Sepp Straka
Josef "Sepp" Straka (born 1 May 1993) is an Austrian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, where he has won four titles. Early and personal lifeStraka was born in Vienna, Austria on 1 May 1993, to an American mother and an Austrian father. His parents met in Austria, when his mother worked in a golf shop and sold a glove to his father.[2] His family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, when Straka was aged 14, so his mother could be closer to her family.[3] After the move, Straka's father regularly flew back-and-forth to Austria to maintain his architecture business.[2] Straka speaks German and English. Regarding his nationality, Straka stated in 2022: "I used to say I'm 50% Austrian and 50% American. A friend of mine who is Austrian, Clemens, corrected me one day and said, you are 100% Austrian, 100% American."[4] Straka has a twin brother, Sam, who also played on the golf team at the University of Georgia, where Straka graduated in business management.[3][5] Both Sepp and Sam played soccer during their youth, until they decided to focus on golf at age 11. Sam was originally the better golfer, and Sepp stated "the UGA coach was interested in Sam and realised only later that he had a brother who could play pretty well."[6] During his time at the University of Georgia, Straka was nicknamed "Ox" in reference to his large size at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), 220 pounds (100 kg), and his resemblance to John Candy's character Dewey Oxberger in the film Stripes.[7][8] Straka's wife Paige attended Auburn University, and they met at the Auburn Sky Bar during an Auburn–Georgia football game. They married in 2021, and had a son in 2023.[9][10][11] Amateur careerStraka attended Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, where he played for the Lowndes Vikings golf team alongside his twin brother Sam. As a junior, Sepp won the Austrian Junior Championship and recorded a victory on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour. Sam won five times on that tour. At the time they committed to the University of Georgia, Sam was ranked No. 44 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings, while Sepp was ranked No. 72.[12] Straka represented Austria, on the same team as his twin Sam, at the 2011 European Boys' Team Championship. Team Austria finished second (a tied all-time best), losing in the final against the Spanish team led by Jon Rahm. Straka played collegiate golf at the University of Georgia from 2011 to 2016. He redshirted the 2013–2014 season due to his struggles with short game yips.[6] In March 2016, Straka shot a 7-under 65 in the final round of the Linger Longer Invitational to place second individually, one stroke behind his Georgia teammate Lee McCoy. This was the best individual finish of Straka's collegiate career.[13][14] The runner-up finish moved him up 80 places to 225th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.[15] Professional careerStraka turned professional after completing college and played a number of tournaments on the 2016 PGA Tour Canada. He qualified for the 2017 Web.com Tour season. His best finish in 25 events was 7th in the El Bosque Mexico Championship. Straka became the first Austrian golfer to earn a PGA Tour card after finishing tied for 3rd place in the 2018 Web.com Tour Championship.[16] Earlier in the year, Straka secured his first professional victory by winning the Web.com Tour's KC Golf Classic by one stroke.[17] In his first season on the PGA Tour, Straka's best finish was a 3rd place at the 2019 Barbasol Championship, the alternate event to the 2019 Open Championship.[18] Straka also played in his first career major championship at the 2019 U.S. Open, after finishing tied for the lowest score at the sectional qualifying in Milton, Ontario.[19] An opening round of 68 left Straka in a tie for 8th, and though two over-par rounds would follow, a final round of 67 left Straka in a tie for 28th place.[20] Straka finished the regular PGA Tour in 107th place on the FedEx Cup rankings, to qualify him for the 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs and ensure he would keep his card for the 2020 season.[21] Straka competed in the Men's individual event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing tied-10th overall.[22] In February 2022, Straka became the first Austrian to win on the PGA Tour when he won The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He shot a final round 66 to win by one shot over Shane Lowry.[23] In August 2022, Straka tied for the lead with Will Zalatoris after 72 holes at the FedEx St. Jude Championship; on the third sudden-death playoff hole, he hit his tee shot into the water, and Zalatoris prevailed with a bogey.[24] Early in the 2022–23 PGA Tour season, at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Straka lost another sudden-death playoff, this time to Mackenzie Hughes.[25] In July 2023, Straka won the John Deere Classic for his second win on the tour.[26] Following this, Straka finished a joint second in The Open Championship to Brian Harman, six shots back, but his best finish in a major to date. In September 2023, Straka played on the European team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia, Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Straka went 1–2–0 including a loss in his Sunday singles match against Justin Thomas. In January 2025, Straka won The American Express by two shots over Justin Thomas.[27] In May 2025, Straka won the Truist Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club for his second victory of the PGA Tour season.[28] Professional wins (5)PGA Tour wins (4)
PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)
Web.com Tour wins (1)
Results in major championshipsResults not in chronological order in 2020.
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut Summary
Results in The Players Championship
Top 10
CUT = missed the halfway cut Results in World Golf Championships
1Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Team appearancesAmateur
Professional
See alsoReferences
External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Portal di Ensiklopedia Dunia
