INCAgolf All you ever wanted to know about golf (well almost)

Jan. 10, 2012 |
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Imagine that you’re 44 years old, your left arm suddenly has no strength, and your livelihood depends on swinging a golf club.

It’s a scary thought. Steve Stricker didn’t know what was going on with his health last fall. All he knew was that his arm “didn’t feel like it really wanted to move.” There were no answers at that precise moment. Only questions — about his career, about his future, about perhaps whether he would even compete on a world-class level again on the PGA TOUR.

Even after he found out that the problem was between the C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck, there was no consensus on the treatment. One well-known doctor in his home state of Wisconsin recommended surgery. Stricker then talked to others. He got more information to make a decision. He opted to hold off on surgery. Instead, he would undergo physical therapy and get a couple of cortisone shots.

Stricker feels great now. “I want to emphasize that,” he said. And on Monday, he confirmed that the health of his game also is in excellent shape. His three-shot win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions was a study in patience, experience and determination to start the 2012 season off on the proper note and win on a Plantation Course that has tempted him in past visits.

“I was comfortable today,” Stricker said about the 12th win of his TOUR career that gives him 500 points and the early FedExCup lead. “That’s what I was really proud of.”

Monday certainly could’ve been a source of great discomfort for a lesser player. Just like the day before, Stricker’s five-shot lead was reduced to one stroke on the front nine, as the trio of Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and defending champ Jonathan Byrd took turns putting heat on Stricker.

After Stricker failed to birdie the par-5 fifth when he three-putted from 33 feet, then he bogeyed the sixth when he struggled to get out of a “gnarly little area” in front of the green, the world’s No. 6 player spent some time beating himself up.

http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r016/01/09/mcallister-stricker/index.html