has made history and once again, he is a Player to Watch.
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