Steve Stricker, with two wins on senior circuit, tackles Houston Open on PGA Tour

Steve DiMeglio | USA TODAY

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To think, five years ago, Steve Stricker said he was semi-retired.

Now he can’t stop working.

And winning.

Coming off an exhaustive year in which he played in all four major championships and captained the U.S. squad to victory in the Presidents Cup, Stricker is upping his workload on two fronts – the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.

Stricker, 51, heads into this week’s Houston Open coming off victories in his last two starts on the PGA Tour Champions. He won last week in the Rapiscan Systems Classic at Fallen Oak in Biloxi, Miss., and three weeks prior, he won the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz. In his only other start on the senior circuit, he finished second.

But while he tries to supplant Bernhard Langer as the main force on the PGA Tour Champions, he’s still holding his own playing against the kids. In three starts on the PGA Tour this season, he has shot under par in nine of 12 rounds, with his best finish a tie for 12th in the Valspar Championship.

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“Any time you can win anywhere provides a lot of confidence, a belief in your game that you can do it,” said Stricker, ranked No. 128 in the official world golf rankings. “I have to tell you, it's fun winning. I come here with a little bit of confidence.

“Totally different element here, different everything, but still, when you have belief in your game and you've been playing well, it goes a long way.”

Adding to his challenge is his hope to get to Augusta, Ga., for next week’s Masters. Stricker isn’t qualified for any of the majors this year and said he has his work cut out for him if he’s to play in any of them. This week, he needs to win at the Golf Club of Houston to make it to the first tee in the Masters.

“It's a long shot to come here and win, but hopefully I’ll play well and see what happens,” Stricker said.

After that, Stricker doesn’t know what will happen with his schedule. He’s struggling to figure out where he should spend most of his time, playing against those 50 and older on the PGA Tour Champions, or the younger gentlemen on the PGA Tour. He also wants to spend more time at his Wisconsin home with his family.

“When I go out and win on the Champions Tour, should I be out there more? You can tell me, should I be out there more or should I be out here? I'm taking any advice I can get because that's been the hardest part, where I should play,” said Stricker, who turned 50 13 months ago and has six top-3s in eight events on the PGA Tour Champions. He has played 25 consecutive rounds of par or better on that tour.

“I'm fighting with myself with that a lot of times,” he added.

It sounds like he’ll be fighting with himself for a while.

“I still feel like I've got game enough to win and play well out (on the PGA Tour), and that's what keeps me coming back out here,” he said. “I would dearly love to win again out here on this Tour, and that's my goal, so that's why I continue to come out here.”