General / Ralph Ellis / 12 February 2010 /

Steve Who? Ralph Ellis explains that it's time for people to get to know the man currently leading the fairway in Tiger's absence.

At the moment, Tiger Woods is still the world's number one golfer according to the rankings. And he's still arguably top of the list as the most recognisable sportsman on earth too - or at least he would be if he turned up anywhere to be recognised!

But it says a great deal about how much the sport of golf depends on Tiger's return that the guy who is now the leading active player on the planet could probably walk down any High Street in Britain and nobody would have a clue who he was. And that's even if he was carrying his clubs with him.

Steve Stricker took over from Phil Mickelson at number two on the rankings a week ago and among casual golf followers it tended to prompt the questions: "Who?", and "How did that happen?"

It's easy to dismiss the 42-year-old's arrival at the top of the charts as a bit of a freak, and it certainly seems that Betfair's punters have taken that view at the moment.

He's priced between [14.5] to back and [50] to lay in the betting to win the Masters without Woods, and between [17] and [20] in the market that includes Tiger.

That might just be to ignore a trend. I can remember in 1993 going to the French Open and interviewing a guy called Pete Sampras for the first time. He had just become World number one, but had done it by charging around the world collecting obscure, minor trophies without really performing at the Grand Slams. The rest, as they say, is history - that year was the first of seven Wimbledon titles!

Now I don't know if Stricker is about to make the same sort of breakthrough, but you certainly can't ignore him. A few weeks ago we picked up on the trend that the change in rules on the grooves of wedge clubs used around the greens might help those who didn't have such long driving distances.

And Stricker, whose driving distance on the official PGA stats is a mere 282 yards, compared to the 307.9 that current longest hitter Bubba Watson has posted, will definitely be one to benefit from the new rules.

England's Luke Donald, who played with Stricker in the Los Angeles Open, has been talking today about the encouragement he gained alongside the American. Donald is another who has always struggled with lack of distance, and says: "It is inspirational watching what Steve has done. He hits quality shots, doesn't make mistakes, and has achieved it all hitting it not much further than me. Why not think if he can do it, so can I?"

Despite being deposed in the rankings, Mickelson remains [2] favourite to be top of the PGA money list without Woods. Yet he hasn't looked comfortable with having to take the limelight as the best known golfer when the Tiger is not prowling. Stricker is a generous [4] and could be worth backing. And that's even if you need to Google a picture to know what he looks like!

Five things you might not know about Steve Stricker

1.Born February 1967 in Wisconsin, he turned professional and joined the Canadian professional golf tour within weeks of graduating from the University of Illinois in 1990.

2.He joined the PGA tour four years later, and in 1996 finished fourth on the money list.

3.His wife Nicki, daughter of Wisconsin University golf coach Dennis Tiziani, caddied for him throughout those early years, but gave up the job in 1998 when their daughter Bobbi Maria was born. Since then she has still carried his bag three or four times a year although Tom Mitchell was his regular bag man until 2008.

4.He lost his tour card in 2005, and rediscovered his game hitting balls from the back of a trailer in the December snow near their home in Madison

5.Husband and wife swapped roles for a day last year when Nicki won the Womens Madison City Championship with Steve as her caddie.

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