On the Putting Edge of Greatness

For Badger golfer Izzi Stricker x’28, it’s all about drive.

“I’m competitive, and winning is very rewarding when you put a lot of work into it,” she says. “Golf is such a mental sport. You have to work on your mental game as well as your physical game.”

Stricker comes from a family of Badger golfers. Her mother, Nicki ’91, golfed for UW–Madison, as did her uncle Mario Tiziani ’92 and her sister Bobbi ’21, who both golf professionally today. And she’s cheered on by her father, elite pro golfer Steve Stricker.

“There’s a lot of family history,” Stricker says. “It’s shaped who I am and how much I appreciate golf, and it’s made me love it so much more.”

But it’s Stricker’s grandfather, former Badger men’s and women’s golf head coach Dennis Tiziani, whom she looks up to the most.

“My grandpa played on tour way back when, and he brought golf into his career as a teacher,” she says. “I think that’s super cool. He made an impact on the game by coaching.”

Now, Stricker is making a name for herself in the sport. She was named the 2025 Wisconsin State Golf Association Amateur Golfer of the Year. She also won the 2025 Wisconsin Women’s Amateur Championship and the 2025 Wisconsin Women’s Match Play Championship.

Stricker may be collecting individual honors, but when it comes to being a Badger golfer, she says her teammates have been an important part of her time at the UW.

“I love having a team and how we all come together,” she says. “We’re all trying to compete for the same thing, and we all are competitive. But we do a great job of putting that aside off the golf course.”

For Stricker, improving every day and working hard is always top of mind. She’s determined to win.

“I just want to become the best player I can be. I want to learn every day,” she says. “Golf has taught me so much — to stick with it, to give yourself grace, to not let it define you.”