What looked like more heartache for Steve Stricker turned into the sweetest golf victory of the Madison (Wisconsin) native's career.

Stricker birdied four of his last five holes at The Barclays today. That gave him a 2-under 69 and a two-shot victory over K.J. Choi.

He had gone 6 1/2 years and 146 tournaments without winning.

With his voice choking and tears streaming down his face, he said it was hard -- but it was fun.

His last victory on U.S. soil came 11 years ago at the Western Open. But his game slowly began to slide until he lost his PGA Tour card two years ago. He spent the winter in Wisconsin hitting balls from the inside of a remodeled trailer to a frozen driving range.

After four close calls -- two of them in majors -- Stricker is finally a PGA Tour winner again.