The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Sep. 8--For Steve Stricker, it's not about the money. Even before he emerged from a long slump in 2006 he had earned enough that he and his children and his children's children were going to be financially secure.

It's not even about the victories, though they are wonderful affirmations.

For Stricker, it's about the quest to own his golf swing. It's about standing on the 72nd tee with Tiger Woods breathing down his neck and knowing -- absolutely knowing -- that he can pull off the shot.

At 42, Stricker, of Madison, is very close to that kind of mastery over his game.

Displaying poise, resolve and confidence in a swing that could be put to a metronome, Stricker birdied the final two holes Monday to win the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass., and move to the top of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings.

With two playoff events left, he leapfrogged Woods for the top spot and moved up to No. 2 in the world ranking, behind you-know-who. Most importantly, Stricker is in control of his own destiny in the race for the FedEx Cup title and its $10 million prize.

It was Stricker's third victory in 14 weeks and the seventh of his career, and it gave him a legitimate shot at being named player of the year. Woods, with five victories, remains the favorite as the Tour's playoff series moves to Cog Hill in Lemont, Ill., for the BMW Championship this week.

"I really don't think about player of the year honors or anything like that," Stricker said. "That has never entered my mind. We all know who the guy is out here. You know, I'm just happy to be in the position I'm at and with the opportunity to do something special for myself.

"He's done enough other special things, maybe let somebody else do something special."

Regardless of the outcome of the FedEx Cup playoffs, it's already been a special year for Stricker. He has 10 top-10 finishes, tying a career high, and has earned a career-best $6,045,006.

He shot a 4-under-par 67 in the final round at TPC Boston and finished at 17-under 267. He now has won two of the 10 FedEx Cup playoff events since the series began in 2007 and has 28 rounds in the 60s (out of 40 total), more than any other player.

"There's one player in the world better than him right now and that's it," said Dennis Tiziani, Stricker's swing coach and father-in-law. "I've told him, 'There's only one player in the world better than you and it's because of his past record. In the end that's the guy you're going to have to beat.'

"Retief (Goosen), Sergio (Garcia), Ernie (Els) . . . these guys are the best the world has to offer and he's better than all of them. And he's from Edgerton, Wisconsin."

Stricker takes a 909-point lead over Woods into the BMW Championship and will be paired with him for the third consecutive week.

"It means a lot," Stricker said. "It solidifies myself, solidifies my chances of winning the FedEx Cup. It ensures that I'm going to be in that top five. I can control my own destiny come that last Tour Championship, and that's what my goal was coming into these first three events.

"But we've still got a lot of golf left to play. We still have two tournaments left and a lot of things can happen. There's a lot of points still involved. I've still got to play well and I've got to get over this real quick and get ready to play in a couple more days."

On Monday, Stricker birdied No. 17 with a clutch 15-foot putt and then got up and down from behind the green on the par-5 18th for another birdie and the one-stroke victory over Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank.

The victory was all the more satisfying because it came just eight days after Stricker missed a 7-foot par putt that would have forced a playoff in The Barclays, the opening playoff event.

"I'm just happy the way I hung in there and when it came down to the end, I gave myself a lot of opportunities there those last three, four, five holes," Stricker said. "Knowing that I needed to make a couple birdies coming in and actually doing it means a lot."

Stricker has won at Cog Hill (1996 Motorola Western Open), but Woods has won there four times, including the 2007 BMW Championship. The course has since undergone a top-to-bottom renovation.

"They've changed it now so no one is really familiar with it, but I did win there back in '96," Stricker said. "I'm very excited about going there. I imagine I'll be paired with Tiger again, which is always a lot of fun.

"I'll have a big following there. I'm close to home, and I went to school at the University of Illinois, so I'll be double-dipping from both states. It will be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully I can keep my good play going."

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:BCS,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.