Sepp Straka (-25) had won twice on the PGA Tour throughout his career, at the Cognizant Classic in 2022 and the John Deere Classic in 2023. And in both, he had to come from behind, five and four strokes down respectively, in the final round. So he, more than anyone, knew the importance of being solid from the start this Sunday and not giving his rivals any chance to dream of a ‘sorpasso’. This is how he built his third title on the American tour, the American Express in California, in a week where he only committed two bogeys, which came on his 70th and 72nd holes, with everything already decided.
It’s commendable, especially considering that three completely different courses were played in the first three rounds and that this afternoon’s was repeated at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, the most difficult by far, which hides many traps both of water and sand. But for the Austrian golfer, who came from a 15th place at the Sentry and a 30th at the Sony Open, almost everything went right. His only mistakes these days came on the par-five 16th hole of this final round, when in his attempt to reach the green in two, he ended up with his ball in the rough and fell short twice in his recovery attempt, and on the par-four 18th, with an approach that landed in the sand, with a small bank in front.
Back in the winner's circle 🏆
@SeppStraka wins by two @TheAmExGolf. pic.twitter.com/KSCZotZ4zI— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 20, 2025
In the rest of the decisive round, the Ryder Cup winner in Rome with the European team was unbeatable. A consistency that, almost as much as the slow pace of play (more than five and a half hours), frustrated his playing partners, Jason Day (-22) and Charley Hoffman (-20), and thwarted the comeback attempts of players like Justin Thomas (-23), Justin Lower (-22), or Patrick Cantlay (-20). Hoffman eliminated himself with two balls in the water on the par-three 13th hole; Day tried until the end but lacked accuracy with the putter to put more pressure on the leader; and a much-recovered version of JT deflated at the last moment, with five birdies in his first nine holes and only one in the last nine. However, he finished with a notable second place in solitude thanks to a final error by Day on the 18th green.
After back-to-back water balls on No. 13, Charley Hoffman drops from T2 to T5 after a triple bogey on the hardest hole @TheAmExGolf.
📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/S4XIlpO9MD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 19, 2025
A scorecard of 70 strokes was enough for Straka, who arrived as the leader for the first time in his career on the PGA Tour on a final Sunday round, to return to the winner’s circle. Thanks to four birdies, which compensated for the two final bogeys, and decisive moments, like the tense shot from the 13th tee, where instead of playing it safe by aiming for the right side to avoid risks with the lake, he took a risk aiming for the flag to leave himself practically a birdie that definitively secured his victory. A title that earns him $1,584,000, makes him the seventh non-American winner of the tournament, elevates him to second place in the FedEx Cup, gives him two more years of exemption on the tour… and although it doesn’t add points for the fight for a spot in the Ryder at Bethpage, it does put him on Luke Donald’s radar, who already knows how the ‘bald one’ plays.
