Austria's Sepp Straka cruises to a 2-shot victory over Justin Thomas at The American Express

 

[January 20, 2025]  By GREG BEACHAM

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Sepp Straka had never entered a final round with a lead on the PGA Tour until Sunday. In his two previous victories, he had to charge from far behind on the final day with no time to feel the nerves that roiled his stomach from the first tee onward at The American Express.

To handle the pressure, Straka kept thinking about the famous quote by his alma mater's football coach, Georgia's Kirby Smart, who summarized his program's philosophy three years ago as: "We will not be hunted."

Straka remained aggressive and stayed well in front while hunting down a comfortable two-shot victory over Justin Thomas. The 31-year-old Austrian finished at 25-under 263 with a final-round 70 on the Stadium Course.

“This course kind of makes it easy (to stay focused), because you just have to hit your shots,” Straka said. “There's no safe play. You just have to hit your numbers, especially as firm as the greens are. You have to execute. That made it easy.”

Straka, already the first Austrian to earn a tour card and to win three years ago, marched to victory after taking a four-shot lead into the final round at the venerable Coachella Valley tournament. He didn't have a bogey in the four-day event until making two in the final three holes, but his competitors couldn't mount a charge to make it uncomfortable.

Straka's victory was his first since the birth of his son, Leo, in December 2023. The still-new dad looked cool and collected on PGA West's Stadium Course — even when he wasn't.

“Nerves, just complete nerves,” Straka said. “Stomach in a knot, the whole nine. So, yeah, just really excited about the way I handled the pressure today.”

Thomas shot a 66 to finish at 23 under, one shot ahead of Justin Lower (69) and Australia's Jason Day (69) in third. Day got his first top-three finish since the 2023 British Open, while Lower recorded his third top-five finish in his last five tournaments.

Patrick Cantlay and Charley Hoffman were 20 under.

Hitting greens regularly and putting capably, Straka was three holes away from becoming the first tour player since 2022 to play 72 bogey-free holes in a victory — until he sprayed his second shot on the 16th into the far right rough behind a berm. His third shot didn't reach the green, and he barely missed a 17-foot par putt.

Straka's first major mistake made no difference, nor did his next: He put his approach shot into a bunker on the 18th and then missed a 23-foot par putt, but he buried his 4-foot bogey putt and celebrated with a minimal fist pump.

Sepp Straka holds the trophy after winning the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/William Liang)

“I never thought about the no-bogey thing,” Straka said. “I was just trying to close out the tournament. I had a lot of chances to make bogeys throughout the week, and the putter kind of stayed hot for me.”

Straka made 27 birdies in four rounds, tying Cam Davis for the most in the field.

Thomas, who finished in a third-place tie at The American Express last year, made six birdies on his first 11 holes in the final round to briefly trim Straka's lead to three shots. The two-time PGA Championship winner ran out of steam on the back nine in his quest for his first tour victory since 2022, finishing his round with seven consecutive pars.

“I had a chance,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t, obviously, a great one on the back nine, but I was proud of myself. I did what I needed to do on the front nine today to at least be making some noise and moving up the leaderboard. It was unfortunate to kind of stall there after 11. Really, really played some great golf today.”

Day, another former PGA Championship winner, has just one victory since 2018. He failed to mount a charge while playing in the final group with Straka, and a bogey on the 15th pushed him out of range. Day shot 69.

Hoffman also was in the final group, and he joined Thomas and Day at three shots back before he put two tee shots into the water on the par-3 13th, eventually posting a triple bogey.

Straka played with confidence early, burying a 12-foot birdie putt on the opening hole. He put his tee shot on the fourth hole inside 13 feet for another birdie, and he added another with an exceptional approach shot at the seventh.

Thomas began his round with back-to-back birdies, and he added another on the fifth before beginning his charge in earnest with three birdies in four holes around the turn, barely missing a 34-foot eagle putt on the eighth before burying a 16-foot birdie putt on the ninth.

But Straka boosted his lead back to four strokes with a birdie on No. 13 after dropping his tee shot inside 8 feet.

Defending champion Nick Dunlap shot a 68 to tie for 34th at the event where he became the first amateur to win on tour in 33 years.

Sony Open champion Nick Taylor continued his strong start to the season with a 67 to finish in a six-way tie for 12th.

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