Stricker shakes off Hope loss with yet another comeback

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Despite feeling a little rusty from his winter in Wisconsin, Steve Stricker hit 12 fairways and 12 greens on Friday.

LOS ANGELES -- In retrospect, Steve Stricker probably should have taken the week off.

Inside the Numbers

Stricker thru 36 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 1 T2 Birdies 9 T17 Pars 23 T52 Bogeys 3 T125 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 64.3% T45 Driving Distance 296.5 yds. T18 Greens in Regulation 63.9% T56 Putts per Round 26.5 T18 Putts per GIR 1.696 T33 Sand Saves 0 N/A

He had no business playing at the FBR Open. Not after shooting 77 on Sunday at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. Not when those shocking triple and quadruple bogeys that cost him a shot at the title were so fresh.

"That one stuck with me," Stricker acknowledged. "Mentally, I wasn't in it, down in the dumps. It just felt like I threw a tournament away with a real good opportunity to win. It's hard, but I've had to pick myself up a number of times out here on TOUR, so I'm used to it.'

Spoken like a true Comeback Player of the Year. A man who's won it twice, in fact. So after he almost predictably missed the cut in Phoenix that week, Stricker went home to Wisconsin to heal.

"You just need to go on, you need to move on, and just try to keep doing what you know how to do," Stricker said. "And for me, that's just: keep working at it and keep trying to get better and try to get myself in that position again."

Mission accomplished, then. Here is it barely a month after his meltdown in Palm Springs and Stricker is tied for second at the midway point of the Northern Trust Open.

Stricker fired a 5-under 66 at Riviera on a sun-kissed Friday to work his way up the leaderboard. He's knotted with Tommy Armour III at 8 under, two strokes behind Scott McCarron, after 36 holes in the $6.3 million event.

Stricker opened with a birdie on the 10th hole and made two more to turn in 33. He then moved to 8 under for the tournament when he knocked in a 5-footer for eagle at No. 1 after reaching the par 5 with a 7-iron.

His lone bogey came at No. 5 when he drove into the Kikuya grass and had to play out sideways into the 17th fairway. A bounceback birdie at the difficult par-3 sixth followed, though, after a pinpoint 4-iron left Stricker with a 3-foot birdie putt.

"I got off to a good start," Stricker acknowledged. "I birdied the 10th hole and just kept the momentum going, all the way through the round pretty much. ... It was just perfect playing conditions and the course is in great shape."

Stricker says he still feels a little rusty this early in the season, which is understandable considering the high temperature back home in Madison, Wis., on Friday was in the mid-20s. It was snowing, too.

The golf courses there usually don't open until April. Stricker can pound balls, though, all winter thanks to the two mobile homes that have been made into hitting bays at his father-in-law's course.

"They are three-sided and there's a big tarp and it opens up and you can hit in there in pretty much any conditions," Stricker said. "We've hit in there when it's been below zero. The heat struggles there a little bit when it's below zero.

"Your hands get a little cold if it's 20 or 30 degrees. Last week, I was hitting in short-sleeved shirts, so you can really loosen up. You can sweat at times because the heat is that good. It's good practice."

Stricker hits off mats in those mobile homes but the ball flight is true. And the range balls are yellow for a reason -- so they won't get lost in the snow. The short game suffers a little, but Stricker can work on that when he's on TOUR in sunnier climes.

"I give myself a little extra time when I come to a tournament, practice a little bit harder when I'm here early on, and try to get some sort of form going," Stricker said. "I enjoy it. I go home and I can actually get away from the game these last two weeks."

Stricker, who hit 12 fairways and 12 greens in regulation on Friday, says he usually spends 90 minutes to two hours hitting balls when he's at home. The rest of the time he's Mr. Mom, taking his oldest daughter to elementary school and looking after his soon-to-be 3-year-old.

Stricker has found something else to occupy his time, too. Spurred on by the success of his wife Nicki, who used to caddy for him, Stricker has taken up tennis.

"So I feel the urge to try to beat her," Stricker said with a grin. "She's gotten good. But I thought it was good exercise. I don't like a lot of cardio and hitting the weight room, so I figure, you know, this would be good, running around the court for a little while."

Indoors, of course. Just like when he hits balls.