NORTON, Mass. -- Close your eyes and this place could be Wisconsin.
A slight, yet crisp breeze floating through the trees. The faint aroma of beer and cheese emanating from a nearby food vendor.
Open your eyes and this gritty town in the heart of New England still resembles the Badger State, as one glance at the leaderboard shows a pair of cheeseheads attempting to turn the rest of the field into melted provolone.
Stan Badz/Getty Images
Jerry Kelly (above), playing with fellow Wisconsin native Steve Stricker, joked after his round that watching Stricker's putting stroke for 18 holes Sunday certainly helped him with the flatstick.
Old pals Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly teed it up together in the 12:05 p.m. ET pairing at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Sunday for what very well may have been the 500th time in their lives. Or the 1,000th. Heck, maybe more, for all they know.
Truth is, the duo lost track long ago, through junior golf and high school competitions and now practice rounds on the PGA Tour. Everything but friendly contests back in Wisconsin, because, as Kelly says with a smile, "Neither of us really play at home."
And yes, they even get paired on occasion during tournament rounds. The latest such occurrence happened to come during Round 3 at TPC Boston, where they played like a couple of guys so comfortable in their surroundings it was easy to forget the swelling crowds lining the fairways and the oversized paycheck that will greet the champion on Monday evening.
Stricker shot a 6-under 65 to finish the day tied for the lead; Kelly was a pair of strokes further back in a share of seventh place. Together they combined for 13 birdies, an eagle and more fun than a Green Bay Packers tailgate party.
"We like each other," Kelly says. "You know, we're good friends. It's not just two guys being from Wisconsin, but we are real friends."
Steve and Jerry. Jerry and Steve. They are the PGA Tour's version of "The Odd Couple." Stricker is quiet, reserved and fastidious. Kelly is boisterous, outgoing and emotional. If they were a comedy team, Stricker would play the straight man while Kelly provided the punch lines.
"Maybe that's why we get along so well," Kelly surmises. "I think it took him a little longer to warm up to me, but I won him over."
Stricker debates that notion.
"I've always liked Jerry," he contends. "You've just got to take Jerry with a grain of salt and let him go do the things that he's going to do, and he knows that. Some things that he would do, I wouldn't do. And some things I do, he wouldn't do. But we get along fine. He's a great guy."
Asked to produce an example of something Kelly does that he wouldn't, Stricker reverts to their contrasting on-course machinations.
"You know, I guess he just wears his emotions more on his sleeve than I would," Stricker says. "I try to hold it in because I don't want to have anybody see that in me. But there's times I would love to just let a club fly or throw a ball."
Even their rounds were nearly polar opposites on Sunday. Kelly opened as if fueled by cranberries and milk (the official state food and drink of Wisconsin, of course). He bolted out to the lead with six birdies on the front side before failing to post a single one on the back.
Stricker, on the other hand, was slower at the start, but finished like a European honey bee chasing a white-tailed deer (the official state insect and wild animal, don't you know). With the day's only eagle on the par-5 18th hole, he secured a spot in the final pairing on Monday, starting as co-leader alongside Retief Goosen and Sean O'Hair.
No doubt it was a round buoyed by his buddy, as Stricker derived inspiration from his more demonstrative friend throughout the day.
"I found myself today grinding and bearing down as hard as ever. But that's what he does. You know, he's fighting to the very end and grinding it out, and that's what I love about him, and that's why he's a good player. I found myself doing the same," said Stricker, who is seeking his third PGA Tour victory of the season. "So yeah, we do well together, and we do draw off one another for sure."
If the 'Sconny boys are seeking advice entering the final round, they could look to Appleton native Harry Houdini, who once claimed, "It is still an open question, however, as to what extent exposure really injures a performer." Or Bob Uecker, from Milwaukee, who said, "It is dangerous for an athlete to believe his own publicity, good or bad."
Perhaps the most appropriate counsel, though, comes from Kenosha's own Orson Welles, who believed, "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story."
For either Stricker or Kelly, the story may stop in the winner's circle, creating the happy ending that folks back home truly desire.
"I'm very focused on trying to play well and trying to win this whole thing," Stricker said. "I feel relaxed. I feel fresh still and ready to play. ... It's still a long haul, but I've set myself up for a good finish. But there's still a long way to go."
This course in Massachusetts is a long way from the Midwest tracks where Stricker and Kelly first learned the game. Still, there's a sense of Wisconsin permeating throughout this place, thanks to the mismatched pair of friends working their way up the leaderboard.
Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.
Jason Sobel is a golf columnist and blogger for ESPN.com. He grew up in Islip, N.Y., attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., and wrote for newspapers including Newsday and The Boston Globe. He was also a member of the Brandeis golf team during his junior year -- not for his on-course skills but because he owned a car and didn't mind driving teammates to practice.
Sobel, who joined ESPN in 1997, earned four Sports Emmy awards as a member of ESPN's Studio Production department. He was ESPN.com's golf editor from July 2004 until becoming a columnist/blogger in April 2008.
