LOS ANGELES – Austrian Sepp Straka conquered his nerves to capture his third PGA Tour title in convincing style on Jan 19, firing a two-under 70 to win the American Express in La Quinta, California, by two strokes.
Straka started the day with a four-shot lead over a trio of players and led by the same margin after his fourth birdie of the day at the par-three 13th – the toughest hole on the Stadium Course.
But it would not be a smooth march to the finish. Straka’s lead dwindled to three strokes after his first bogey of the week at the par-five 16th, where his second shot from the fairway drifted right and his 15-foot putt to save par slipped past the hole.
He would bogey the 18th as well, but his 25-under total put him two clear of former world No. 1 Justin Thomas, who carded a six-under 66 for 265.
Another former world No. 1, Australian Jason Day, dropped out of a tie with Thomas with a bogey at 18, finishing with a three-under 69 that left him tied for third with American Justin Lower, who also posted a 69.
Despite his big lead to start the day Straka said it was “nerves, complete nerves” coming down the stretch.
“Stomach in a knot the whole nine,” said the 31-year-old, although he gave none of that away with his outwardly unruffled demeanor.
Straka launched his round with an 11-foot birdie at the first and added birdies at the fourth and seventh.
Charlie Hoffman, the 36-hole co-leader who started the day tied for second with Lower and Day, made four birdies on the front nine to slice a shot off Straka’s lead.
But the 48-year-old saw his chances of a fifth career title – and his first since 2016 – disappear for good with a triple-bogey six at the 13th, where he was in the water twice.
Hoffman finished with a one-under 71 that left him tied for fifth with Patrick Cantlay, who posted a 70.
“This golf course, you can’t really let up,” Straka said. “I think that was the biggest challenge today was keeping aggressive on my targets.
“I had a lot of chances for bogeys out there, but the putter saved me a lot of times.”
Thomas, who won the most recent of his 15 titles at the 2022 PGA Championship, got off to a strong start in his bid to erase a six-shot deficit.
The American had five birdies on the front nine, rolling in 16-foot birdie putts at the second and ninth.
He added another at the 11th before the birdies dried up in the balmy California desert near Palm Springs.
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