Steve Stricker embraces chance to win AmFam Championship after tying for lead
MADISON – For a few hours at least, Steve Stricker was once again being overshadowed at his own tournament Saturday afternoon at the American Family Insurance Championship. While he was starting out with a blistering, 6-under par performance on the front nine of University Ridge Golf Course, Miguel Ángel Jiménez started out with a 7-under 29 through his first nine holes, which began on the back side.
But as Jiménez’s pace gradually leveled off, Stricker kept his foot on the gas.
He needed to, because Paul Broadhurst closed with a 31 on his back nine to tie Stricker for the lead after two rounds at 15-under par.
Stricker surged to the top of the leaderboard with a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64 on Saturday and noted he saw Jiménez’s hot start. Broadhurst would match Stricker’s round of 64, but he made nine birdies to offset a bogey.
“I was trying to make as many birdies as I could, but yeah, two good rounds, came out of the gate playing well today and birdied the first couple holes, so that’s always a good start and kept it going on the front,” Stricker said. “Hit a lot of quality shots on the front nine and made some nice putts. All in all, a good round. And the scoring I saw was really low, so I figured it was out there.”
More: Steve Stricker breaks a Tiger Woods record, Justin Leonard sets mark at AmFam Championship
Already a three-time winner on the PGA Tour Champions this year – including the season’s first two major championships – Stricker is in prime position to win his home tournament for the first time.
“Just like any other week, I’m trying to make this out to be,” he began, “Yeah, I’ll be nervous but you just have to embrace it, otherwise it’s going to get the best of you. I’m looking forward to the challenge, and I’ll have to fight some nerves for sure tomorrow."
He was a runner-up to Jerry Kelly following a playoff in 2019.
Broadhurst last won a Champions event in 2018, and he knows it’ll be a challenge to overcome the home-course favorite on Sunday.
"Yeah, I'm going to have two fans out there tomorrow, my wife and my caddie," he said with a smile. "I've played with Steve a few times and I always enjoy playing with him. He's a great player. You try and feed off him really, the way he swings it, his rhythm, his putting stroke. He's the guy to copy really. I'll just go out there and give it my best shot. I know I'm going to probably have to shoot another low one. I just want to make it competitive tomorrow, not let him get away and have a clear running back nine."
Stricker’s Saturday round propelled him past first-round leader Justin Leonard, who remained in contention two shots back with a 3-under 69.
Joe Durant, Steven Alker and Marco Dawson will begin Sunday four shots back while Stephen Ames trails by five shots.
Kelly, a two-time tournament champion, rebounded from an even-par 72 on Friday with a 5-under 67. He made seven birdies against two bogeys, including a closing stretch that saw him birdie three of his final four holes.
“I'm still not smiling, no way,” he said. “I'm still just not -- still wasn't my game. Putting was still a little suspect. I made six of them out there, I just let it get away there at the end. That was rough. We had a little miscommunication on the read, and I just lost my speed and hit it too hard, and then it went the opposite way on the way back. I guess I was wrong both sides. Guys are going low again, so all I can do is try to save face somehow. That's about it.”
Milwaukee native Skip Kendall shot a 1-over 73 on Saturday. Madison’s Mario Tiziani shot a 1-under 71.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez flirts with 59
A day after Justin Leonard set a tournament and course record with a 10-under 62, Miguel Ángel Jiménez flirted with golf’s magic number – 59.
Jiménez started the second round playing the back nine first, and he eagled the par 5, 11th. It set the tone for the round, as he also eagled No. 16 and wedged in three more birdies for a 7-under 29 through nine holes.
He made the turn and then promptly eagled the par 5, 2nd, and backed it up with a birdie on No. 3.
Needing to go 3-under over his final six holes – which included two par 5s – things slowed down for “The Mechanic.” Jiménez parred the par 5 sixth hole and then barely missed a birdie on the par 4 seventh. He initially raised his putter in his left hand as the ball meandered up to the hole, but as it broke away, what could’ve been a triumphant signal instead turned into a "what if?" twirl.
Then, after a 10-minute wait on the tee box of the par 3 eighth hole, Jiménez’s tee shot found the deep rough short right of the green. His recovery flew to the back of the green, and he two-putted for double-bogey to end his march for history.
He finished his second round with an 8-under 64.
"It was incredible," said Kelly, who had a front row seat as one of Jiménez's playing partners. "After the third eagle, it was like, all right. Then next hole when he made birdie on 3, but then when he hit it way right on 4, stoppedshort of the hazard, knocked it up there, looked like it was going to bounce through into that swale and he stayed right up there, we're like, all right, this is definitely his time. This is his day. Then it just kind of stalled out from there. It was fun to watch. I can see how it's done now."
Kevin Sutherland shot the first and only 59 on the PGA Tour Champions, going 13-under in the second round at the 2014 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open. Sutherland shot a 28 on the front nine and 31 on the back – which incredibly included a bogey on his final hole.
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson addresses Tour-LIV deal
Zach Johnson was on hand for the American Family Insurance Championship’s annual celebrity foursome, along with Andy North, baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and Olympic legend Michael Phelps.
And, naturally, conversation turned to the news of the impending deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Johnson is still a member of the tour, but he is also serving as the United States captain for the Ryder Cup in Rome in the fall.
Johnson has six captain’s picks, and there has been a lot of debate over how – or if – he would select players who had resigned from the PGA Tour to play for PIF-backed LIV Golf. He will likely make those picks the first week of September in advance of the tournament in Italy, Sept. 29-Oct. 1.
“When it comes to the Ryder Cup, as to what's happened as of late, there's really no connection,” he said. “My situation as the captain has not and will not change. I have six picks. There's six earned berths. The guys that earn their way into the top six, however they do it, they're on the team, and then we'll formulate the rest of the 12 utilizing a number of different aspects. There's still a lot of golf left, a lot of points out. Given lately, it has no effect on what we're trying to do.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Steve Stricker embraces chance to win American Family Championship
