Rookie Streelman has little to lose, everything to gain
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
PARAMUS, N.J. -- He's a rookie with a grin as wide as the Empire State Building is high.
A kid who shared the first-round lead at the U.S. Open a few months ago; a former Hooters and Gateway Tour guy who stepped into the spotlight -- well, sort of -- with Tiger Woods in the third round of the Buick Invitational back in January. He shot 75. Tiger threw out a 66 on his way to tying Arnold Palmer on the all-time PGA TOUR win list.
His power color is blue. Duke Blue. His grandparents are buried in George Washington Cemetery adjacent to the seventh hole at Ridgewood Country Club. His uncle was a member at Ridgewood for a number of years, but retired to Carmel -- as in California, not Indiana. Random people keep coming up to his parents -- Mary Lou and Dennis -- at the course and telling them stories about his grandfather Happy Streelman, better known as "Hap."
His gallery is filled with Wall Street types who are here to support their old fraternity brother. And he takes a moment before and after every round to kiss his wife and mom and hug his dad.
Meet Kevin Streelman, a most surprising third-round leader at The Barclays. After all, the only other lead he held was after an opening 68 at Torrey Pines -- you had to think about that one a few paragraphs ago, didn't you? -- and we all know what happened there.
The good news here at the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup? Streelman has nothing to lose going into the final 18. He's the player least expected to hold the trophy from Tiffany's come Sunday night, but the man with, perhaps, the most to gain.
Right now, you can't remember the color of his hair -- it's brown. All everyone sees are the familiar A-list names sitting there behind him -- Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir and Paul Casey, who are one shot back -- and the two who disappeared. Second-round leader Steve Stricker imploded on the back nine to shoot 77 -- that included a lost-ball triple bogey at the 12th -- and first-round-leader-with-a-62 Hunter Mahan, who started the day in second place and shot 74.
While those guys talk about moving on to the playoff events down the road or making Ryder Cup teams, Streelman -- No. 102 on the FedExCup points list coming in -- is using words like "cool" and "special" to describe what it feels like to be somewhere that no one -- but perhaps those related to him -- thought he would be.
"It will be a fun day for me,'' Streelman said. "I'm interested to see how I kind of react to it, and that's what I've been working for my whole life. This has been a culmination of many, many hours and years of hard work, and a lot of miles traveled around many tours around the whole country and even [the] world.
"Like I said, hopefully it's just the beginning of many years of this, but for many it's kind of my first as of right now, clubhouse lead going into Sunday, and if it goes well, great, and if not, I'm going to try and learn as much like I did the day with Tiger and try to get better tomorrow evening than I am right now.''
You're forgiven for leaving Streelman off your short list, even if you just made it. His best finish this year came at last week's Wyndham Championship, when he tied for sixth. And when you juxtapose that with, say, three-time major winner Singh, who threw out a 66 and headed straight for the driving range because, as we all know, his work is never done . . . well, it doesn't look good for the kid with roots in nearby Glen Rock.
If not Singh, what about Sergio, who came thisclose to a major -- again -- last month at the PGA Championship. Or Casey, who is throwing all he has at becoming one of Nick Faldo's Ryder Cup picks. Or Weir, the former Masters champ, who's got the scruffy beard look going, has come from behind in seven of his eight career victories, and is trying to win for the first time this year. Or Robert Allenby, who whose third-round 66 could have easily been a 63 or 62.
Or most any of the other 21 players who are within four shots of him or the 28 within five shots.
And, as Garcia said, it's all about putting yourself out there; giving yourself a chance. No matter who you are.
"Obviously you are probably going to lose more than you're going to win throughout your career if your name is not Tiger Woods,'' said Garcia, who won THE PLAYERS in May. "But it's all about that, you know. He does that better than anybody else. He's up there pretty much week in, week out, and that's what we all work for, hoping the more chances we give to ourselves, the greater the percentage we have of winning.''
As for the tournament within the tournament? Stricker admits he's thinking about it 24/7, and it's not far from Mahan's mind either. Or Brandt Snedeker's.
Streelman hasn't been a blip on Paul Azinger's Ryder Cup radar. And he likely won't be unless he wins and follows it up with something strong next week.
It's, perhaps, fitting that Streelman is the leader of this first Playoffs event. He slid in at No. 102, and he's facing a lineup of competition as volatile as the Playoffs themselves. One minute you're cruising toward the next field, the following you're scrambling to stay in the top 70.
Same here. Stricker has a four-shot lead at the turn, the next, he's trailing by four. And all those players who thought they would have to go catch him? They're suddenly back in the game and breathing down Streelman's neck.
So, someone asked, what did you learn from that afternoon when he played with Tiger at the Buick Invitational?
"That day with Tiger was the greatest preparation I ever could have managed,'' he said. "I know it will be crazy tomorrow, but I guarantee you it won't be quite as big as that day in San Diego with Tiger, which was amazing. It will be great preparation for me and if it works out tomorrow, great. And if not, I'll try to get myself in this position as many more times as possible.''
As for this Sunday's final round? It has as many permutations as the FedExCup system. Could a player be better off making the first two cuts or missing one and finishing fourth in the other? Could you come up big here and not make it into the third event?
Could Streelman, who has four mini-tour wins to his credit, hang on and shock everyone? Could Stricker come back to successfully defend and make the Ryder Cup? Could former The Barclays winners -- pre-FedExCup -- Singh or Garcia finish this one off early? Could Casey, who's playing well and deflecting the pressure, get one of Faldo's spots?
Or . . . well, in a shootout like this, just about anything could happen.
And that, Casey said, is kind of fun.
"Ultimately, I think it's fun to watch,'' Casey said. "I don't think it affects anything I do. You know, I've been very focused on my own game the past three days and that's what I've got to continue to do tomorrow.
"But it's entertaining I think. The crowd doesn't know who to follow. I think the TV guys don't know where to put the camera.''
They'll start with Streelman, who made his way here via the PGA TOUR Qualifying School. And, yes, he knows you may not know him, but he welcomes the chance for you to watch him on this stage, which is a tad bit bigger than the one at the Buick.
And, like he said, even Tiger had a first time. Some where.
"I don't know, I'm sure his first time there, I'm sure he didn't do great as well,'' Streelman said. "Just like any profession, just like you guys you when you wrote your first stories were not as good as you are now I'm sure.
"If it goes great tomorrow, awesome. Either way I'm going to learn a lot tomorrow, whether I shoot 85 or 65."
So will we.
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