Stricker In Position To Say "Booyah!"

The 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions is set to conclude today in Hawaii as Steve Stricker maintains a 5-shot lead over defending champion Jonathan Byrd at Kapalua. While one should never assume anything is a "sure thing" on the PGA TOUR, Stricker certainly has the odds in his favor of capturing the title heading into his final round.

According to the AP, no golfer has ever lost a lead as large as Stricker's since the PGA TOUR began playing the season's first event at Kapalua in 1999. But as the article also points out, Stricker is no stranger to squandering big leads in the final round (not to jinx him or anything, of course):

"All he has to do is look back to the Memorial last year, when he had a four-shot lead with nine holes to play — and a three-shot lead with only five holes to play — and hung on to win by one shot."

Stricker had another scare at the Northern Trust Open a couple seasons ago when current World #1 Luke Donald gave him a scare in the final round before Stricker ultimately won by two shots.

Depending on the wind at Kapalua, the Plantation Course is certainly a track that can relinquish a low round for those chasing Stricker, despite the course' length. Reachable par-5's and elevation changes throughout the course allow players to hit lower clubs more often than not, however the threat of ocean gusts must always remain in the back of the player's mind. Barring anything catastrophic, players in the hunt will need to go low for any hope to catch Stricker.