This past weekend's Memorial had some interesting story lines. Steve Stricker pulled out the victory, the 10th of his career, after a long weather delay on Sunday. He had a four shot lead half way through the final round, but ended up winning by one shot. Perhaps the best part of winning this event, other than the $1.1 million check, is being congratulated by golf's greatest player ever, Jack Nicklaus.
Yeah, you've seen so many guys do that over the years, the winners coming off the green and getting greeted by Mr. Nicklaus. And you always think one day that could be you. And it turned out it was me this year. It's a great thrill. It's a dream come true. It's a great place to win. The field is great. The course is one of our toughest tests, better courses that we play throughout the year. The whole tournament itself is top-notch, from the way they treat you, the whole nine yards. So it's a pretty special feeling getting greeted by him walking off that last green." ~Steve Stricker on being greeted by Jack Nicklaus after winning the Memorial.
Three kinds of eagles?
Stricker's eagle trifecta was something amazing to say the least. The first eagle was the best kind, an ace on the par-3 8th hole in the 2nd round. The ace combined with four birdies on the front nine for a stellar 30.
Eagle #2 came in round three when Stricker knocked his 2nd shot in the 455 yard 2nd hole, a par-4.
Eagle #3 happened just three holes later on the par-5 fifth hole.
Stricker doesn't typically make a lot of eagles, and a combination like this one has only been done on tour 13 times.
Top Ranked American
With the victory naturally comes a boost in FedEx Cup points. Stricker is now up to #11.
But perhaps the most interesting move following this win, is Stricker's move up in the official world golf rankings. The Memorial win moves Steve Stricker up to #4 in the world, leap frogging (pun intended) Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson.
"I feel good about where I'm at. I feel good about what I've done here this week. It's a good feather in my cap heading into the U.S. Open, and I've got next week off and looking forward to a couple days of rest and getting back at it, getting ready for the Open." ~Steve Stricker on moving up to #4 in the world rankings
