FOR BETTER, WORSE OR A GREEN JACKET.

Byline: KAREN CROUSE

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Most men take up golf so they can get away from their spouses for a few blessed hours every Saturday.

Then there's Steve Stricker, who employs wife Nicki as his caddie. Naturally the Madison, Wis., couple is attracting a large gallery at Augusta National. Why, cigar-chomping divorce lawyers are drawn to the Strickers like deer to azaleas.

I mean, everybody knows the only thing more miserable than playing a round of golf with your spouse is playing a round of golf with your spouse telling you what to do on every hole.

Being nagged to take out the trash is one thing, but how many men would stand for their spouse telling them to put that driver back in their bag because a 7-iron is the safe, sane second shot on the beguiling par-5?

Some men may not be able to handle a spouse who speaks firmly and carries his sticks, but it works for Team Stricker, which includes Nicki's father Dennis Tiziani, the Wisconsin golf coach who is entrusted with Stricker's swing.

If Stricker, Stricker & Tiziani sounds more like a Wall Street firm than a Wisconsin family, well, the Strickers are as much a conglomerate as they are a couple; with Tiziani dispensing advice and Nicki carrying his bag, Stricker has won more than $3.5 million since turning professional in 1990.

Their working partnership prospers in part because Nicki is not your average nine-hole duffer; a former collegiate golfer, she scored a double-digit victory last year in the Ladies City Championship in Madison.

The competition is a bit keener here at the 65th Masters. After two rounds, Stricker is in a five-way tie for fourth at 7-under-par 137, one shot behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and three shots behind front-runner Chris DiMarco.

Stricker surged to 9-under-par Friday with birdies at the 12th and 13th holes, then bogeyed two of the three final holes to settle for a 1-under-par 71.

It was sweet for Stricker to see his name anywhere on the leaderboard, especially here, where his best finish in four previous appearances is a tie for 19th.

Nicki has led the search party that's trying to find the confidence Stricker misplaced after winning twice on the Tour in 1996 and vying for the 1998 PGA Championship before finishing second to Vijay Singh.

He started playing with a different manufacturer's clubs in 1997 and Nicki took 1998 off from caddying to carry Bobbi Maria, who was born in August of that year. Those two things don't fully explain why his swing left Stricker.

He remains distrustful of it even after winning the Match Play Championship in Australia in January (a tournament Nicki passed up to stay home with the couple's daughter).

Stricker, 34, has hit 17 of 28 fairways and 27 of 36 greens in regulation in the first two rounds here, which is OK but by no means outstanding. Stricker is the first to call out his swing, saying, ``I'm just not driving the ball well enough yet. It's getting a little bit better, but that's the part that left me in '97 and I've kind of continued to struggle with that part of my game ever since.''

Nicki is very competitive. Being inside the ropes for her is the next best thing to teeing it up. She'd kick her husband's stray drives into the middle of the fairway if she could. Since that's not sporting, she just gives him a kick in the pants when she thinks he needs it and bolsters his spirits the rest of the time.

``She's fairly quiet when it comes to club selection, putting, that kind of stuff,'' Stricker said. ``She knows not to do that technical stuff with me, especially during a round. One thing she's very good at is she's able to kick me in the butt when I start talking negatively or poorly about the round or my shot or my swing or what have you. No other caddie can just lay into me like that and not be afraid of (losing) her job.''

Stricker laughed. It was a throaty chuckle, but then, it was Friday. His windpipe was wide open. It may not stay that way if he's contending for the lead on the back nine Sunday.

Nicki knows well what it feels like when trying to get air into the lungs - about as easy as inflating a plastic pool toy that has a hole in it.

As a matter of fact, Nicki recently told her husband she wasn't sure she wanted to defend her City title this year. She didn't know if she wanted to play any competitive golf at all. When he asked her why, she replied, ``Because I get so nervous.''

``Well,'' he told her, ``now you know how I feel.''

The Strickers will face their nerves this weekend the way they do everything else: As a unit.

Together they'll get through it, just like they once vowed to. You know, ``through richer or poorer or Amen Corner.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Steve Stricker, with wife Nicki as his caddie, is three shots off the lead in the Masters after shooting a 71 in the second round.

Doug Mills/Associated Press