Sepp Straka entered the final round of the American Express with a three-stroke advantage. With two wins so far on the PGA Tour, the former Ryder Cup star is no stranger to getting the job done, except that until this week he had never held a 54-hole lead on tour.
It didn't matter.
Straka shot a 2-under 70 in the final round, winning by two spots over Justin Thomas. Straka also only had two bogeys all week, and both came on the last three holes when the tournament was almost over.
“It was a fun day where I struggled to control the lead and control my nerves,” Straka said.
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun to play there, and I’m very happy to get the win.”
Pete Dye's Stadium Course at PGA West fools even the best players in the world, with one bad swing always resulting in double bogey. But Straka did a great job of keeping the ball in play and not succumbing to Dye's tricks and twists.
“There's no such thing as a safe play. You really have to hit your numbers, especially in hard spots like greens. You just have to execute. In a way, it's about focusing on each shot. It just got easier,” Straka added.
“But obviously it was very scary because every hole you know, there's a chance to make a double or a bogey everywhere you look. So, yeah, today's ball strike. I'm very happy with that, and I'm very happy with this week overall.”
American Express final leaderboard and payout:
1. Sepp Straka -25 — $1,584,000
2. Justin Thomas -23 — $959,200
T3. Jason Day -22 — $519,200
T3. Justin Lower -22 — $519,200
T5. Patrick Cantlay -20 — $339,900
T5. Charlie Hoffman -20 — $339,900
T7. Camilo Villegas -19 — $267,300
T7. Ben Griffin -19 — $267,300
T7. Taylor Moore -19 — $267,300
T7. Max Glaserman -19 — $267,300
11. Alex Smalley -18 — $222,200
T12. Nick Taylor -17 — $169,400
T12. JT Poston -17 — $169,400
T12. Frankie Capan III -17 — $169,400
T12. Bo Hossler -17 — $169,400
T12. Will Zalatoris -17 — $169,400
T12. Mark Hubbard -17 — $169,400
T18. Trey Mullinax -16 — $125,400
T18. Kevin Roy -16 — $125,400
T18. Cam Davis -16 — $125,400
T21. Ben Corless -15 — $83,270
T21. Jacob Bridgman -15 — $83,270
T21. Harry Hall -15 — $83,270
T21. Doug Ghim -15 — $83,270
T21. Keith Mitchell -15 — $83,270
T21. Rickie Fowler -15 — $83,270
T21. Billy Horschel -15 — $83,270
T21. Daniel Berger -15 — $83,270
T29. Sam Barnes -14 — $57,640
T29. Tom Hoge -14 — $57,640
T29. Vincent Norman -14 — $57,640
T29. JJ Spahn -14 — $57,640
T34. Bryce Garnett -13 — $42,094
T34. Nick Dunlap -13 — $42,094
T34. Chris Kirk -13 — $42,094
T34. Lee Hodges -13 — $42,094
T34. Victor Perez -13 — $42,094
T34. Quaid Cummins -13 — $42,094
T34. Harry Higgs -13 — $42,094
T34. Lant Griffin -13 — $42,094
T34. Ryan Palmer -13 — $42,094
T43. Harris English -12 — $27,236
T43. Michael Kim -12 — $27,236
T43. Ryo Hisatsune -12 — $27,236
T43. Mateo Manassero -12 — $27,236
T43. Rikuya Hoshino -12 — $27,236
T43. Ricky Castillo -12 — $27,236
T43. Matt Kuchar -12 — $27,236
T43. Sam Ryder -12 — $27,236
T51. Brian Campbell -11 — $21,032
T51. Ryan Gerard -11 — $21,032
T51. Brandt Snedecker -11 — $21,032
T51. Siu Kim -11 — $21,032
T51. Davis Thompson -11 — $21,032
T51. Sam Stevens -11 — $21,032
T51. Matthew Riedel -11 — $21,032
T58. Chris Ventura -10 — $19,712
T58. Alejandro Tosti -10 — $19,712
T58. Taylor Montgomery -10 — $19,712
T58. Cart Kitayama -10 — $19,712
T58. Mackenzie Hughes -10 — $19,712
T58. Rico Hoey -10 — $19,712
T64. Vince Whaley -9 — $19,008
T64. Jeremy Paul -9 — $19,008
T66. Will Gordon -8 — $18,656
T66. Joe Highsmith -8 — $18,656
T68. Mac Meisner -7 — $18,304
T68. Eric Cole -7 — $18,304
70. Patrick Rodgers -6 — $18,216
71. Chez Levy -5 — $18,040
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
