The Man to Beat

With a steely finish at TPC Boston, Steve Stricker overtakes a handful of contenders and heads to Chicago with the FedEx Cup lead

Labor day: During a final round in which eight players held a share of the lead, Stricker shot a hard-working 67 to take a 909-point lead in the FedEx Cup standings.

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By John Hawkins

Photos by Darren Carroll

September 14, 2009

Four days of perfect weather never hurt any golf tournament, but in the solar plexus of New England, where autumn arrives early and leaves too soon, 76 is far more likable as a game-time temperature than an 18-hole score at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Last week's visit to Massachusetts yielded more of what has made this tournament such a success in its seven years.

Big crowds, a great atmosphere, a ton of low scores and, dare it be said, serious FedEx Cup playoff implications, if FedEx Cup playoff implications are to be taken seriously. About the only thing missing from the previous DBCs was a mad scramble to the finish line, which takes us to Steve Stricker, the most dependable horse in the bunch.

"Instead of waiting to see what's going to happen, he's making it happen, and that can mean everything out here," said veteran caddie Jimmy Johnson, who has witnessed a dramatic competitive makeover since picking up Stricker's bag in the summer of 2008. After throwing away the Bob Hope Classic at the start of this season, Stricker bogeyed the 72nd hole four weeks later at Riviera, allowing Phil Mickelson to win the Northern Trust Open by a stroke.

Those losses occurred three victories ago, and in those 6½ months a man regarded as one of the game's best putters and wedge players has discovered the hardened emotional mindset required of all who aspire to big things on the PGA Tour. At this point it's fair to say Stricker's year is getting bigger by the week.

His one-stroke triumph Monday evening at TPC Boston vaulted him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings, where he leads Tiger Woods by 909 points. If that margin sounds like a lot, it really isn't, especially when you consider the identity of the man in second place. "We all know who the guy is out here," Stricker said. "I'm just happy to be in the position to do something special for myself. Tiger has done a lot of other special things. Maybe he'll let somebody else do something special."

If somebody else came up with a line like that, every fellow tour pro would whip out a can of industrial-strength phony repellant and sanitize the room. Stricker, however, is a true gentleman—almost a caricature of the humble, soft-spoken kid from the Midwest whose first instinct is to back away from attention, his second instinct to deflect it.

That disposition might make him popular among his colleagues, but it didn't make it any easier for Stricker to transform himself into a cold-blooded executioner on Sunday—or Monday—afternoons. Finding a balance between who he is and how he needs to be has always been one of his toughest hurdles. "When I didn't win at the Hope, then again in L.A., I was starting to … you get doubts," he said. "I was doubting whether I had the ability to win again."

He broke through at the Crowne Plaza Invitational with a little bit of luck—a series of bad breaks felled Tim Clark, who lost on the second playoff hole. When Stricker got in the hunt again two months later at the John Deere Classic, Johnson discovered a guy unwilling to settle for anything less than another victory. "You could see the difference in his mentality," Johnson recalled. "He took a confidence into that final day, and he hasn't lost it since."

Stricker put it to good use down the stretch Monday. No less than five others had a good chance to win this tournament—all five missed eagle or birdie putts from between 15 and 30 feet at the par-5 18th. Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank were in the house at 16 under, leaving Stricker, who trailed by one on the 17th tee, with a very clear understanding of what he needed to do.

He hit two perfect shots at the 17th, then holed a 14-footer for birdie. After a solid drive to the left half of the fairway, Stricker had 238 yards into the 18th. His 3-wood trickled through the center of the green, where he faced a relatively basic chip from light rough, which he parked two feet from the hole. Ballgame.