Sepp Straka has a new look, at least in terms of his hairstyle this year, but everything else looked familiar as he won the American Express Sunday by two strokes over Justin Thomas.
It was the third PGA Tour victory for the 31-year old native of Austria, who brought a four-stroke lead into the final round at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.
Straka appeared to be in cruise control throughout the final round, shooting a closing 70 to finish at 25-under-par 263, two ahead of Thomas and three in front of Jason Day and Justin Lower. Straka’s on-course stoicism masked the edginess he was feeling.
“Nerves. Complete nerves. Stomach in knot the whole (closing) nine. Really excited about how I handled the pressure today,” Straka said.
When Straka showed up in Hawaii to start the new season, he surprised many when they saw his shaved head.
“He kept telling me for years, ‘It’s going to go at some point’ and once I realized that he was right I figured I might as well just go ahead and bite the bullet and shave it off.”
Straka has quietly built an impressive résumé. He finished seventh in the FedEx Cup race in 2021-22, was 14th the following year when he finished T2 in the Open Championship and qualified for the European Ryder Cup team, and he was 27th last season.
It was another strong performance by Thomas as he continues to play himself past a downturn in his game. Chasing his first victory since the 2022 PGA Championship, Thomas finished T2 in the Zozo Championship late last year and came away from the Palm Springs area heading in the right direction.
“It’s building blocks,” Thomas said. “It’s all part of the very, very long process that is our year and our career. It’s hard to win. There’s a reason there’s only one each week. Unfortunately, I haven’t been that one for a while.
“I don't need to change or do anything different, just keep building, keep working, tighten some things up. I feel like my wedge game has not been anything close to my level of what I like it being. Just kind of keep honing in on that, and work – because we got a big stretch here coming up that I’m excited for.”
The week marked the professional debut of 17-year-old Blades Brown, who shot a second-round 64 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course but missed the 54-hole cut after shooting 74 on the more difficult Pete Dye Stadium Course on Saturday.
“It was a blast competing on the PGA Tour. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to convert coming down the stretch, but, I mean, a lot of practice,” said Brown, who will attempt to Monday qualify for this week’s Farmers Insurance Open.
“I'm glad I’m doing it right now, that way I can learn. My dad always says, you win and you learn, and I’m definitely going to learn from this experience.”
Ron Green Jr.