Sepp Straka misses rare PGA Tour history in American Express win

Sepp Straka was on a cruise control all week on American Express. The Austrian entered Sunday with a four-shot lead and looked set to march to his third PGA Tour victory as he walked into the record books.

Straka was able to hold off Jason Day and Justin Thomas on Sunday to secure the win at 25-under par. But his shot to join an exclusive PGA Tour club — one Tiger Woods doesn’t even belong to — went up in flames at the par-15 16th hole.

Straka arrived on the 16th hole Sunday having not made a bogey all week. He had gone 69 consecutive holes without a bogey and needed just three more holes without a bogey to become the fourth player ever to win a 72-hole stroke play without making a bogey. Lee Trivino (1974 Greater New Orleans Open), JT Poston (2019 Wyndham Championship) and Tom Kim (2022 Shriners Children’s Open) are the other three to achieve such a feat.

Straka birdied the 16th, but then things went wrong and his shot at history disappeared. After a long wait for the front group to clear the green, Straka fired his second tee shot to the right. Not wanting to risk going over the green and into the infamous PGA West bunker, Straka left his third shot off the green. His putt from 50 yards rose 15 yards short, and his first shot missed the hole before slipping.

Straka claimed a bogey – he made another on the 18th – and held off a late charge from Dita to take the trophy without the side of history.

After the win, the 31-year-old explained what happened on the 16th hole, noting that the belt-breaking bogey was a product of the gravity of the infamous bunker and a bad lie on his third shot.

“Yeah, 16, you just don’t want to end up in the bunker down there, so I kind of bailed out,” Straka told Golf Channel after the win. “It was unfortunate that it was in the type of tire track next to the cart path, but we couldn’t get relief for the cart path. It was really grainy down there. I wanted to get it closer to the green where I could put it. It came out kind of slow and, yeah, from there, again, you just don’t want to make the mistake of going long. I got a little cute with it and rolled it around a lot. Overall, I hit a layup and tried to make it.”

When asked about making just two bogeys on the week, Straka was quick to praise his player for saving him from many would-be bogeys during the week. Per Data Golf, Straka won 1.96 shots on green this week. He was ranked seventh among players who played all four rounds.

Straka wasn’t the only player with an eye on a bogey-free week in La Quinta, California.

Taylor Moore went the distance, finishing the tournament in a tie for seventh at 19 under. Moore became the first player to go 72 holes without a bogey and win since Joaquin Niemann did so at the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann lost that tournament in a playoff while Moore finished six shots short of Straka.

With a win, Straka became the seventh international player to win the American Express, and he did so with excellent course management and an ability to manage what he felt inside while trying to protect a four-shot lead.

“Nerves,” Straka said when asked what he felt going down the stretch.

Straka kept his nerves in check to finish a fine week on top, but it could have been something historic if not a setback to come home.