Stricker On the No-bogey Train

Going into Monday's final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship, defending champ Steve Stricker has gone 72 holes without posting a bogey or worse on his scorecard. This includes 54 holes at the Deutsche Bank and the final round of the Barclay's. The last person to win a PGA tournament without a bogey was Lee Trevino at the 1974 Greater New Orleans Open. (Image: Getty Images via telegraph.co.uk)

     Funny thing is, Steve Stricker isn't leading: he's four strokes off the pace in a tie for fourth, behind leader Jason Day at -17.

     It's tempting to say that Stricker's style of play is too conservative, that's he's not making bogeys, but not making enough birdies, either. But Stricker has shown many times that he's more than capable of going low, especially on a soft course such as the players are seeing at the Deutsche. This is the man who shot 60 at the John Deere this year (to Paul Goydos's 59), and holds the PGA Tour scoring record for 72 holes, at -33 in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic. (Unfortunately for Steve, the Bob Hope is a five-round tournament, and he lost his lead that year in the final round, but the record is still official.)

     Don't be surprised if Steve starts making more putts today and puts some pressure on the leaders. I'd love for Steve to win, of course. But as a fan of "quirky" statistics, I wouldn't be too disappointed if Steve continues is bogey-free streak today but comes up a stroke or two short of victory. Then you could add a "bogey-free runner-up" status to his back-to-back Comeback Player of the Year awards.

UPDATE: Well, there's your jinx. Less than an hour after I posted this, Stricker bogeyed the first hole of the final round – from 124 yards out in the fairway, no less. Hopefully, if he was thinking about it, he's not anymore!