STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin — Steve Stricker has come full circle.
Nearly four decades after winning the WIAA state golf tournament, the Edgerton native makes his long-awaited return to SentryWorld Golf Course. But this time to win his second U.S. Senior Open title.
“It’s great to be able to hop in your car, drive up the road to compete here at a place that I won at 39 years ago. It’s pretty crazy that all this time has flown by. It’s a special spot,” Stricker, now of Madison, said Tuesday. “This is one of the first golf courses in Wisconsin, like the new-design kind of course that we were able to play as junior golfers.
“It’s pretty special to be able to come back here full circle. To play a Champions Tour major out here is pretty neat.”
Since his arrival in Stevens Point on Monday, the 56-year-old said a few memories have returned from his first-place performance in 1984.
“I remember the flowers (on the 16th hole). That’s what I remember. I remember shooting 76 and 76. Now that’s not going to get it done this week here,” Stricker said. “I remember my family and friends obviously being here. (But) beyond that and the couple scores that I shot, that’s about it.”
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Rough and fairways will be ‘legitimate test’ for golfers
Hosting a U.S. Golf Association championship is not new for SentryWorld, as the course most recently held the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 2019.
But this week’s 43rd installment of the senior major will be the biggest-profile event on the 7,177-yard course in its 42-year history. In addition, it is the first major championship to be held in central Wisconsin.
The course, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones, went through the largest round of renovations in its history in 2021. It has been closed since late September, as fine-tuning was done to prepare for this week.
“It’s in great shape,” Stricker said. “Looking forward to the start of it.”
Much talk leading into this week has been about the length of the roughs and the need to drive the ball accurately.
“Depending on how they set it up, it’s a legitimate test. It’s going to be a challenge,” Stricker said. “Unless they’ve mowed (the rough) here the last couple days, it’s very thick. It’s very penal. If you’re going to be playing out of the rough, it’s going to be…
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