Sepp Straka wins showdown with Shane Lowry, claims Truist Championship
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Sepp Straka hugs his caddie after winning the Truist Championship.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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FLOURTOWN – Sepp Straka had his entire team on his mind as his final putt dropped on May 11.
He thought of his wife, his parents, his coaches, his usual caddie Duane Bock – out last week with a back injury – and his friend Drew Mathers, standing in on the bag. They all had a role to play in moulding him into a top-10 player.
The 32-year-old Austrian outlasted Ireland’s Shane Lowry in a duel at the Philadelphia Cricket Club to win the Truist Championship and add a PGA Tour signature event to his growing resume.
“This year has been pretty good to me,” Straka said, reflecting on his second win of 2025. “Just really grateful for all the hard work from the people that don’t get to stand on that 18th green and celebrate.”
Straka and Lowry shared the lead after three rounds at the club’s Wissahickon Course, and they stood tied at 16 under after 15 holes before Lowry lipped out a par putt at the par-three 16th.
Straka held steady the rest of the way in, carding a two-under 68 to finish 16-under 264 for the tournament.
Lowry missed birdie at No. 17 and three-putted for bogey at the last for a round of 70. He and Justin Thomas (67) tied for second at 14 under.
Straka won The American Express in January and is now the second player with multiple wins on the PGA Tour this season. He will rise to second place in the FedExCup race, crack the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time and take momentum into this week’s PGA Championship.
Limiting mistakes was a key for him throughout the week. He totalled just three bogeys from Thursday to Saturday, but another three bogeys on Sunday threatened to derail his final round.
At No. 9, Straka nailed a 28-foot birdie putt for a two-shot advantage but squandered it with back-to-back bogeys. He was short and in the bunker on No. 11 and watched his par putt slip left of the hole.
“After that, I just told myself just to keep at it, keep just trying to execute each golf shot for what it is,” he said. “Fortunately, that was good enough.”
Lowry still has not won an individual event on the PGA Tour since his 2019 Open Championship victory. He did not speak with reporters after the round.
But Straka praised his opponent after acknowledging that the Irishman was one of the fan favourites all week.
“Shane’s an awesome guy. He’s one of my favourites too,” he said.
“So it was fun to hear support for him out there. He’s one of my favourite people to play with. He’s a fiery competitor but a really good friend as well. It was really fun battling with him.”
Thomas birdied Nos. 5, 7 and 8 to get to 14 under and apply pressure behind the leaders before stalling out, parring the next seven in a row. He missed a birdie from inside four feet at the 15th, prompting him to go pin-hunting at the par-three 16th. It did not pay off, as he missed the green and bogeyed.
“I definitely was more aggressive because of (the par at 15),” the American said.
“Like I said, I wish I wasn’t, but it’s easy to say that looking back. It doesn’t matter too much. I ended up finishing two behind. Just need those two to go differently. Hopefully they’ll just go my way next week.”
Patrick Cantlay, Jacob Bridgeman and England’s Tommy Fleetwood all shot 65 to tie for fourth at 12 under.
Rory McIlroy posted a bogey-free 68 and tied for seventh at 10 under with Cameron Young (66), Germany’s Stephan Jager (66) and Keith Mitchell (71). REUTERS
