After a season that saw him capture six wins and 15 Top 10 finishes in 16 starts, Steve Stricker swept the PGA Tour Champions awards for the 2023 campaign.
At the tour’s annual award dinner, held Tuesday night in Hawaii, Stricker walked away with the 2023 Jack Nicklaus Award as the Tour’s Player of the Year, the Arnold Palmer Award (season money leader) and Byron Nelson Award (season scoring average). He set tour records in those two categories.
“What a privilege and what an honor to have won these special awards,” said Stricker, 56. “I’m thankful that we have the opportunity to compete against one another. A lot of us go back years and years ago where we first started playing golf. The passion that we all have, to play against the best at our age, is still really special for all of us. I’ve enjoyed the competition and enjoyed being with you guys and I look forward to another great year.”
He joined golf royalty in the record books last year.
Stricker won his first Charles Schwab Cup in 2023 after topping the standings for 25 of the season’s 28 weeks. He joins Bernhard Langer (2014) and Hale Irwin (2002) as the only players to hold the position for at least 25 weeks.
His six wins were the most by a Champions player since 2017, when Langer tallied seven. His three majors won in the season tied Gary Player (1988), Jack Nicklaus (1991) and Langer (2017) as the only players to win that many in a season.
Stricker’s record-setting earnings of $3,986,063 in 2023 beat the $3,677,359 made by Langer in 2017.
His season scoring record of 67.54 strokes bested Fred Couples’ 67.96 average set in 2010.
The Champions’ 2024 season begins Thursday at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, Hawaii. Stricker is the defending champion.
–Field Level Media