Four! Steve Stricker on Another Deere Hunt

Steve Stricker (Allison)

AS THE SLOGAN GOES, NOTHING RUNS like a Deere. And nothing plays like a Stricker at the Deere. This weekend, Steve Stricker is bidding for his fourth straight victory at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

Winning the same event four consecutive times has already been done, but only by four golfers, all of them legends. Their names are Young Tom Morris, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Tiger Woods. Woods has done it twice, including at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Tiger’s advice to Stricker was more of a command. “Get it done,” Woods told his mild-mannered friend.

With a 65 on Thursday that left him four behind first-round leader Troy Matteson, Stricker was off to a good start with his annual title defense. Four under in his second round and 10 under for the tournament, he is currently three behind leader Matteson.

“I know it’s going to be hard, a big challenge,” Stricker said earlier in the week, “but I’ve got a lot of good vibes coming here.”

No arguing that.