Sepp Straka earned his second PGA TOUR victory of his career and boosted his chances of participating in this year’s Ryder Cup with a two stroke victory at the John Deere Classic in Illinois.
The 30-year-old Austrian, whose first victory on the PGA TOUR came in The Honda Classic in February 2022, entered the final round four shots behind then leader Brendon Todd, outside of the top 10. But made up ground quickly thanks to a an eagle at the par-five followed by a stretch of tree birdies in the next four holes.
Straka moved to 11-under after holing from 40 feet at the ninth and adding four further birdies meaning he required a two under in the final four holes to match the ’58 round’ record set by Jim Furyk in the 2016 Travelers Championship.
However, the Austrian did not manage to match the record and also missed the chance to post the first sub-60 round on the PGA TOUR since 2020. He had to settle for a nine-under 62 and setting the clubhouse target at 21 under par at TPC Deere Run.
“The 59 was nowhere in my head really,” Straka said. “I knew I had a chance but in that situation the only thing that matters is trying to win the golf tournament.
“It was not a good shot [on 18]. I was really just trying to go middle of the green, pulled it early and the wind dragged it over to the water. It was unfortunate but the first bad shot I hit all day so I’ll give myself a bit of slack.”
Todd ended the tournament tied for second alongside fellow American Alex Smalley on 19-under while Swedish Rookie Ludvig Aberg posted his first top 10 finish on the PGA TOUR finishing tied for fourth with American Adam Schenk.
The next event on the PGA TOUR Schedule is the Barbasol Championship taking place between 13-16 July at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Kentucky.