Steve Stricker paid his dues to become a Ryder Cup captain, and it had nothing to do with winning a major.

He didn’t make his first team until he was 41 in the 2008 matches at Valhalla, a rare U.S. victory, and played in two more. He spent the next six years in the back room as an assistant captain to Tom Watson, Davis Love III and Jim Furyk, and he was captain of the formidable U.S. team at the 2017 Presidents Cup.

Stricker was appointed Ryder Cup captain on Wednesday, his seventh straight time taking part in the matches, this time in charge of an American team trying to win back the gold trophy in his home state of Wisconsin.

It was hardly a surprise with the 2020 matches going to Whistling Straits, an hour north of Milwaukee where Stricker was introduced Wednesday. He still had his doubts when his name first was mentioned five years ago, aware each of the 28 previous American captains had won a major.