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With one victory, Steve Stricker launched himself into second place in the Fed Ex Cup Standings.  One Victory and you're sitting proudly right behind Tiger Woods.  Not bad, now is it?  With his impressive play at the John Deere, play that lead to a victory, you've gotta be wondering what clubs he used to do it, don't you?  I know we are.

Titleist & Stricker a Winning Combo

That said, we've got our hands on the winning clubs Stricker used to dominate the field at the John Deere.  It looks like his Titleist sponsorship runs extremely strong throughout his entire bag, only deviating for a moment when it comes to his putter, which is the Odyssey White Hot #2.  Once again, Titleist claims another PGA Victory and continues to prove why it's the ball of choice of so many pros.  Nevertheless, here is the full set of clubs Steve Stricker used to win the John Deere and get securely into second place for the Fed Ex Cup:

DRIVER:  Titleist 909 D3 (8.5°)  with UST Proforce V2 86 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD:  Titleist 906 F2 (13°)  with UST Proforce V2 95 shaft
HYBRID: Titleist 585H (17°) with Fujikura Hybrid Speeder 904 shaft
IRONS: Titleist 755 (3-PW) with Royal Precision Project X shafts
WEDGES:  Titleist Vokey Design (54°, 60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Sensicore shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot #2
BALL: Titleist Pro V1

Same Setup For British?

Some great golf was played this weekend and it will be interesting to see how these clubs carry Stricker's game into the British Open coming up on Thursday.  Will he stick with the same lineup or will he switch it up and opt for long-irons instead of hybrids?

I guess we'll see, stay tuned!

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In the end, it didn't matter that there were 36 holes to play on Sunday, it didn't matter that there was a weather delay or that there were a great deal of players making very serious runs at the lead.  None of that mattered, all that mattered was that Steve Stricker knew he was going to outlast them all and hold on tight for the victory.  That's exactly what he wanted to do, and that's exactly what he did do.

Solid Final Round Play Secures Victory

After a course-record-tying second round on Saturday, Stricker came back on Sunday to start the day with his third-round with a 68, only to take a brief break and come back with a final round 64 to seal off the victory and notch his sixth career victory on the PGA Tour.  Six total, but already the second this year, and with that victory came not only a pretty substantial check, a huge dose of momentum going into the British Open in 4 days, but also 500 Fed Ex Cup points to move him into second place, right behind Tiger Woods.  Impressive.

Stricker Sounds Off...

When asked about his round, his performance already this season, and how he felt about all the players making serious runs at his lead yesterday, here's what Stricker had to say:

"I've just given myself a lot of chances to win, Some didn't go my way, and some have...Some of those scores, those guys had started on the back...And we kind of felt all week that you could maybe shoot a little lower on the back side. We just were trying to be patient, knowing that those guys were playing the back first and were going to have to come to the front and finish on some tougher holes."

Momentum Booster, or Momentum Killer?

At any rate, it will be interesting, as usual, to see how this play translates into play at the British Open at Turnberry.  They say the best way to win a major is to win a minor tournament right behind it, while others believe that sometimes a victory can be the biggest momentum killer.  Who is right, and who is wrong we'll have to wait until Thursday to find out.

Congrats Steve Stricker . Well played.

(Image via Cohen/Getty Images)

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The weather might have been exactly what Steve Stricker needed to wake up, clear the cobwebs and come back from an Even Par opening round, to absolutely dominate the course and the competition throughout his entire second round.  Whatever happened, it's clear that Stricker changed something, and that changed launched him all the way into sole possession of second place.  Impressive.

Stricker Fires -10 to Land in 2nd Place

Also impressive, however, and also holding Stricker from that top spot, despite the amazing -10, 61 he shot today, is the ongoing great play by Darron Stiles.  After opening with a first round 64, he's already back on the course trying to finish out his second round he was unable to play when the skies opened up.  Looks like that brief delay didn't negatively affect him in any way, as he's already -5 through his 15th hole and in sole possession of the lead at -12.  After only two rounds, that's a pretty impressive score to be holding on to at the John Deere.

Weather To Force 36 Hole Sunday?

The real question remaining, however, is how the weather will affect the final round of play in Silvis, Ill.  The current idea for a Sunday schedule, is to force the players to play 36 holes with a brief break in between.  What's even more strange, is they are going to be pairing people in groups of 3, starting them on both the first and the 10th tee, and they won't even be re-pairing groups between rounds.

Sunday Will Be A LONG Day

What that all translates to, is a very long, long day for golfers on Sunday.  Will this carry over and affect their play at the British?  Probably not, but still, no one wants to play 36 holes on the Sunday they were supposed to be only playing 18.  It will get interesting, that is for sure, and we'll see how these players gut it out and hold onto the scores they're building, add to them, or even go lower.

Tune in!

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Looks like 2009 is officially the season of a rain-delayed golf tournament.  First we had the excruciatingly long U.S. Open, and now, once again, rain is officially ruining our parade.  That's right, the John Deere Classic is at a standstill and according to the most recent reports, play should be resuming sometime around 4:00 pm local time.

Stiles & Janzen Tied for Lead

So when play DOES resume, what does the landscape of the leaderboard look like?  Glad you asked.  Right now sitting proudly atop the leaderboard we see a two-way tie for the lead at -7 between Darron Stiles and Lee Janzen and three other golfers nipping at their heels at -6.  How will the rain affect play, affect scores and affect the leaderboard?  We can't tell yet, but things could get extremely interesting over the next few hours.  Whether or not they'll fully finish Round 2 remains to be seen, but taking a quick glance at the weather video on PGATour.com, it's looking like they might be facing some serious Mother Nature issues.

Monday Finish Possible

When PGA Tournament Arvin Ginn was asked whether or not this tournament could be cut short due to the impending British Open, that quite obviously would take priority, Ginn visibly takes offense to it and reminds the interviewer that they are focused on the John Deere Classic, and nothing else.  He also mentioned that a Monday finish  might once again be required.  Yikes.

Perry & Glover Off The Pace

As long as there is golf, we'll be watching!  We're Still waiting on Kenny Perry and Lucas Glover to both make their moves, considering they are riding the wave of recent victories.  Currently Perry is at -3, while Glover is sitting one stroke behind that at -2.

Will They Finish?

If they go out again, it'll be worth watching.  Hold tight, we'll see what happens!

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While it's not a Major, it's not filled with headlining golfers that always pull in the ratings, it IS a great event and the John Deere Classic is already proving that without those big-name golfers, some very great golf is being played.  We've yet to see the defending champion, Kenny Perry, tee-off, but as of right now we've already seen a 66 posted, and we have other golfers still on the course sitting on a first round -6.  Impressive.

Dicky Pride Shoots First Round 66

Kicking things off with an absolute bang is a guy that has had arguably the toughest run on the PGA Tour we can think of.  His run with the PGA Tour has already included losing his TOUR card, multiple injuries and never seeming to play up to the potential he knew he had in him.  Could this first round at the John Deere Classic be the turnaround point for all that?  I guess we'll see, but his 66 has him locked into second place right now, with the current leader still facing 3 holes until he can rest comfortably in the locker room.

Duval's Woe's Continue

Another golfer that all eyes had been firmly locked-in on, was David Duval.  After his extremely impressive play at the U.S. Open, rumblings started to spread that maybe, just maybe, the David Duval we all used to know and love was back and his caliber of play would do nothing but get better, and better.  Unfortunately for all you Duval fans, he's struggling yet again and is currently on the 17th hole sitting on a disappointing 4-over-par.  Yikes.

Kenny Perry Waits to Defend

We're still waiting on ol' Kenny Perry to hit the links and try to defend his title here.  Will it happen, or will the wave of excitement he's been riding on fizzle out into whitewash?  Not sure yet, but if you're not tuning in, you're missing out!

(image via David Cannon/Getty Images)