Sepp

Straka

The Austrian lost nearly three strokes to the field in round one but didn’t hang his head. Instead, he gained 17 strokes over the field for the final 54 holes. He gained 4.7 of those strokes with the putter on Sunday. “I didn’t think I would be sitting here on Thursday after the round. Just found some magic and then started hitting the ball really good, which I did on Thursday too, but really started making some putts. I think that’s the key out here. You’ve got to get the putter hot. Thankfully it stayed hot.” This will go in the books as his second career win on the PGA Tour (2022 Honda Classic). He won the Honda at 10-under and this week was a birdie-fest, showing a wide range in his victories.

The Georgia Bulldog styled a T30 last year in his Masters debut. While that result is nothing to sneeze at, today’s highlight will stand out in his memory bank, “Every time you come it’s a special event, and then obviously this year the one thing that’s going to stand out, I don’t think I can top that hole-in-one. That’ll be a memory I’ll keep forever, and yeah, just really pumped about it.” Straka arrives with a hint of form, styling a T22 last week at the Valero.

Straka chipped away with four sub-70 rounds this week but never had a lap-the-field type of round to put him into true contention. It was still a respectable result and he proved he still likes the layout at PGA National, gaining 7.6 strokes on approach this week (2nd). While he didn’t lift the trophy himself, I’m sure he’ll enjoy celebrating with friend and fellow Georgia Bulldog, Chris Kirk. Straka is now 30th in the FedExCup race, on pace to return to East Lake for a second straight season.

Straka joined the field on Monday when Tiger Woods had to WD due to injury. He had a busy schedule with a Ryder-Cup style event he plays in back home and J.T. Poston’s wedding but canceled both to make the trip to The Bahamas. When asked about whether he considered declining the spot, “Not really, no. It’s a tournament that I’ve always watched and always wanted to be a part of it and it’s just an honor to be here.” Straka traded six birdies with three bogeys today while playing in tough conditions (wind and rain).

Straka currently ranks 29th in the OWGR and will get to take on a limited field of top-ranked golfers this week in The Bahamas. What a difference a year can make as the Georgia Bulldog was hovering just inside the top 200 at this time last year.

Woods pegged it just three times in 2022 but won’t make it a fourth this week. Golf fans were expected to see three straight weeks of Tiger action but they’ll have to settle for two, assuming his body is up for the task at The Match and PNC Championship. As of now, he says he still plans to play both of those events.

The Georgia Bulldog made it clear he was going for the top spot when he bagged four birdies in a five-hole stretch just before the turn. Two of those came from outside of 22 feet which helped ease the pain of missing a birdie look from 7 feet earlier in his round. He limped home with a 1-under 35 which was 0.1 shots worse than the field average today. “Just more experience of getting myself in the hunt. I think that’s huge, the kind of experience you can’t buy. It’s always the goal at the beginning of the week is on Sunday afternoon to have a chance, and I gave myself a chance. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but next time it will.” Straka is coming off a breakout campaign that saw him play his way to East Lake for the first time in his career. This was his first start of the new season and showing no signs of slowing down after the breakout year.

The Georgia Bulldog gained 1.6 strokes on approach in the final round, ranking 4th in that category for the week despite losing 1.8 strokes in the opening round. His final birdie tally reached 19 to erase seven bogeys and then four starting strokes were also added to his score. “Honestly didn’t have my best game this week, but I just kind of put it together. When the driver was off, my putter was on, and when my putter was off my driver was on, so I never really got in trouble, which was nice. Kind of pieced it together.” Straka was playing his fourth full season on the PGA TOUR and had previously never made it to the BMW Championship, let alone the TOUR Championship. This season definitely qualifies as a career year or breakout campaign for the 29-year-old Austrian.

Straka was dialed in with his irons all week, pelting 75 percent of greens to rank second in the field. Oddly enough that is what area let him down eventually as he rinsed his tee ball at the par-3 11th, on the third playoff hole. His opponent would capitalize on the mistake, despite having to take a drop himself. “A little disappointed right now just on that last hole, but overall it was a good fight.” Straka broke his maiden earlier this year on another water-heavy layout, PGA National. He was trying to add a second trophy to his case this week, despite arriving on the heels of six straight missed cuts. The Georgia Bulldog jumps from 35th to 8th in the FedExCup standings securing a spot at the BMW Championship and East Lake for the first time in his career.

Saturday’s 68 at TPC Southwind was Straka’s first weekend round The Memorial in June, as he entered the playoffs on a streak of six straight missed cuts that included last week’s Wyndham Championship. A breakthrough winner earlier this year at the Honda Classic, Straka opened with a 6-under 64 and has remained on the leaderboard ever since. He’ll have a spot in Sunday’s final pairing despite a closing bogey, alone in second place and one shot behind J.J. Spaun who, like Straka, is looking for win No. 2. The Austrian is a lock to advance to the BMW Championship for the first time, but he has his eyes on East Lake and would be assured of making the playoff finale with a win.