MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Steve Stricker did it the hard way. After writing the USGA for a special exemption into next week’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills, and getting denied, Stricker shot 67-65 at the sectional qualifier at Ridgeway and Germantown Country Clubs on Monday to earn a spot in the 156-player field. “It might be the easy way,� said Stricker, whose 10-under-par total put him alone at the top when a storm halted play with a handful of players still out on the course. “Easier than trying to—yeah, well. It’s nice to be able to go there and play. I’m excited. I’m happy it all worked out.� Troy Merritt, Chez Reavie, Andres Romero and Trey Mullinax finished at 8 under par or better and looked likely to also qualify. Harris English was at 9 under through 16 holes. This will mark the first time the U.S. Open has come to Wisconsin, and Stricker, who lives in Edgerton, about an hour and 15 minutes’ drive from Erin Hills, was grinding to get in. He walked the course with the USGA’s Mike Davis, original owner Bob Lang and Erin Hills chairman Jim Reinhart when a Wisconsin U.S. Open was just a seedling of an idea. Stricker is also a five-time Wisconsin State Open champion who has represented the state throughout a long and distinguished PGA TOUR career that has seen him win 12 times. Still, he went from optimism to pessimism as he wrote the USGA for an exemption, which in the past has mostly been limited to Hall of Famers, plus then-amateur sensation Aaron Baddeley. “I think he just wanted to get in on his own at this point,� said Mario Tiziani, Stricker’s brother-in-law, agent, and occasional caddie. (Tiziani was on the bag in Memphis.) “A lot of people were lobbying for it, but he just wanted to get in on his own. He’s 84th in the world—they probably could have [let him in]—but he’s happy the way it went. “It was a quick no,� Tiziani added. “And, personally, I feel like that’s what the exemption is for, a guy that’s not in the top 60 but he’s super close. Being in Wisconsin and some of the other things that matter, I think it would’ve been a good thing to do, but they have other ideas and he made it on his own.� Stricker nearly holed out for eagle at the par-4 13th hole at Germantown late Monday, and his tap-in birdie got him to 10 under par and seemingly in command. Alas, after his tee shot wound up in a hole on 14, he was denied relief and, trying to do too much with his second shot, clipped a tree and hit his ball in the hazard. He salvaged a bogey after taking a drop and a penalty stroke. “It ended up being a great bogey,� Stricker said of his heart-stopping moment on 14. “It was one of those unfortunate breaks, really, to get into that hole. In hindsight, I probably should have just laid it up short of the hazard. I should have just taken my medicine.� A tap-in birdie at the par-5 18th hole gave him a 10-under-par total, which led the qualifier as some groups waited to finish. The Memphis sectional, one of 10 across the country and 12 worldwide, featured 108 players vying for nine spots. Stricker, 50, has played in 19 U.S. Opens, with his best a fifth-place finish in 1999. He voiced his displeasure at being denied an exemption, but Monday’s performance made it a moot point. A club member brought him and Tiziani two celebratory beers as they plopped down in the clubhouse grill just before the horn blew for the weather delay. “It gained some traction,� Stricker said. “It made its way around, people started tweeting, thinking that I should’ve been given a spot. It’s a big relief to get it behind me and be able to play. It was on my mind a lot. I mean that’s why I’ve been playing all these events, trying to get my world ranking up to try to get in there and play.� Stricker normally doesn’t play as many as four straight tournaments, but last week’s Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide, where he faded with a final-round 78, was his fourth in a row. He flew privately Sunday night to Memphis, not just for the sectional qualifier but also because he was scheduled to play in this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic, after which the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking will get into the field at Erin Hills. Now, though, he’s already in. And the FedEx St. Jude would be his fifth consecutive week of play, followed by next week’s U.S. Open (sixth) and the PGA TOUR Champions’ American Family Insurance Championship (seventh). So as not to play himself to exhaustion, Stricker said he may withdraw this week. “I’d hate to do that to them, and to the tournament,� Stricker said. “I’ll talk to a few people and see what the right thing to do is.� He also has one more conundrum, now that he’s a go for Erin Hills: How to distribute his allotment of tickets to friends and family. Stricker laughed at the mention of it. “That’s a nice problem to have,� he said.
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