Austrian Sepp Straka took advantage of a late slip up from Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry to earn a dramatic victory at the Truist Championship.
Straka and Lowry both came into the final day at the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course tied at the top of the leaderboard and the lead swung back and forth between both players throughout the final round.
But the defining moment of the final round came at the 16th. Both players came into the hole level but the Irishman was unable to convert a five-foot putt causing him to bogey the hole. Straka par-putted the same hole to give him a shot advantage going into the last.
Straka held his nerve at the last to record a final-round 68 and finish the tournament on 16 under, two shots clear of Lowry who once again bogeyed, and claim his second PGA TOUR victory of the season and fourth of his career.
“I hit a lot of really good shots and made a lot of mistakes. I hung in there,” said Straka.
“I had a two-shot lead [after the ninth hole] and made two bogeys on the next two holes to lose it, but I kept the same attitude and mentality throughout the round.”
This victory means that the Austrian has climbed up to second in the FedExCup standings.
Lowry’s disappointing finish meant that he dropped to tied-second alongside American Justin Thomas who carded a final-round 67. The American was hoping for a late charge to earn another Signature Event triumph.
“It was a good day,” the World No. 5 said. “Obviously I gave myself a chance. Starting three back to have a putt on 15 to tie for the lead, I definitely would have taken that at the start of the day.
“I’m a little disappointed in myself on 16 for pushing it too much and trying to attack there. I had two really, really good players that were playing really well behind us to where I felt like I needed to. I fought hard, played well, and gave myself a chance, which is what I wanted.”
Defending Champion Rory McIlroy finished the event in T7 as he prepares for next weekend PGA Championship.
“I thought on the greens was good even though I didn’t hole a lot of putts today,” said McIlroy. “My approach play got a little better as the week went on, I just need to hit a few more fairways.
“I feel with next week and the tee shots I have to hit there, it’ll set up better for me.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Quail Hollow and seeing some more familiar visuals.”
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the PGA Championship taking place between 15-18 May at Quail Hollow Golf Club in North Carolina.