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Why major changes are paying off for Wheaton's Kevin Streelman on PGA Tour

Kevin Streelman won't declare his hot start to the 2017-18 PGA Tour season as the best in his 11 years on the circuit but the major changes he made over the past few months are paying off.

With top-10 finishes in the past two events (the RBC Heritage Classic and the Valero Texas Open), Chicago's top pro golfer boosted his season earnings over $1.2 million, and his career totals over $16 million.

He's now ranked No. 38 in the FedEx Cup standings, third on the circuit in greens in regulation and fourth in scrambling. While Streelman had early season wins in 2013 (Tampa Bay) and 2014 (Hartford), his trademark for this campaign has been consistency. He has made the cut in 14 of 15 tournaments with three top-10s. He also had a win, of sorts.

Streelman teamed with Larry Fitzgerald to win the pro-am portion of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Both are members at Whisper Rock, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Fitzgerald, a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, and Streelman also finished second in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am 2017.

The pairing with Fitzgerald was one of the few things that Streelman didn't change since the PGA's wraparound 2017-18 season began last October. Since then, he has changed his swing instructor, his caddie and his agent.

Wheaton golfer Kevin Streelman, shown here playing Spyglass Hill Golf Course at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February, has four Top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. Associated Press

All that stayed the same were his two long-standing Chicago affiliations. He continues to play out of Black Sheep, the all-male club in Sugar Grove that made him an honorary member long before his golf career blossomed, and he still uses Wilson clubs. He started his affiliation with Wilson in 2011 and the company extended him for two more years last fall.

Though he had already established himself as a solid PGA Tour pro, Streelman had no reservations about making major changes to his team. Australian Andrew Getson is his new swing instructor, veteran caddie Frank Williams is now on his bag, and Jeff Koski of Lagardere Sports is his agent.

“After 10 years fresh starts were needed,” said Streelman.

Getson and Koski are both based in Scottsdale, where Streelman lives with his wife Courtney and their two young children, Sophia and Rhett. He also has a new training base in Scottsdale, Premier Fitness.

Both Getson and Koski have worked with Phil Mickelson. On the caddie front, Streelman ended a five-year relationship with A.J. Montecinos to hire Williams, who is in his 31st year working on the PGA Tour. He previously carried for Curtis Strange, Davis Love III and Hunter Mahan and was on the bag for Stewart Cink when he won the 2009 British Open.

The fitness change may be the most significant. Premier Fitness focuses on flexibility.

“For someone in my stage of his career, that's been just terrific,” said Streelman. “I feel more flexible than I ever have, and I've never had a serious injury in my 11 years on the PGA Tour and 17 as a professional. That's very unusual.”

Streelman says the only aches he gets are in his shoulder and upper back, when he carries his children through airports. With both children still not of school age, the Streelmans travel as a family from tourney to tourney.

“We can probably do it one more year,” said Streelman. “It gets chaotic sometimes, but I wouldn't have it any other way.”

In 15 PGA Tour events this season, Kevin Streelman ranks 39th in the FedExCup race and has made 14 cuts. Streelman is averaging 70.2 strokes per round. Associated Press

Streelman first developed as a golfer in Wheaton's youth programs at Arrowhead and Cantigny and as a caddie at Chicago Golf Club. He also played high school golf at Wheaton Warrenville South before heading to Duke for college. Through it all, Streelman hasn't forgotten his Chicago roots. Working with the Illinois Junior Golf Association, he'll host a special day on July 9 at Cantigny during the week of the John Deere Classic, Illinois' only annual PGA Tour stop.

“We did this in 2009 and had almost 400 there,” said Streelman. “We're hoping this one will be bigger and better.”

Streelman is taking this week off while the PGA Tour holds a two-man team event in New Orleans. He'll play in four May tournaments - the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, The Players in Florida, the Fort Worth Invitational (formerly Colonial) in Texas, and the Memorial in Ohio. Unless he wins one of those he'll conclude the stretch at U.S. Open sectional qualifying in Columbus, Ohio.

Last year, feeling exhausted, he skipped the qualifier and didn't play in the Open proper at Wisconsin's Erin Hills. This year the finals are at Shinnecock Hills, the New York course that's rich in golf history. Streelman badly wants to be in the field there.

Here and there

Bernhard Langer won't defend his title in next month's Senior PGA Championship in Michigan. He'll attend his son's high school graduation in Florida instead.

Defending champion Illinois will bid for its ninth title in 10 years at the Big Ten men's tournament beginning Friday at Baltimore Country Club. The Illini face a strong challenge this time, as Purdue edged them for win last week's Kepler Invitational in Ohio.

The Illinois women's team tied for second at the Big Ten championships last week in Mainsville, Ohio. Coach Renee Slone's team was 7-under-par, tying the school record for one round, in the last round of that event. The runner-up finish was Illinois' best since 1976. Northwestern, runner-up in last year's NCAA finals, was two strokes behind the Illini.

For more golf news, visit lenziehmongolf.com.

Kevin Streelman at a glance

Age: 39

Size: 5-foot-10, 175 pounds

Hometown: Wheaton

Current home: Scottsdale, AZ

High school: Wheaton Warrenville South

College: Duke University

Turned pro: 2001

Twitter: @Streels54

<b>2018 stats and (ranking)</b>

FedExCup points: 538 (38th)

Scoring average: 70.2 (25th)

Driving distance: 294.9 (94th)

Driving accuracy: 68.6% (16th)

Greens in regulation: 71.4% (3rd)

Birdie average: 3.66 (79th)

Eagles: 2 in 1,044 holes

Sand saves: 51.9% (72nd)

<b>In 15 events this season:</b>

Earnings: $1,207,002

Top 10 finishes: 4

Top 25 finishes: 14

Cuts made: 14

<b>Career numbers</b>

Wins: 2

Second-place finishes: 2

Top 10 finishes: 35

Low round: 62 (2008)

Earnings: $16,891,493

Events/cuts made: 288/201

<b>What's in the bag:</b>

Driver: PING G400 Max. 45-inch Rogue Silver 70X

Irons 3-9: Wilson Staff FG Tour Irons. Rifle Project X 6.5

Wedges: 48- 54- 60-degree Wilson Staff FG Tour

Putter: Scotty Cameron Prototype

3-Wood: Taylormade M2 15-degree. 43-inch Oban purple Kiyoshi 75 gram XFlex

Hybrid: Wilson Staff FG Tour, 17-degree. Oban 105X

Ball: Titleist Pro V1X

Source: pgatour.com; kevinstreelmangolf.com

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