Top 20 Golfers for 2012 Majors: No. 9 Steve Stricker

No. 9: Steve Stricker

Born: Feb. 23, 1967, Edgerton, Wis.  | Career PGA Tour Wins: 12 | 2011 Wins (Worldwide): 2 | 2011 Earnings (PGA Tour): $3,992,785 | World Ranking: 5

Brandel Chamblee's Take:

At 45 years old, Steve Stricker is doing what few golfers have ever done: He is showing no signs of waning interest or skills as he ages. In 2011, for the third consecutive year, he won multiple tournaments on the PGA Tour and increased his career win total to 11, a number that has since grown. He also had a very good year in the majors, making the cut in all four; only one player, Charles Schwartzel, had a lower cumulative score (Stricker was tied with Sergio Garcia). For the second consecutive year Steve didn’t miss a PGA Tour cut, and as of this writing, his current streak of 46 events without missing a cut is the longest on Tour. 
Like Luke Donald, though, he is a relatively short hitter who doesn’t drive the ball as straight as he should given his lack of distance. Not once in his career has he hit 70 percent of the fairways in a year, and that is why he hasn’t had a top-5 finish in a major since 1999.

Major Championship Résumé
Starts: 53
Wins: 0

2011 Performance:
Masters - T11
U.S. Open - T19
British Open - T12
PGA Championship - T12

Best Career Finishes: 
Masters - T6 (2009)
U.S. Open - 5/T5 (1998-99)
British Open - T7 (2008)
PGA Championship - 2 (1998)
Top-10 Finishes: 9
Top-25 Finishes: 22
Missed Cuts: 14

—Brandel Chamblee is lead analyst for the Golf Channel. Be sure to follow him @ChambleeBrandel on Twitter.