Steve Stricker Aims to End Victory Drought in Major Way at U.S. Senior Open
Steve Stricker has been a machine in his senior career. Last year alone, he won three of the first four senior majors and finished second to Bernhard Langer in the U.S. Senior Open. Majors have always been the 57-year-old’s bread and butter, as he’s won six and added five runner-up finishes in 18 tournaments. Yet the 2024 season has not been as kind to the Wisconsin native, as he’s yet to crack the winner’s circle this year.
With 17 career wins on the Champions Tour, the drought is in a word surprising.
In dissecting the issues, Stricker has concluded his putter may be the culprit, and he’s looking to make a dramatic change for this week’s U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club. “I really haven’t been putting worth a lick, so I think I’m going to do it,” Stricker said. “And it can’t hurt, I don’t think.”
The new putter, a counter-balanced club versus his current face-balanced model, has a longer shaft and fatter grip. It’s 180 degrees from his current blade, and he hopes the change will yield fewer putts. “It feels just a little bit easier to keep the putter head on my line right now, and I’ve been struggling with consistency with mine,” Stricker said. “It’s a smaller blade. I’ve gotten older. It’s getting harder. It’s something that I may just switch to this week.”
One of the other issues that Stricker is facing, beyond the putting struggles, is that his desire is not the same. It has shown up in his preparation before a tournament.
“I would say it’s getting harder to spend the time at home, to prepare,” Stricker said. “Sitting on the range or the putting green, I just don’t do at all anymore, or very rarely, so just kind of play to get in shape, so that part has changed, too. I still come out here with a lot of desire and competitiveness to try to play well and get an opportunity to win here.”
