Steve Stricker Q&A: The PLAYERS, Ryder Cup, and the life-saving Galleri Test

Steve Stricker, a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour, will make his 23rd start this week at The Players Championship. He last played at TPC Sawgrass in 2021, when he missed the cut after posting a 5-over 77 in the second round.

But Stricker hopes to improve on that performance this week.

He’s in the field at TPC Sawgrass thanks to winning the PGA Tour Champions’ Kaulig Companies Championship (formerly the Senior Players Championship) a season ago.

The Wisconsin native has one more win in 2023 and is off to a good start in 2024 so far.

So we sat down with Stricker to talk about TPC Sawgrass, the PGA Tour Champions, his Ryder Cup success, and more.

(Please note that this conversation has been slightly edited and modified for clarity and readability)

Steve Stricker and the Players Championship

Playthrough: Where does The PLAYERS Championship rank on your list of favorite tournaments?

Steve Stricker: Look, it’s right there. This is one of the tournaments I would like to hold in March.

You want to be ready for the game, but sometimes you can over-prepare and get your own way. And it’s one of those tournaments that you want to play really well and get into.

It is also a truly iconic golf course. You know, 16, 17, 18, really, but obviously the 17th draws everyone in. Everyone likes to see it, even me. I sit there and watch. It’s like waiting for a train wreck to happen, right?

You just watched transfixed. So it’s a lot of fun and I’m excited to finally get back out there.

PT: I was looking at your results there, and your best result was a tie for 6th in 1999. He struggled there, missing the cut nine times and finishing in the top 20 only five times in 22 starts. Is there anything about TPC Sawgrass that confuses you?

Stricker: There’s not a lot of great records out there. We really didn’t have a chance to win, and I don’t know why that happened. I don’t know if it’s because of the number of troubles that are happening around the golf course, or whether it’s because of future disasters, but we have to be prepared for that.

I’m going back to the course I grew up playing as a kid in Wisconsin. I’ve never played in a place with a lot of water or danger. So I go to his TPC sawgrass and it’s like, oops, you have to walk away from it, but then sometimes walking away from it can lead to more trouble.

Over the years, I’ve gotten used to some parts of the golf course, but it’s still a challenge.

PT: Same as before ryder cup Captain, what did you think of Rome last fall?

Steve Stricker: That’s unfortunate. I was there watching it all unfold, and yeah, it was disappointing. I have some ideas about what happens here compared to overseas. Especially in this Ryder Cup, I think the time off between the last tournament and the actual Ryder Cup played a big role for the players. Our players weren’t that sharp.

It showed when the competition started, but in the team room, the members of these teams get along very well and have a lot of fun with each other, so it’s a shame that they are not working abroad.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Stricker’s huge success as PGA Tour Champion

PT: Last year was a great year with six wins and 15 top-10 finishes. What are the reasons behind your success on the PGA Tour Champions?

Stricker: I think it’s because I decided to play full time. We played 16 times, almost a full schedule. I was going to play some more at the end, but my dad was having a bit of a hard time.

But yeah, I think just playing a full schedule. That was the first year I played a lot of events on the PGA Tour Champions and I gave it my all.

I hadn’t played anything on the PGA Tour, but I challenged myself to see how many matches I could actually play and win.

PT: How different is the atmosphere at the PGA Tour Champions from the PGA Tour?

Stricker: That’s a lot. You could go to an event on Wednesday and hit a few balls on Wednesday.

Play the Pro-Am on Thursday and you’ll be in the tournament right away. It’s pretty casual. Everyone is still trying, don’t get me wrong. And so am I.

We are still very competitive and want to play well. There are players who are still working hard and fighting hard to win. That’s the great thing about it, it still means a lot to everyone around the world, and they’re still trying to do their best.

Photo by Chris Condon/PGA Tour via Getty Images

PT: I’ve admired your putting for a long time. If I had any advice for amateur golfers who are struggling with their putting, it would probably be the Scotty Scheffler Shuffler. He’s obviously been struggling with his putting for about a year now. What advice would you give to someone struggling on the green?

Stricker: That’s good. Because it’s moving in so many different directions these days.

These days, most of the time you need to have the equipment first. There are lots of different opportunities. Perhaps facial balance is good for you. Or maybe it’s better to rotate more.

That needs to be addressed.

There are now useful grips, such as oversized grips. They seem to be quite popular. I had a hard time with them, but many people like them. But there are lots of different ways to get a different feel in your hands.

If that doesn’t work, you obviously need to check the mechanics, and you should always check that as well.

But I think the reason I’ve been consistent over the years is because I haven’t changed my approach to putting on shots at all in 40 years.

PT: Wow.

Stricker: Well, I can look back to the early 1990s when I first played on the PGA Tour and the late 1980s when I was playing college golf…my principles are the same. It really hasn’t changed.

I feel like the simple approach I took has worked, and I continue to do the same thing I did 40 years ago, year after year.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

PT: What do you think about guys like Will Zalatoris and Lucas Glover, who frankly suffered from the yips but had a bit of a discovery with their long putters?

Stricker: I think that’s obviously great for them.

I don’t really like that they can get the longest club putter in the bag. I think there should be a size limit for most putters. But it’s going to hurt some players and that’s not what I want to say.

I think it’s great that they were able to find their putting game again and play well. Will and Lucas are both great people and great people. I’m so glad they were able to do that.

It certainly made a big difference.

PT: Gallery Classic will be held at Mission Hills through the end of the month. You played well there last year, tying for 5th place. How excited are you to be back there? Do you think you can win this time?

Stricker: I hope so! But as I’ve said to others before, I’m a big fan of the LPGA. I watch a lot of LPGA events and they’ve had a legendary history with the women at Mission Hills. For us to be there, we want to take a dip in the poppy pond like the women have done for years in the first major of the season.

Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

I don’t know if David Thoms would have jumped in there, but I have a girl, so I think they were going to push me or jump in if I won.

Stricker on the importance of the Garelli test, Garelli Classic.

PT: Speaking of Galleri Classic, its name is GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, Has anyone in your family or someone close to you been affected by this terrible disease? Perhaps these things inspired you to join his GRAIL and helped raise awareness about this test.

Stricker: We’re early in this relationship, but we’re excited about what they’re going to do with these cancer screenings. Especially now that we’ve reached a certain population and age where people should be more wary of cancer and get tested.

I lost my college roommate, Kevin Fairfield, 20 years ago. He was in his early 30s and had a rare type of cancer in his stomach. He has been thinking about it ever since, even now in his 50s. Luckily, no one in our family has had cancer, but we definitely have friends and friends of friends.

As I’ve been hearing about this blood test, I think it’s a great opportunity for us to spread the word about this blood test.

It’s a simple blood test, right?

You can see a doctor and get a prescription, and it’s for people over the age of 50, and like I said, it’s a great opportunity for that demographic.

I plan to take it on Tuesday before the competition. I’m looking forward to it and feel it’s important to be proactive about my health. So if I can learn something sooner rather than later, of course I will.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.