Sepp Straka rallies from 5 down at Honda Basic, turning into first Austrian to win on PGA Tour
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Sepp Straka goes again to Georgia in a number of weeks. He’s headed to his first Masters, after pulling off an enormous comeback to win the Honda Basic.
Straka, down by 5 pictures coming into the ultimate spherical, tapped in for birdie within the rain on the ultimate gap and ended up beating Shane Lowry by 1 shot to develop into the primary Austrian winner in PGA Tour historical past. He shot a 4-under 66 on Sunday to complete at 10 underneath and earn $ 1.44 million.
“The phrases aren’t actually coming to me proper now,” Straka stated. “It’s simply loopy. I actually have no idea what to suppose.”
He certain knew methods to play.
A primary-round 71 was adopted by a 64 on Friday, 69 on Saturday after which 66 on Sunday. He was 4 underneath in his closing 10 holes, 3 underneath over the ultimate 5, ending with a flourish whereas most others sputtered.
“It’s laborious to win out right here,” Lowry stated. “It’s simply laborious. Finish of story. There isn’t a level saying any totally different.”
Lowry shot his third consecutive spherical of 67, ending the week 9 underneath. First-round chief Kurt Kitayama (68) was alone in third at 8 underneath, and Daniel Berger – who led by 6 pictures with 19 holes left within the match – merely fell aside Sunday, his spherical of 74 leaving him 7 underneath for the week and three pictures behind Straka.
“Only a poor spherical,” Berger stated. “It may well occur at any time. I’m not going to dwell on it an excessive amount of. Simply didn’t hit high quality pictures on the proper time. Most likely would’ve had an opportunity to win if I made a number of extra putts. I don’t suppose I made a single putt immediately. “
He didn’t. Berger made two birdies Sunday – each chip-ins, one from the sand, one from a grassy slope.
Lowry wanted to make a 45-footer for birdie on the ultimate gap to drive a playoff. It missed, and with that, the Honda had a brand new champion – one who got here into the week ranked No. 176 on this planet, has by no means been larger than No. 129 on that listing, and whose declare to fame as a professional most likely was being the first-round chief on the Tokyo Olympics final summer season.
He’s a PGA Tour winner now. And Straka – who performed his school golf at Georgia – will play the Masters in April.
“It’s loopy. It’s a lifelong dream of mine simply to be heading to Augusta in a month or so,” Straka stated. “It’s nonetheless surreal.”
Straka matched the largest come-from-behind win this season. Luke Record was additionally down by 5 coming into the ultimate spherical at San Diego final month.
The undoing for Berger started Saturday when he went to the 18th tee with a 6-shot lead, then made bogey. Nonetheless, the 5-shot lead by way of 54 holes matched the largest in Honda historical past, and for a hometown man – his house is quarter-hour from PGA Nationwide – the components have been there for a memorable win.
Sunday had totally different concepts. Berger was paired with Lowry for the ultimate spherical, and it didn’t take lengthy for all the things to vary.
Lowry made birdie on the primary; the lead was all the way down to 4. Berger put a tee ball into the pine straw on the par-5 third, then had a ball buried within the sand of a greenside bunker and made double-bogey 7 to see the lead trimmed to 2.
Lowry tapped in for birdie on the fourth. Lead all the way down to 1. Berger bogeyed the fifth. The lead was gone. And when Berger missed a 15-footer for par on the sixth, Lowry was all of the sudden up by 1.
“Didn’t play effectively, so I didn’t win the golf match,” Berger stated.
Straka was within the group 5 pictures again to start out Sunday, then missed a 2-foot par putt and made bogey on the opening gap. However slowly and steadily, he clawed again – a birdie on the par-4 ninth bought him to 7 underneath, adopted by one other birdie on the 14th.
A 20-footer on the sixteenth pulled him right into a tie. That’s when climate determined to point out up, too.
As if the end wanted extra drama, it merely began pouring as the ultimate teams have been ending. Kitayama and Straka bought a lucky break, attending to play their tee pictures on 18 earlier than the rain began. The sudden downpour got here in quick, and each camped out on the 18th fairway underneath their umbrellas earlier than enjoying their second pictures into the par-5 ending gap.
Every hit to about 50 toes and arrange eagle putts. Straka two-putted, then waited to see if Lowry – who rushed right into a poor tee shot through the downpour on 18 – might get to 10 underneath.
He couldn’t. And Straka is on his means again to Georgia.
“That unhealthy climate got here in simply as we have been hitting our tee shot on 18, which was as unhealthy a break as I’ve bought shortly,” Lowry stated. “Yeah, it’s a troublesome one to take.”