Steve Stricker and Sean O’Hair have both won the QBE Shootout — with other partners.
They came up with some late heroics Sunday, thanks to O’Hair and they’re the winners of the 2017 edition of the event at Tiburon.
They were locked in a back-nine duel with Irishmen Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry, Stricker and O’Hair held a one-shot lead going to the 17th, where something was bound to happen.
That’s where O’Hair hit a massive three-wood off the tee then from 195 yards out hit a magnificent seven-iron shot that stopped just 10 feet from the hole.
Lowry and McDowell failed to make birdie and O’Hair calmly sank his eagle putt to give him and Stricker an unbeatable three-shot lead going to 18.
Final margin was two — 26-under to 24 for the Irish pair.
“This is always a great event to finish the year off with, and to pull this off is special,” O’Hair said. “But to do it with Steve is even that much better for me. I’m a golf geek, so he’s a friend of mine, but still it’s kind of hard not to look at him and kind of put him a little bit up on a pedestal.”
O’Hair said it was Stricker’s short game that helped him play so well. “Steve, with his putter and short game, allowed me to play aggressively.”
“We gelled well together,” Stricker said. “We played off that first day. With his length, I got a lot of short iron shots to the greens.”
They’ll take home some nice Christmas money — $410,000 each.
Pat Perez and Brian Harman tied Stricker and O’Hair for the day’s best round — 64 — and finished solo third.
Lexi Thompson and partner Tony Finau shot 66 and tied for fourth at 21-under par.
