Steve Stricker has just gotten better. He didn’t play at all this weekend.
Stricker, who has a commanding advantage in the points race for the entire season, benefited from the underperformance of his closest competitors to win the Charles Schwab Cup after only two races.
Harrison Frazar won the first of three events for the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs in Virginia in a one hole playoff. Stricker chose to rest the week and did not play. Stricker’s dominance in the points race meant that he was in a position to skip the three playoff stops while still winning the Charles Schwab Cup in 2023.
In the PGA Tour Champions’ post-season, 72 players qualified but only six were mathematically eligible to win the points race. None of these players made a serious push in Stricker’s absence. Ernie Els and Stephen Ames tied at 20th place; Steven Alker, Bernhard Langer and David Toms all tied at 25th.
Stricker verbally confirmed his attendance at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, which will be held at Phoenix Country Club from Nov. 9-12.
The next tournament will be held Nov. 3 – 5, at the TimberTech Championship. Stricker said that he would “probably” not play this one.
Only the 36 top-ranked players in points are eligible for the 72-hole finale in Phoenix. Stricker will be the first player on the Champions Tour to reach $4 million in a single season if he can bank at least $14,000. He is currently at $3,986,063. Alker comes in second with just over $2 million.
Stricker’s early clinch on the PGA Tour Champions is not the first. Hale Irwin won in 2002 after the 32nd event of 35. Bernhard Langer won the 2014 season after the second to last event.
