Equipment
Steve Stricker signs one of the most unusual endorsement deals ever
Stacy Revere
Steve Stricker won the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday, and on Tuesday, added an endorsement deal with puttermaker Odyssey, which is one of the most unusual endorsement deals we've seen. There is no signage on the cap or shirt or anywhere, for that matter. The deal only applies to tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions, and it's only for the putter.
Fulfilling the obligation to have an Odyssey putter in play won’t be a hardship for Stricker, but it's not because he's using the latest and greatest model. The Ryder Cup captain changed to an Odyssey White Hot 2 putter at the 2006 Shell Houston Open, and he has used that putter almost exclusively since, save for a couple of brief stints where he tried something else. After he made the switch, Stricker went on to play the best golf of his career, winning nine of his 12 PGA Tour titles and finishing in the top 10 in earnings five times, including three finishes in the top five in money won. He also pocketed nearly $36 million in prize money on the PGA Tour during that span. Talk about a money club.
Stricker’s success has continued into his career as a senior, with the Wisconsinite winning a pair of majors this year (he also won the Regions Tradition, along with the U.S. Senior Open) both with his trusty Odyssey, which has a short gooseneck hosel and a distinct wear mark on the insert, in the bag.
Interestingly, Stricker’s most famous benching of the club came at the 2015 PGA Championship where he said of his Odyssey: "I've had a lot of great times and great memories with that putter. I've made a lot of nice putts with that thing.”
It appears he’s intending to make a few more memories with it.