Kaupulehu, Kona, Hawaii — Steve Stricker was out for the first time in three months and nothing changed. He started his championship year on the PGA Tour with a 6-stroke victory over Mitsubishi Electric in his championship at Hualalai on Saturday, finishing with a 7-under 65.
Stricker posted a 60 in the second round to take a two-stroke lead, and after three birdies in the first four holes, no one could come close.
“I don’t know what games I’ve played this week to win here,” Stricker said with a laugh, adding, “But it was pretty good.”
He currently has four PGA Tour Champions in his last five starts, and last year he completed his streak before enjoying the outdoors in Wisconsin after the postseason.
Stricker was challenged on a great day on the Big Island. He was still two shots ahead of the hard-charging Ken Tanigawa when Stricker hit his 10-foot break his birdie his putt on his 13th.
From there, it was a battle for second place that no one could win.
Last year’s Charles Schwab Cup champion Steve Alker rounded out with 63, sharing second place with Tanigawa (66), Mike Weir (66) and Darren Clark (68). final hole.
Stricker currently has 12 PGA Tour Champions titles. That’s the same number of titles he’s won on the regular PGA Tour.
He finished 23-under 193 to take the lead in the Schwab Cup for $340,000.
Stricker didn’t start until May last season as he recovered from a health scare involving inflammation around his heart, dropped 25 pounds, had a surge in white blood cell counts and a plummeting liver count.
He still won four times, ending the season with three of his last four wins in October, and did not make the Schwab Cup playoffs during the hunting season.
“I’m going to play some more,” Stricker said. He will turn 56 in February, but hopes to attend the occasional PGA Tour event to see how his game stands up against the best players.
“It’s still fun to compete against the best players in the world, but I’m going to focus here and play as much as I can,” he said. “Good start.”
Tanigawa and Weir shot at the end of the race, aiming for 2nd place. Alex Cheika, who was alone in the second, also took the money himself until he made a double bogey in an attempt to play from the lava rocks on the left side of the 16th green. He also bogeyed the 17th to finish tied for sixth with 70.
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