Steve Stricker ended his record-setting U.S. Senior Open Championship performance at Notre Dame with an exclamation point Sunday, finishing -19 and obliterating the Warren Course record to capture the tournament title.
The tournament, which ran June 27-30, established Notre Dame as only the second university public course to host a United States Golf Association (USGA) championship.
“The USGA is proud to partner with the University of Notre Dame, an institution whose national and international student body is reflective of the 156-player field in the U.S. Senior Open Championship,” Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman, said in a USGA release from 2016. “The U.S. Senior Open is senior golf’s most coveted championship and we know the Warren Course will examine the players’ skills as they compete for the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy.”
Paul Browne, the University’s vice president for public affairs and communications, told Golf Weekly the local economic impact of the event totals about $20 million.
“As [University President] Fr. John [Jenkins] said, it’s all about the course,” Browne said in the article. “If we had a different course here, the event wouldn’t be here. It’s because we have a great course here, a beautifully designed course.”
Stricker, who has 27 professional wins in his career, finished six strokes above second place finishers David Toms (the defending champion) and Jerry Kelly, tying the record for highest margin of victory in a championship tournament.
The win is also Stricker’s second senior major championship in 2019, as he won the Regions Tradition in May. He is set to be a captain for the 2020 Ryder Cup.
After starting the tournament well Thursday, Stricker carried his momentum forward for the remainder of the weekend. After bogeying on the fifth hole on Thursday, the Wisconsin native recorded 57 bogey-free holes, not exceeding par again until the 10th hole Sunday. He had a championship record-tying two bogeys over the course of the tournament’s play.
Stricker broke three records and tied two amid his U.S. Senior Open Championship debut victory, recording the lowest 72-hole score (261), the lowest 36-hole score (126) and the lowest 54-hole score (192), while tying the largest margin of victory (six strokes) and the lowest 18-hole score (62). He is now just the eighth athlete to capture the U.S. Senior Open title in his debut attempt.
