Sepp Straka (-16) has won the Truist Championship and, surely in doing so, all the respect that his golf deserves. It’s not that he didn’t have it, as the keen fan learned long ago to value his consistency, just like his peers, but he remains one of those players who always seem to be in a notable second row, behind the big ‘cracks’. He may never become a mega star, as we conceive this concept in high-level sport, perhaps only reserved for those who spend their lives, so to speak, in the world’s top 5. He probably doesn’t care much, if at all. For now, in this year 2025, he can say loud and clear that, Rory McIlroy aside, he is the only one who has won more than one tournament on the PGA Tour. And, mind you, this is also his fourth victory in just over three years on the world’s most important circuit (curiously, he has yet to debut on the DP World Tour, but he barely shows up on this side of the pond, it must be said: he has played only thirteen tournaments on the regular European circuit calendar).
The Wissahickon course at the Philadelphia Cricket Club has finally shown itself as a formidable opponent, more so than it seemed in the days leading up to the tournament and even after the first round. That said, it must also be acknowledged that several of the top contenders, including Straka, did not have their best day. The winner managed with a two-under card on the day to win comfortably, as his partner in the stellar match, Shane Lowry (-14), could only manage a score of 70 strokes, par on the day, finishing, however, with a painful bogey on the 18th when he still reached that last station with some chance.
No, it wasn’t the day for almost anyone, and that always makes things easier. Justin Thomas (-14), at times, seemed to find the right path, but his momentum reached only the green of the 15th, the last par 5 of the course, where he missed a short birdie putt. Rory was also unable to get close to the leaders. He started with a hopeful birdie, true, but right there, at that early birdie, his momentum stalled. And Matsuyama (-7) faltered in the first two-thirds of the course, with a five-over score upon leaving the 11th green. Patrick Cantlay (-12), Tommy Fleetwood (-12), and Jacob Bridgeman (-12) did deliver outstanding cards of 65 strokes, but they came from far behind and, to be honest, at no point did they become a serious threat.
It is often said of Straka that in his good putting weeks, he will be fighting for the win no matter what, because he usually has the rest of the game well organized, and that’s exactly what happened in this Truist Championship. Sepp arrives at the second Major of the year as World Number 9, precisely debuting his status as a world top ten (just like Lowry, who will arrive as Number 10 and had never reached this level before). Despite his two victories in just a few months, he will likely land at Quail Hollow quietly, as always, and it will be very difficult for us to consider that it could be his Major, his moment (it doesn’t help much either that he missed the cut at the Masters, to be honest). There, in North Carolina, he will also receive the restrained congratulations of Luke Donald, his captain in the Ryder. Because today, if there was any doubt, it has been abundantly clear that this player, quietly, calm and composed, can and should be a fundamental pillar of the continental team in the cauldron of Bethpage.
