Straka was five shots behind at the end of the round. He tapped in for birdie on the last hole in the rain and beat Shane Lowry by one stroke to become the first Austrian winner in PGA Tour History. He finished at 10 under on Sunday and earned $1.44million with a 4-under-66.
Straka stated, “The words aren’t really coming right now.” It’s crazy. “I don’t know what else to do.”
He was a master of the game.
After a first round 71, he shot 64 on Friday, then 69 on Saturday, and finally 66 on Sunday. He finished with a flourish, scoring 4 under in the last 10 holes and 3 under in the final five.
Lowry stated, “It’s difficult to win here.” It’s hard. End of story. It is not possible to say anything different.
Lowry finished the week at 9 under after shooting his third consecutive round with 67. Kurt Kitayama (68), the first round leader, was the only one at 8 under. Daniel Berger, who had 19 holes to play, led by six shots, fell to third at 7 under. His round of 74 left him seven under and three shots behind Straka.
Berger stated, “Just a poor round.” It can happen at any moment. It’s not something I want to dwell too much on. I just didn’t make the right shots at the right moment. If I had made more putts, I would have been able to win. I don’t believe I made one putt today.
He didn’t. Berger had two birdies on Sunday, one from the sand and one from a grassy slope.
To force a playoff, Lowry had to hit a 45-footer on the last hole for birdie. The Honda had a new champion, one who was ranked No. The world’s No. 176 ranking has never been better than the previous. This pro is ranked 129th on the list. His claim to fame was probably being the Tokyo Olympics’ first-round leader.
He is a PGA Tour champion now. Straka, who played college golf at Georgia, will be playing the Masters in April.
“It’s crazy. Straka stated, “It’s a lifetime dream of mine to be heading to Augusta within a month.” It’s still surreal.
Straka was the winner of the season’s biggest come-from behind win. Luke List was also down five by the end of San Diego’s final round last month.
Berger’s downfall began Saturday, when he was leading by six shots and made bogey on the 18th hole. The five-shot lead through 54 holes was still the largest in Honda history. For a local guy, his home is just 15 minutes from PGA National.
Sunday was different. For the final round, he was paired up with Lowry and things changed quickly.
Lowry birdied the first, reducing the lead to four. Berger placed a teeball into the pine straw at the par-5 3rd, and then had a ball buried within the sand of the greenside bunker. This made double-bogey 7, which saw the lead shrink to two.
Lowry was the birdie winner at the fourth. It’s all down to one. Berger failed to score the fifth. The lead was gone. Lowry was up suddenly by one after Berger missed a par 15-footer at the sixth.
Berger stated, “I didn’t play well so I didn’t get the win in the golf tournament.”
Straka was five shots behind the group to begin Sunday. He then missed a par putt of 2 feet and made bogey at the first hole. He slowly but surely recovered — a birdie at the par-4 ninth brought him to 7 under. The 14th was his second birdie.
He was tied by a 20-footer on 16th. Weather decided to make an appearance, too.
The rain started to pour as the last groups finished. Kitayama was able to play their 18-hole tee shots before it started pouring down. Straka and Straka were blessed with a lucky break. Both Straka and Kitayama were able to stay on the 18th fairway, under their umbrellas, before they played their second shot into the par-5 final hole.
Each player hit the ball to approximately 50 feet, and then set up eagle puts. Straka putted and then waited to see whether Lowry, who was rushing into a poor 18-degree tee shot in the downpour, could reach 10 under.
He couldn’t. Straka is now on his way to Georgia.
Lowry stated, “That bad weather arrived just as we were hitting the tee shot 18,” It’s hard to take.
DIVOTS: Cameron Young won the round of Sunday with a 5-under 65. He moved from tied for 56th to tied for 16th at end. He may be able to play in the Players and Match Play, and, if his world ranking reaches the top 50 within the next few weeks, maybe the Masters. Lee Hodges’ second shot was taken out of the sand at the par-3 15, where he used a putter to roll it over the green and towards a hazard. He ended up making double-bogey. Andrew Kozan finished tied for 30th with $43,133 after he waited until Saturday to play the final hole of the round.
