Sepp Straka shook off two bogeys at the start of his back nine and played steadily the rest of the way to outduel Shane Lowry and win the Truist Championship by two shots over Lowry and Justin Thomas.
It was the second victory of the season for Straka, who earned $3.6 million for winning the signature event at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
“It’s huge, the biggest win of my career,” said Straka, who shot a closing 2-under-par 68 to finish at 16 under.
Lowry and Straka were tied heading to the 222-yard par-3 16th hole. After Lowry hit his tee shot left in thick rough by a bunker, Straka put his ball on the green, 30 feet from the cup. Lowry chipped to about six feet but missed the par putt while Straka two-putted for a par and a one-shot lead.
Lowry missed a tying 21-foot birdie putt at the 17th, which Straka also parred. Needing to birdie the par-4 18th to have a chance, Lowry hit his first putt from 22 feet too strongly and three-putted. Straka had a stress-free two-putt from 35 feet for a par and the win.
Good Putting Key to Straka’s Victory
“It’s not the best ball-striking week I’ve had,” Straka said. “Off the tee the first two days, I hit it terrible. I made a kind of a tweak with my takeaway, and from then on, striking it really well with the driver.
“Iron play was decent. I wouldn’t say it was great, but the putter was just excellent this week. I made a lot of mid-range putts, and that’s something you have to do when you want to win a golf tournament.”
Straka had a two-shot lead over Lowry after the front nine thanks to birdies at the 8th and 9th holes, but he fell back into a tie with bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11.
“Those two bogeys were pretty tough,” Straka said. “I was in a pretty good spot there going into the back nine. After that, I told myself just to keep at it, keep just trying to execute each golf shot for what it is. Fortunately, that was good enough.”
Defending champ McIlroy ties for seventh
Thomas, who shot 67, made a charge with three birdies in four holes on the front nine, but shot even par the rest of the way. He nearly caught the leaders twice, missing potential lead-tying birdie putts from 14 feet on the 12th and from 3 feet on the 15th.
Patrick Cantlay (65), Jacob Bridgeman (65) and Tommy Fleetwood (65) tied for fourth at 12 under.
Rory McIlroy, the defending champion and four-time event winner at Quail Hollow, its usual venue and the site for this week’s PGA Championship, never really got going and closed with a 2-under 68. Playing in his first individual tournament since completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters, he finished in a four-way tie for seventh at 10 under.
Fox Playoff Chip-In Wins in Myrtle Beach
Ryan Fox of New Zealand chipped in from 53 feet on the first playoff hole to win the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic for his first PGA Tour title and a spot in the PGA Championship.
Fox closed with a bogey-free 5-under 66 that looked like it might not be enough when Mackenzie Hughes came to the 18th hole with a one-shot lead.
Hughes pulled his drive into the trees, had to pitch out and missed a 10-foot par putt for a 67 that put him in a playoff at 15-under 269 with Fox and Harry Higgs. Facing a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win for the first time, Higgs missed the 25-footer and shot 68.
Going back to the 18th for the playoff, Hughes and Higgs found the fairway and each had decent looks at birdie. Fox’s drive landed in the left rough and he hit his second shot to the collar right of the green. Playing first, he watched his chip track towards the hole and drop in for a birdie.
“Both of those guys had makeable chances so I felt I had to give it a go,” Fox said. “When it landed I thought ‘This has got a chance’ and honestly, about six, eight foot out, I thought it was in.”
Higgs and Hughes still had their chance to extend the playoff, but both missed their birdie putts, Higgs a 26-footer and Hughes a 15-footer.
Fox, 38, earned $720,000. He had three victories on the DP World Tour, including the 2023 BMW PGA Championship in 2023, but hadn’t had a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour until now.
“I haven’t transitioned probably as well as I would have liked,” Fox said. “It was a tough year last year. I managed to just keep my card. It’s been a scratchy start this year as well. I always deep down felt like I could compete with the guys out here. Just haven’t been able to put it together. I was very happy to do it this week and give myself a chance on Sunday.”
The PGA Championship held a spot in the field at Quail Hollow for the winner of the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. This will be Fox’s fourth straight year playing the major. Hughes was already in the field.
