For the first two rounds of the 2009 Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial Steve Stricker was on cruise control, posting back to back 63’s for a 36 hole tournament record of 14 under par. But as hard as it is to follow up a great round of golf with another great round, it is even more difficult to follow up 2 great rounds with a third. Beginning the 3rd round of the golf tournament with a 1 stroke lead over Tim Clark and a 7 stroke lead over Steve Marino, Stricker found the scoring to be a little more difficult than it was on the first 2 days. He was only able to shoot a 1 under par 69, while Clark took a 2 stroke lead with a 4 under par 66. Marino came from out of nowhere to get in contention with an 8 under par 62 to move into a tie for second with Stricker.
In the final round, after a lot of shuffling back and forth, it came down to Stricker chipping in on No. 17 for a birdie and Clark hitting his tee shot into the trees on No. 18 and eventually making a bogey to force a 3-way playoff. Marino played the most consistent golf of the three, making pars on his last 12 holes on his way to a 2 under par 68, allowing him to be a part of the playoff with Stricker and Clark.
After Marino and Stricker both failed to make their birdie putts on the first playoff hole, it was Clark’s tournament to win with a 7 foot birdie putt of his own. When he pulled the putt, missing it left, all three players went to the second playoff hole. On the second playoff hole, Marino hit his tee shot in the trees left of the fairway and more or less took himself out of contention. Stricker hit his approach to approximately 3 feet putting the pressure on Clark. Clark took dead aim at the flagstick, but unfortunately he was too accurate. His golf ball hit the flagstick and spun back leaving him a putt of about 20 feet. When Clark wasn’t able to make the 20 footer, all Stricker needed to do was make his 3 footer for the birdie and the win, which he did.
Although he struggled at times during the final round, Stricker was able to hold things together well enough to give himself a chance for a victory. He pulled of the shots when he really needed to, but even Steve will tell you, he was fortunate that Clark struggled at the end of regulation or he wouldn’t have had a chance to even be in a playoff. But, the bottom line is, Stricker did made it into the playoff and he made the most of the opportunity.