MADISON — Steve Stricker is ready to return to competitive golf after a lengthy recovery from hip replacement surgery and a torn muscle sidelined him for more than a year.
The 2026 AmFam Championship, a PGA Tour Champions event held at TPC Wisconsin in Madison, is two weeks away — and Stricker, who serves as the tournament's host and a competing player, said he held off on returning to play to make sure he'd be healthy enough to compete in his home event.
"That's been a long time. I'm itching to get back out there for sure," Stricker said. "The process has been a lot longer than I thought. Had hip replacement in January, but the real problem came when I tore a muscle the outside of the same hip that I had the replacement in. And that's just been slow to come back. And that took almost as much time as the hip replacement itself. So that set me back. But I'm looking forward to getting back out there."
Stricker said the extended time away from the game gave him a new appreciation for it.
"You realize how much you miss it. You know, when you have to do it, it becomes a job, but then when you're away from it and wanna do it, then you're like, you know, it definitely brings a different perspective of, yeah, I really miss that, I really, that's who I am. You know, I'm a golfer. That's what I wanna do," Stricker said.
He said avoiding this tournament was never an option.
"That's why I've taken my time with trying to play and come back from this pulled muscle just to make sure that I can play here," Stricker said.
Stricker will again team up with his brother-in-law Mario Tiziani for the event. He acknowledged the pair left points on the board last year.
Watch: Steve Stricker talks return from injury ahead of 2026 AmFam Championship
"We didn't finish the back nine like we could have or should have. I mean, we had an opportunity to win it. So hopefully we learned from that. Hopefully we get back in that position again. Hopefully I can help him, you know, and, but it's just gonna be fun to get back out there," Stricker said.
He added that the tournament's charitable mission remains the top priority.
"The ultimate goal is raising that money that we raise each and every year for local charities in the Children's Hospital. So that's the ultimate for us," Stricker said.
As for his long-term future in the sport, Stricker said the time away only strengthened his desire to compete.
"My desire is to get good again, to play well, to play at a high level out on the champions tour like I was playing at, and just to compete. You know, if I can't play, or if I can't feel good physically, it's not a lot of fun, but I'm hoping that this stuff is behind me, and I've got a positive attitude about moving forward," Stricker said.
Stricker's daughter Bobbi will caddie for him during the AmFam Championship. His wife Nikki, who typically carries his bag during the event, will not be caddying this year as the two are sadly going through a divorce.
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