Steve Stricker recorded a 5-under-par 31-36=67 in his opening round of THE PLAYERS, finishing four strokes off the clubhouse lead.
This is just his sixth start of the season but he arrived ranked 14th in FedExCup points. He split 10 (of 14) fairways and hit 15 greens in regulation today en route to six birdies to erase one bogey. His most impressive par breakers measured 15'5" at the difficult par-4 14th hole and 29'11" at the treacherous par-3 17th.

Steve Stricker is set for his sixth start of 2013 at this week's PLAYERS.
Despite it's seeming fit, TPC Sawgrass hasn't been overly kind to Stricker. His best finish was T6 in 1999, and he's missed just as many cuts as he's made in 16 tries. He's playing excellent golf on a limited schedule in 2013, but it may be asking too much for him to overcome both rust and less than stellar course history this week.

Steve Stricker settled for a 1-under-par 36-35=71 in the third round of the Masters to inch up the leaderboard to 2-under 214.
Stricker was one of the hottest men on the course when he stepped on the 18th tee, having birded three of his previous six holes, but a three-putt double bogey will leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth over dinner tonight. Chasing his first major, he will have his work cut out for him in Sunday's finale if he is to do the green jacket.

Steve Stricker looks to secure his first major championship victory at the Masters.
Stricker has been to Augusta National 12 times, but has done no better than a T6 in 2009. He last played in the Shell Houston Open two weeks ago, snapping a streak of top-five finishes to start the year with his T38. Having made the cut in each of his last four Masters, expect him to be in the picture headed into the weekend.

Steve Stricker finished off his week at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship with a 4-under-par 34-34=68 to post a 17-under 271.
Perhaps the biggest headlines surrounding Stricker this week was his work on the putting green with Tiger Woods before the tournament. With Woods in control of the tournament and Stricker alone in second, it could have been that tip that cost Stricker the victory. Playing an abbreviated schedule, he has now finished inside the top five in each of his three starts, including two runner-ups. We will not see him at the Copperhead Course for the Tampa Bay Championship.

Steve Stricker kept himself in the conversation at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship with a 3-under-par 34-35=69 in the third round, moving to 13-under 203.
Stricker circled five birdies to just two bogeys in a round where he was paired with Phil Mickelson for the third time this week. With three of his birdies on par 5s, one on a reachable par 4 and the other on a fairly short par 4, he let the course come to him. That's what we've come to expect from him over the years. He will have a chance for at least a top-five finish and potentially a win in Sunday's final round.

Steve Stricker chased his opening 33-34=67 at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship with another in his second round.
He hit 14 greens in regulation and carded six birdies in today's loop of TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral. His most notable conversions measured 13'2" and 26'3" at the 16th and sixth holes, respectively. He also suffered his first (and only) bogey of the week at the par-4 second hole, but still posted 10-under 134 to sit one stroke off the 36-hole clubhouse lead.

Steve Stricker crafted a bogey-free, 5-under-par 33-34=67 in his opening round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
He go up and down all five times after missing greens in regulation but Stricker also circled five birdies to finish one stroke off the overnight lead. Four of his birdies dropped in from outside 11 feet, the most notable a 16-yard hole-out from the rough at the par-4 fifth hole.

Steve Stricker took it deep in the third round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship to best Scott Piercy 1-up in a Snead Bracket shootout that neither man deserved to drop.
Stricker torched Dove Mountain for eight birdies, which was one more than his partner in a match that totaled 15 circles and zero bogeys. At no point did the match go any further than 1 up in either direction. Stricker stepped on the eighth tee, his 17th hole, trailing by a hole, but birdies on each of his last two holes including a 31-foot bomb on the ninth ended things in dramatic fashion. He now moves on to take on Ian Poulter in the quarterfinals later this afternoon.

Steve Stricker disposed of Nick Watney in 21 holes in the Snead Bracket in their second-round match at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.
Say this for Stricker, he's his own man. Taking a page from Bruce Lietzke's I'll-play-when-I-want model, a seriously limited schedule hasn't prevented Stricker from success. If anything, it's extended his career as he prepares to celebrate his 46th birthday on Saturday with a third-round match against red-hot Scott Piercy. Getting there wasn't easy today, however, as Watney would eventually concede the third hole of sudden death. Watney never led but Stricker held 2-up leads at two different points of the match. Stricker missed a short birdie try at the par-5 second hole -- the 20th of the match -- that would have ended it one hole early.

Steve Stricker coasted to a 6-and-4 victory over Henrik Stenson in the Snead Bracket in their opening match of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.
In short, Stenson just didn't have it. He lost the first three holes on bogeys and won only one hole, that with a 4 at the fourth hole. He completed 14 holes in 4-over-par to Stricker's pedestrian 1-under. Stricker advances to face Nick Watney on Friday. While we relayed to you on Wednesday that Stricker is healthy again, he also revealed in his Tuesday presser that he will not be competing in the FedExCup Playoffs this season. "Right now the plan is not to play any of the FedExCup at all and just shut it down right after the PGA," he said. "Probably won't play any of the fall events, either, so I'll be at home a lot, maybe play a couple times in December to get ready for the early part of next year."

True to his word, Steve Stricker returns to action for the first time since his runner-up finish at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions to take on all challengers at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.
Stricker will duke it out with Henrik Stenson in the opening round, with Stricker the fourth seed in the Snead Bracket. Since the WGC-AMPC found a home at Dove Mountain in 2009, he has posted a record of three wins and four losses, with his trip to the round of 16 last year his best effort. Given his poor effort at the 2012 Ryder Cup, expect him to be out for some revenge against his Swedish foe.

Steve Stricker landed every green in regulation in the final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions en route to a bogey-free 4-under-par 33-36=69 runner-up effort.
Stricker closed the gap on eventual champion Dustin Johnson on several occasions, but DJ just kept making birdies and a clutch chip-in eagle to erase any doubt that he was this year's king of Kapalua. Stricker finished two clear of Brandt Snedeker at 12-under 207. He ranked inside the top 10 in driving accuracy, GIR and strokes gained putting on the Plantation Course. Expect to next see him at the WGC-Accenture Match Play.

Steve Stricker finds himself in the final group of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions following a 6-under-par 33-35=67 in the second round despite struggling to make his way around the hills of the Plantation Course.
He sits alone in second at 8-under 138, three behind Dustin Johnson. Starting on the back nine he bogeyed his first hole, but bounced back to record three birdies in a row starting on the par-4 13th. He became a factor in the tournament with his 63-yard eagle hole-out on the par-5 18th. He was flawless on the front nine to end the day, circling two birdies. One would assume he will take great care to prepare his body for one final lap around Kapalua in what he hopes will result in a second win in as many years.

Steve Stricker is mounting a worthy defense of his Hyundai Tournament of Champions title with a 2-under-par 34-37=71 in the first round.
Stricker trails Mark Wilson and Dustin Johnson by two storkes, but missed several short putts that would have meant the lead. Among them was a 2'3" birdie effort on the par-4 fourth and a par attempt from 3'8" on the 15th. He enters the second round in prime position to continue his success on the Plantation Course that already includes a win and a runner-up.

Barely an hour into the first round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions play has once again been suspended at 12:20 p.m. local time.
The defending champion, Steve Stricker, was stranded on the first tee when play was halted. As this is the latest of many delays, we will keep you posted if and when play will resume. During the NBC telecast, Ben Curtis watched his ball blow off the 11th green just before attempting a birdie putt, eventually leading to a triple bogey. Numerous players were losing their hats, and others like Matt Kuchar had given up on wearing them all together.