Steve Stricker shot a final-round 69 at Warren Golf Course to secure a six-stroke victory over Jerry Kelly and David Toms at the 2019 U.S. Senior Open .
Stricker finished his final day in South Bend, Indiana with two birdies, one bogey and 15 pars en route to a 19-under par total.
It was the second major championship victory (Regions) of the season for the Wisconsin native – both six-stroke romps. He joins Jack Nicklaus (1991) and Jeff Maggert (2015) as the only players to win the Regions Tradition and the U.S. Senior Open in the same year.
For his first major USGA title, Stricker earned $720,000, and will move to No. 2 in the Schwab Cup standings.
“What a special week. I told you all week, I kind of came here with a little chip on my shoulder from not winning last week,” said Stricker, who lost to Kelly in a playoff last week in his hometown of Madison.
“I felt like I had something to prove, and I just played some really, really good golf the first three days.
“Today was a little bit shaky at times, but what a great week. Had Nicki on the bag. My kids were here. Our family friend was here. Just a special course, special setup.
“I never was able to win a USGA event in my career, whether it was in the amateur ranks or when I turned pro. Had some good U.S. Open finishes, but this is it. So it’s very special.
“Any time you can win a USGA event, I always held those to kind of the highest of tournaments that we play in, and it’s a great feeling to be able to hold that trophy and to be the Senior Open champion.”
Bob Estes (70) finished 10-under par, good for solo fourth place, two clear of Kirk Triplett (69), who rounded out the top-5 finishers in Indiana, with 8-under par.
Final Top-5 Leaders
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Steve Stricker -19 (-1)
2. Jerry Kelly -13 (-1)
2. David Toms -13 (-2)
4. Bob Estes -10 (E)
5. Kirk Triplett -8 (-1)
Stricker’s Winning Stats
Driving: 278.39 yards (18th)
Fairways: 45/56, 80.3% (23rd)
Greens: 54/72, 75.0% (1st)
Putts: 27.25 (7th)
Scores: 1 Eagle, 19 Birdies, 50 Pars, 2 Bogeys
Video: Stricker’s Final-Round Highlights
Quotable
“Special Moment”
“Yeah, it was a special moment. I told Jerry (Kelly), I said, it’s awkward, we’re friends, we go back to junior golf. I want to beat his brains in out there, and he wants to do the same thing to me. But at the end of it all, we’re friends. I respect him. I love him and his family. So it was hard, especially the last two days.
“But again, it provided me some motivation. He was the guy that won the tournament last week that I had the opportunity to win. And so, again, every time I looked at him, it provided me a little motivation to get it done.”
– Steve Stricker
