Steve Stricker Back Again for the U.S. Team As a Healthy and Wise Assistant Captain

One of the few to win a Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup as captain, the 55-year-old got through an offseason health scare and returns as an assistant to Davis Love III.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Steve Stricker knows the drill by now, having experienced every kind of high and low as it pertains to United States team Cup competitions.

He’s twice been a winning captain, both times the Americans cruising to victory, first at the 2017 Presidents Cup and then last year at the Ryder Cup.

Steve Stricker, pictured at the 2021 Ryder Cup, is one of three Americans to captain victorious Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams. The others are named Nicklaus and Palmer :: Kyle Terada/USA Today

He’s also experienced some difficult defeats as a player, none more profound than the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah, where Stricker went 0-4—three times losing with Tiger Woods as his partner—including the match-clinching point to Germany’s Martin Kaymer as the Europeans completed a remarkable final-day comeback.

Stricker is back at it again this week as an assistant to captain Davis Love III at the Presidents Cup. Given his experience and success, it’s fair to assume that he could be part of Zach Johnson’s vice captain group next year at the Ryder Cup in Italy.

But it’s fair to say that Stricker is simply happy to be here, feeling good, playing excellent golf again, and prepared to offer his expertise as the U.S. seeks to win another Presidents Cup.

That’s because there were some scary times for Stricker, who fell ill after last year’s Ryder Cup, was hospitalized for two weeks, lost more than 25 pounds, and is still unsure what really happened.

“I was pretty bad for a while. I'm out of that, thankfully. Still don't know what it was to this day. Yeah, it's been a journey for sure,’’ Stricker said Wednesday at Quail Hollow Golf Club, where the Presidents Cup begins Thursday.

“This year has been a progression trying to, first of all, get my health back and then really just trying to get my game back and trying to work towards getting stronger. I'm finally feeling like I'm 100 percent. I'm starting to get some speed back, starting to hit a little bit further again really the last month.’’

Stricker, 55, won in playoff on Sunday at the Sanford International event in South Dakota on the Champions Tour, his third victory since returning to action in April.

His on-course success isn’t surprising given his overall talents— Stricker won 12 times on the PGA Tour and now 10 on the Champions Tour—but in light of his health scare, it’s been quite the return.

After playing in one Champions Tour event following the United States 19-9 victory over Europe last year at the Ryder Cup, Stricker was hit by a strange illness that saw him hospitalized for two weeks in November. Later diagnosed as pericarditis and an irregular heartbeat, Stricker dealt with inflammation of the heart, had an issue with his liver and lost all that weight.

“I was going downhill, and we didn’t know why,’’ Stricker said earlier this year when he won the Regions Tradition for his fifth senior major title. “My liver was in trouble. I turned yellow. I had jaundice. My lips puffed up, my tongue puffed up. My face was like an allergic reaction.’’

Stricker returned to golf after several months of trying to regain his health and strength—which he only now says has gotten back to previous levels—and won in his third start back.

All the while, his duties as an assistant captain were in the back of his mind. Given the current structure of USA golf, former captains serve as assistants on subsequent teams as a way for there to be a common theme and consistency from one year to the next.

Stricker knows that all too well. He’s basically been part of every U.S. team as an assistant or captain since playing his last Presidents Cup in 2013. And he’s learned along the way.

“I feel like we have this unique opportunity to take advantage of each of these Cups,’’ Stricker said. “Zach is here this week to see what we're going to do, see what kind of pairings come out of this week that he may be able to use next year. So we have this ability to use each of these Cup teams for the next year's team to produce these pairings.

“I feel like it's the same each and every year. We've gotten to that point. That's why you're seeing better team results from USA golf because it's gotten more consistent from team to team."

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