Overdue Diligence

"When you leave the club behind you, that's choking," Tiziani recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "That's a sign there's a bit of yellow in there. Steve had to get in a position where he could be aggressive." Swing analysis usually doesn't include a couple of haymakers, but Tiziani isn't the type to compromise his feelings. His directness comes with a purpose -- one senses he sees the need to continue strengthening Stricker's mental and emotional durability in addition to his form over the golf ball.

Stricker, meanwhile, saw his problems coming from his backswing, not the move down. His vertical takeaway led to the clubhead "crossing the line" at the top, and from there, even with his spectacular hand-eye coordination, there were too many on-the-fly adjustments to make him a consistent ball-striker. During numerous interviews in which he addressed his struggles, he makes no mention of getting stuck.

"He doesn't want to talk about it," Tiziani counters. "He doesn't ever want to have that [negative] feeling again. If he doesn't talk about it, then it won't enter his mind. He's a process guy. You watch how he puts on his socks and ties his shoes, how he lines up all his clubs in a room. He's very anal."

To go any further would misrepresent the relationship and suggest that Stricker's revival has been anything but a roaring success. His ball-striking numbers across the board have undergone a complete facelift, and his scoring average has dropped a whopping 1.74 strokes per round since 2005. His swing remains upright but is much more economical at the top, which explains his newfound precision with short irons: Stricker led the '07 tour in proximity to the hole from 50-125 yards and was T-5 from 125-150 yards.

Few career makeovers have been more impressive, but there is work to be done, the reward for success only qualifying the need for more. Stricker will still have plenty of time to enjoy the Wisconsin autumn after the Presidents Cup. Once Thanksgiving ends, however, it's back to the trailer at Cherokee. "People are wondering when his streak is going to stop," Kelly says, "Maybe it's not going to stop."

Nor is it ever too late to start. "We realized he needed to not have a dependency on anyone for him to get better," Tiziani says. "To do that, he had to have a better grasp of the fundamentals. He'll have it forever now. This isn't something that's going to go away."