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Sepp Straka

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Sepp Straka
Straka in 2016
Personal information
Full nameJosef Straka
NicknameSepp
Born (1993-05-01) 1 May 1993 (age 31)
Vienna, Austria
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight235 lb (107 kg; 16.8 st)
Sporting nationality Austria
ResidenceVestavia Hills, Alabama, U.S.
Career
CollegeUniversity of Georgia
Turned professional2016
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Former tour(s)Korn Ferry Tour
PGA Tour Canada
Professional wins3
Highest ranking17 (7 January 2024)[1]
(as of 3 November 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Korn Ferry Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT16: 2024
PGA ChampionshipT7: 2023
U.S. OpenT28: 2019
The Open ChampionshipT2: 2023

Josef "Sepp" Straka (born 1 May 1993) is an Austrian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, where he has won twice.

Amateur career

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Straka represented Austria, on the same team as his twin brother Sam, at the 2011 European Boys' Team Championship. Team Austria finished second (a tied all-time best), losing in the final against Spain with Jon Rahm on the team.

Straka played collegiate golf at the University of Georgia from 2011 to 2016, not playing during the 2013–2014 season.

Professional career

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Straka turned professional after completing college and played a number of tournaments on the 2016 PGA Tour Canada. He qualified for the 2017 Web.com Tour season. His best finish in 25 events was 7th in the El Bosque Mexico Championship.

Straka became the first Austrian golfer to earn a PGA Tour card after finishing tied for 3rd place in the Web.com Tour Championship.[2] Earlier in the year, Straka secured his first professional victory by winning the Web.com Tour's KC Golf Classic by one stroke.[3]

In his first season on the PGA Tour, Straka's best finish was a 3rd place at the 2019 Barbasol Championship, the alternate event to the 2019 Open Championship.[4] Straka also played in his first career major championship at the 2019 U.S. Open, after finishing tied for the lowest score at the sectional qualifying in Milton, Ontario.[5] An opening round of 68 left Straka in a tie for 8th, and though two over-par rounds would follow, a final round of 67 left Straka in a tie for 28th place.[6] Straka finished the regular PGA Tour in 107th place on the FedEx Cup rankings, to qualify him for the 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs and ensure he would keep his card for the 2020 season.[7]

Straka competed in the Men's individual event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing tied-10th overall.[8]

In February 2022, Straka became the first Austrian to win on the PGA Tour when he won The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He shot a final round 66 to win by one shot over Shane Lowry.[9] In August 2022, Straka tied for the lead with Will Zalatoris after 72 holes at the FedEx St. Jude Championship; on the third sudden-death playoff hole, he hit his tee shot into the water, and Zalatoris prevailed with a bogey.[10]

Early in the 2022–23 PGA Tour season, at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Straka lost another sudden-death playoff, this time to Mackenzie Hughes.[11] In July 2023, Straka won the John Deere Classic for his second win on the tour.[12] Following this, Straka finished a joint second in The Open Championship to Brian Harman, six shots back, but his best finish in a major to date.

In September 2023, Straka played on the European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia, Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Straka went 1–2–0 including a loss in his Sunday singles match against Justin Thomas.

Personal life

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Straka was born in Vienna, Austria, to an American mother and an Austrian father. His family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, when Straka was aged 14. His twin brother, Sam, also played on the golf team at the University of Georgia, where Straka graduated in business management.[13][14]

Professional wins (3)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 27 Feb 2022 The Honda Classic −10 (71-64-69-66=270) 1 stroke Republic of Ireland Shane Lowry
2 9 Jul 2023 John Deere Classic −21 (73-63-65-62=263) 2 strokes United States Alex Smalley, United States Brendon Todd

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship United States Will Zalatoris Lost to bogey on third extra hole
2 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship Canada Mackenzie Hughes Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Web.com Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 5 Aug 2018 KC Golf Classic −22 (64-65-64-69=262) 1 stroke United States Kyle Jones

Results in major championships

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament T30 T46 T16
PGA Championship T66 78 T7 CUT
U.S. Open T28 CUT CUT T56
The Open Championship NT CUT T2 T22
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2
The Open Championship 0 1 0 1 1 2 3 2
Totals 0 1 0 1 2 4 14 10
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2019 U.S. Open – 2022 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Players Championship CUT T9 T65 T16
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 2022 2023
Match Play T35 T59
Champions NT1

1Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Champions was discontinued from 2023.

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

  • Hero Cup (representing Continental Europe): 2023 (winners)
  • Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2023 (winners)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 1 2024 Ending 7 Jan 2024" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  2. ^ "2018 Web.com Tour Championship final-round recap". PGA Tour. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  3. ^ "KC Golf Classic 2018". Golf Channel. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Barbasol Championship". PGA Tour. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  5. ^ "2019 U.S. Open sectional qualifying results". Golfweek. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Sepp Straka bio". USGA. 16 June 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Playoff und Tourkarte" (in German). golf-live.at. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Tokyo 2020 - Golf - Round 4 Results". olympics.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Sepp Straka rallies from 5 down at Honda Classic, becoming first Austrian to win on PGA Tour". ESPN. Associated Press. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  10. ^ "2022 St. Jude Championship: How Will Zalatoris edged Sepp Straka in the most dramatic playoff of the season". CBS Sports. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  11. ^ Shedloski, Dave (2 October 2022). "Mackenzie Hughes shows off some short-game magic to beat Sepp Straka in Sanderson Farms playoff". Golf Digest. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  12. ^ Shedloski, Dave (9 July 2023). "Sepp Straka's wild Sunday rally falls short of 59, but not of winning the John Deere Classic". Golf Digest. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  13. ^ "U.S. Open 2019: The least known player on the Pebble Beach leader board has a pretty intriguing backstory". Golf Digest. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Straka shoots 63 at Barbasol Championship, still gets needled by twin brother". PGA Tour. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  15. ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
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