Steve Stricker will be named the U.S. Ryder Cup captain on Wednesday, sources confirmed to ESPN, becoming the first American to serve in the role despite never having won a major championship.
Stricker, 51, will become the 29th U.S. captain for the matches to be played in his home state of Wisconsin next year at Whistling Straits. The news conference will be held in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin.golf first reported the news.
Stricker’s appointment is no surprise, as he has been part of the last three Ryder Cups as a vice captain, was the 2017 U.S. Presidents Cup captain and played in three Ryder Cups. He was also part of the U.S. Ryder Cup task force that was formed in 2014.
A 12-time winner on the PGA Tour who has added three more titles on the PGA Tour Champions, Stricker was victorious as captain at Liberty National two years ago and will become the first U.S. Ryder Cup captain who previously served in the Presidents Cup role.
“It’d be a huge honor and being right there in my home state would be super cool,” Stricker said three weeks ago at the Waste Management Phoenix Open two weeks ago. “To try to bring the Cup back right there would be a great opportunity if they give it to me.”
Stricker has a tough task, as the U.S. team has been mostly dominated in the competition, losing four of the last five, the only victory coming at Hazeltine in 2016. The U.S was routed in Paris in September by the score of 17 ½ to 10 ½.
The U.S. has gone to a system where it is attempting to maintain continuity among players, assistants and captains from one year to the next. Stricker was an assistant in 2016, captained the 2017 Presidents Cup team, was an assistant last year and will be an assistant to captain Tiger Woods at this year’s Presidents Cup.
As a player, Stricker was just 3-7-1 in three Ryder Cups.
Padraig Harrington was named European captain last month. He played in six straight Ryder Cups from 1999 to 2010 and went 9-13-3 as a player before assisting with the last three European teams.