Stricker wins fourth Sanford International after four playoff holes
Written by Mick Garry
Steve Stricker got a reminder late Sunday afternoon that sometimes making history demands patience.
In this case it took four sudden death playoff holes in a duel with Richard Green, but ultimately it was Stricker again. His third consecutive Sanford International title was secured with a tap-in birdie on the 18th green at Minnehaha Country Club.
He is now what you might call “a perennial champion” at this golf course with four wins overall – his first also in the tournament’s first year, 2018. His visits to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for this event follow a path that eventually ends the way things ended on Sunday: Stricker is on the 18th green talking about how much he likes this tournament and the way community and the golf course treat him.
“Do I have a membership here yet?” Stricker asked, joking with the crowd during the awards ceremony.
It was not the kind of comment a first-time winner makes. This was different. A unique champion taking a dramatic route to something memorable.
“I truly love coming here,” he said. “It feels like a home course event for me. I get so much support here. I'm so proud to be the champion again this year. So thank you to everybody.”
Green, an Australian veteran of the European Tour in his second year playing a PGA Tour Champions schedule, rolled in 15-foot birdie on 18 to tie Stricker at eight-under, sending the tournament into a sudden death playoff.
The pair played 18 twice more and tied with pars each time. They then played the par-3 No. 10 and tied again.
The return trip to 18 began with a long drive from Green, who outdistanced Stricker off the tee by more than 50 yards. Stricker, hitting first, nearly holed out his next shot.
“I was just trying to make a four,” Stricker said. “He was in great position every time – he drove the ball so well on this hole every time. I felt like I was fighting to keep going. You don't expect (to hit that shot) out of the left rough and then almost make it. It’s just a special win.”
Stricker entered the day three strokes behind second-round leader Michael Wright, but quickly – and predictably – advanced to the top of the leaderboard with four birdies on the front nine. At one point on the back nine he had a two-stroke lead but Green kept answering, as he had throughout the day.
The win was Stricker’s first of 2024 after winning six times in 2023 and represented an emotional tribute to his father, who died in January. He wanted to win one for Dad, and finally got it done.
