“A blessing and a surprise that we’re here” - Steve Stricker on getting the opportunity to play in the PNC Championship

Steve Stricker said that he was blessed to get an opportunity to play at the PNC Championship 2023 this year, as he never thought he would ever be invited to this event.

Steve Stricker and his daughter Izzi are set to make their debut at the 2023 PNC Championship, which will begin on Saturday, December 16 at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club. The event will feature several golfing superstars who will be teaming up with either their parents or children.

The PNC Championship usually allows only those players who have won at least one of the majors or the Players Championship, but Stricker has won neither. However, this time, tournament founder Alastair Johnston decided that a senior major win would be enough to enter the field. For the uninitiated, Stricker is a seven-time senior major championship winner and has won three this year itself.

He said, as per ASAP Sports:

"So we never thought, at least I didn't, have the opportunity to play here. So it's actually a blessing and a surprise that we're here, to be quite honest with you, but we're so fired up and jacked up to be here. We're really looking forward to it."

Stricker added that the talks of including him at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club had been going on for a couple of years, and Joe Terry, the PGA Tour Champions rules official, had told him that they were trying to amend the rules of the event.

He continued:

"So I know it's been in the works for a couple years and been really -- I thought it was -- we got maybe the invitation about a month ago. So I figured it had already passed for this year already too, so it was a pleasant surprise."

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When will Steve Stricker tee off at the PNC Championship in 2023?

Steve Stricker and his daughter, Izzi, are grouped with Nelly Korda and her father, Petr Korda, for the first round of the PNC Championship. They will tee off from the first hole at 8:09 a.m. ET on Saturday, December 16.

The 2023 PNC Championship will be a 36-hole scramble format event, and the 20 teams will compete for a purse size of $1.085 million. Vijay Singh and his son Qass Singh are the defending champions at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

Since Steve Stricker's elder daughter, Bobbi, is a professional golfer, he is not allowed to team up with her. Izzi is currently a high school senior and plays golf at the junior level. She was given the 2023 Wisconsin Co-Player of the Year award by the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin, and she has been the Wisconsin Girls State Champion for her category for the last two years.

Stricker had an exceptional 2023 season on the PGA Tour, claiming six titles, including three senior major championships. Besides, he topped the Senior Tour's season-long Charles Schwab Cup. Stricker's wife, Nikki, also made her return to competitive golf after 20 years, appearing at the 61st U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur earlier this year.