Steve Stricker says ‘it’s fun thinking about’ pairing up with Tiger Woods for team event in New Orleans
TUCSON, Ariz. — Tiger Woods has already made it known he’s facing a future of playing a limited schedule of the majors, the Genesis and probably the signature events when he can. But what about the lone team event on the PGA Tour, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, alongside good buddy Steve Stricker?
Stricker floated the idea on a recent Golf Digest podcast, saying he’s a “huge Tiger fan, and I want to see him playing as much as he can.”
He then floated out an amazing prospect.
“I thought about asking him to see if he wanted to play in New Orleans at the team event,” Stricker said.
Since then, a few days have passed for Stricker to marinate on the idea. In Tucson this week for the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic, he was asked to confirm whether he in fact did ask Tiger to play.
“I haven’t, no,” he said.
Was the idea of it just something he’d thought about, not actually considered?
“We had some great times being teammates on some of those [Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup] teams over the years. I guess I blurted it out loud when I was on a podcast with somebody, I said wouldn’t it be cool to get the band together one more time, for him and I to play again,” he said, adding “I don’t think that will happen, he’s got other issues than playing with me, but it would be fun, and it’s fun thinking about it.”
Stricker is coming off a PGA Tour Champions season in which he won six times, including three majors. One of those, the Kaulig Companies Championship (formally the Senior Players), guaranteed him a spot in next week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
So, what if Stricker formally asked Tiger, might he accept?
“You know, I’ll see him next week at the Players, hopefully he’ll be there and I’ll be there, hopefully play a practice round with him. Yeah, I’ll ask him,” he said.