Steve Stricker didn’t get much practice time in the week before the Ally Challenge. He was busy as his daughter’s caddie at the first stage of the the LPGA Tour’s Q-School.
But that didn’t stop him from shooting a closing 67 Sunday that earned him his ninth Champions Tour victory at the Warwick Hills.
It was Stricker’s first appearance in the event and he came from behind to overtake Scott Dunlap, who shot 63 on Saturday. Stricker finished at 15-under par, a shot better than Brett Quigley. Quigley closed with a 68.
Jeff Maggert turned in the day’s best round, a seven-under par 65 and that earned him solo third at 13-under.
Dunlap’s 71 left him tied for fourth with Paddy Harrington, who closed with 70.
Fred Funk, 66, beat his age by a shot on Friday and held the solo lead after 18 holes but ended up in a tie for eighth. It was the sixth time a golfer on the PGA Tour Champions shot his age or better this season.
Stricker collected $300,000 from the $2-million purse for his second victory 2022. He also won the Regions Tradition in May.
“The conditions were a little bit tougher today,” said Stricker, who shot 70-64 in the first two rounds. “I just told Nicki (his wife and caddie) that I just gotta keep hitting in there. I didn’t really spook when I really wasn’t hitting it that well. I was just kind of getting it around, making some good saves and then rattled off those four in a row, which proved to be the difference. I was just fortunate enough to make that string of birdies.”
The leaderboard was crowded until Stricker reeled off four straight birdies beginning at the par-five 13th. At one point, there were four players tied for lead and later six were one shot behind Sticker. But he birdied 13, 14, 15 and the par five 16th to take control before making pars on the final two holes.
Lingmerth Goes Wire-To-Wire At Nationwide Childrens:
David Lingmerth drained a 13-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to win the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, capping the first wire-to-wire victory on the Korn Ferry Tour since Cameron Young accomplished the same feat at the 2021 AdventHealth Championship.
Lingmerth, who won the 2015 Memorial in Columbus, won this time on Ohio State University’s Scarlet course. He finished a shot in front of playing partner Paul Haley II, who ultimately three-putted for bogey and finished at 15-under par.
The victory earned Lingmerth his PGA Tour card.
Lingmerth played the first 36 holes of the week at a record-shattering clip, but followed Saturday’s even-par 71 with a 3-under 68 Sunday at the Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course. Lingmerth’s winning total of 17-under 267 tied the 72-hole tournament scoring record established last year by Adam Svensson.
“It was a grind all day, not gonna lie,” Lingmerth said. “I was in good position the whole tournament, but I knew it was going to come down to the very last little bit because Paul (Haley II) was playing really well. To get that putt to go in for birdie on No. 18 was a feeling I’ve been wanting for a long, long time. So much relief, a lot of joy, a lot of pride I was able to do it, because it’s been a rough go for a while for me.
“Not being sure if I was going to be able to knock one off anytime soon — it was nice to finally do it.”
10 Comments
baxter cepeda
Awesome to see Steve win again (over 54 holes).
Maybe I missed it But I didn’t see him cry, which just doesn’t seem right.
Tom Edrington
54 holes because they are well, older, just like a lot of geezers on the LIV
baxter cepeda
How old is cam ?
Niemann ?
Mito?
Another argument against LIv about to go away.
Not to mention some of the up and coming top amateurs whom already have a “relationship” with LIv.
Tom Edrington
LIV-loving Baxter, the Saudi-propaganda machine….be sure to tell your girls you support a regime that suppresses the rights of women in their country….
baxter cepeda
Monahans Pom Pom man Tom, I’m just merely pointing out old anti LIv catch phrase Propagandas which aren’t always factual.
Meanwhile the pga tour continues putting all its eggs in the current top 15 basket; at least most of them.
I want to remind everyone how volatile the owgr can be. Most of those top 15 the pga tour is now letting run its tour —along with Tiger— are in those positions thanks to a nice year or so of play but some are already slowing down.
And a few of them used to be ranked high before falling in the ranking only to make a recent comeback; and only to slow down again more recently.
There are numerous LIv players whom would be poised to make similar comebacks in the now ruined owgr.
The pga tour may still have the stronger fields but these rosters are getting closer and closer.
Tom Edrington
LIV-loving, U-Tube-watching, women’s right suppression-ignoring, Rory-hating, Saudi-admiring Baxter continues to pump his propaganda machine against the PGA Tour, making him part of the “magical 15 percent” of those who even bother to watch these LIV exhibitions….
baxter cepeda
I do appreciate LIv for doubling (if not a lot more) golfers incomes. And for all their work putting golf on a path to improve the fan experiences on and off the course.
Hopefully the ladies of golf are next; as they already get more money from Aramco than most companies.
Life is full of contradictions. Isn’t it?
I do like Rory —one of the few true stars left on the pga tour along with spieth— but he annoys the hell out of me sometimes.
Standing on a pedestal judging contemporaries for months, the same people who have now created all these raises in the sport, All these better opportunities and ways of doing things, does annoy me to be honest.
Rory can be altruistic or whatever he is, all he wants, but all this progress is happening despite him.
More and more the talk is Phil was right all along. Which means Rory was wrong.
That being said rorys actions have created further conflict between tours that is probably only going to bring more money to the players and better product to the sport as these organizations are left to give players more and more thanks to this fairly even line drawn in the sand.
It is interesting soon after cam and this latest crop officially left, the pga tour announced no more of those ultra elite tournaments they planned to help themselves keep players.
Which makes sense they are not doing it. They still need to do everything for those “top players” events to happen.
That’s another reason I’m annoyed with Rory and now Tiger and of course Monahan:
Now Every time I write pga tour “top players” I’m going to have to use quotations.
That’s a lot of work.
Tom Edrington
CME is the biggest $$$ supporter on the LPGA Tour……ARAMCO is over on the LET, at least ARAMCO is using its own money and not stealing from the public employees pension plan……Phil may have had some points but his methods were shady and back-door, Phil’s true colors came out…..RORY is right, Lefty, not so much.
baxter cepeda
I said more than “most companies”
And I wasn’t lpga specific.
Cme and promedica are much appreciated in women’s golf for sure.
pIF is an investment fund. I was watching something on u tube. Believe it or not. These guys move their fortunes around but it’s all the same source.
Phil’s a legend!
I cannot wait for his non-airness to get fully past this negative phase. It’s still there but definitely improving.
Tom Edrington
Phil has a lot of dark secrets; He was a dishonest guy, trying to benefit from insider trading, got away scott-free with that; Secret Saudi negotiations, took the money to pay off his huge gambling debts.