Sepp Straka of Vienna, Austria became the first Austrian ever to win on the PGA Tour on Sunday. Straka shot a four round score of -10 to win the 2022 Honda Classic from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
However, it is the way that Straka was victorious is making golf headlines. Straka was five strokes back of leader Daniel Berger of the United States heading into the fourth and final round. Berger had a 54-hole score of -11, while Straka was in a four-way tie for second place with 2019 British Open champion Shane Lowry of Clara, Ireland, and Americans Chris Kirk of Knoxville, Tennessee and Kurt Kitayama of Chico, California, at -6.
Over the last 18 holes, Berger self collapsed by shooting a score of four-over-par 74. Berger’s poor round of golf began with a double-bogey seven on the par-five third hole. That was followed by bogeys on the sixth, 12th, and 18th holes.
Straka meanwhile had bogeys himself on the first and eighth holes. However, he also birdied the second, third, ninth, 14th, 16th, and 18th holes.
Lowry finished in second place at -9. Kitayama was in third place at -8. Berger was in fourth place at -7.
Straka is the first European golfer to win on the PGA Tour in the 2022 calendar year. With the win, Straka moves up a whopping 93 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings from 176th in the world to 83rd. Straka’s previous best finish on the PGA Tour was a third place result at the 2019 Barbasol Championship in Lexington, Kentucky, which was won by Jim Herman.
By winning the Honda Classic, Straka qualified for his first Masters next month. He will look to become the second straight non-American to win the Masters after Hideki Matsuyama of Japan won in 2021.
