Josef "Sepp" Straka (born 1 May 1993) is an Austrian

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, where he has won twice.

Personal life

Straka was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, to an American mother and an Austrian father. His family moved to

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had ...

, when Straka was aged 14. His twin brother, Sam, also played on the golf team at the University of Georgia, where Straka graduated in business management.

Amateur career

Straka represented Austria, on the same team as his twin brother Sam, at the 2011

European Boys' Team Championship The European Boys' Team Championship (Jean-Louis Dupont Trophy) is a European amateur team golf championship for men up to 18 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1980 and it has been played annually since. ...

. Team Austria finished second (a tied all-time best), losing in the final against Spain with

Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was the number one golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first a ...

on the team. Straka played collegiate golf at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

from 2011 to 2016, not playing during the 2013–2014 season.

Professional career

Straka turned professional after completing college and played a number of tournaments on the 2016

PGA Tour Canada PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, is a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed PG ...

. He qualified for the

2017 Web.com Tour The 2017 Web.com Tour was the 28th season of the top developmental tour for the PGA Tour in men's golf, and the sixth under the current sponsored name of Web.com Tour. It ran from January 8 to October 2. The season consisted of 26 official money t ...

season. His best finish in 25 events was 7th in the

El Bosque Mexico Championship The Mexico Championship is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was first played in May 2013 at the El Bosque Country Club in León, Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the south ...

. Straka became the first Austrian golfer to earn a PGA Tour card, after finishing tied for 20th on the 2018 Web.com Tour Finals money list, after finishing tied for 3rd place in the

Web.com Tour Championship The Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance is the year-end golf tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour. It has been played at a variety of courses; starting in 2019 it will be played at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh ...

. Earlier in the year, Straka secured his first professional victory by winning the Web.com Tour's

KC Golf Classic The AdventHealth Championship is a Korn Ferry Tour event that was played for the first time in 2009 as the Christmas in October Classic. It has been played at the Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate in Overland Park, Kansas and Blue Hills Country Clu ...

by one stroke. In his first season on the PGA Tour, Straka's best finish was a 3rd place at the 2019

Barbasol Championship The Barbasol Championship is a professional golf tournament in Kentucky on the PGA Tour; it debuted in 2015 as an alternate event to The Open Championship in Britain in July. The first three editions of the tournament were played in Alabama at th ...

, the alternate event to the

2019 Open Championship The 2019 Open Championship was the 148th Open Championship, played at Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was the second Open Championship at Portrush, which last hosted in 1951, won by Max Faulkner. Royal Portrush s ...

. 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 Milton (2016 census population 110,128) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing municipality in Canada, with a 71.4% increase in popul ...

. 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. Straka finished the regular PGA Tour in 107th place on the

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...

rankings, to qualify him for the

2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs The 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs, the series of three golf tournaments that will determine the season champion on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, was played from August 8–25. It included the following three events: *The Northern Trust – Liberty National G ...

and ensure he would keep his card for the 2020 season. Straka competed in the Men's individual event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing tied-10th overall. In February 2022, Straka became the first Austrian to win on the PGA Tour when he won

The Honda Classic The Honda Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in south Florida. It was founded in 1972 as Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic, and prior to a schedule change in 2021 was frequently the first of the Florida events in late winter ...

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida, 77 miles north of downtown Miami. , the population was 59,182. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6 ...

. He shot a final round 66 to win by one shot over

Shane Lowry Shane Lowry (born 2 April 1987) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. His notable achievements include winning the 2019 Open Championship, the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009, and the 2015 WGC-Brid ...

. In August 2022, Straka tied for the lead with

Will Zalatoris William Patrick Zalatoris (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional golfer. He has competed primarily on the PGA Tour, where he has won once, at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship . He also has three runner-up finishes in major champ ...

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. Early in the

2022–23 PGA Tour The 2022–23 PGA Tour is the 108th season of the PGA Tour, and the 56th since separating from the PGA of America. The season began on September 15, 2022. The 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs will begin on August 10, and conclude on August 27, 2023. It ...

season, at the

Sanderson Farms Championship The Sanderson Farms Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually in Mississippi. It moved to the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson in autumn 2014, early in the 2015 season. The tournament has been part of the P ...

, Straka lost another sudden-death playoff, this time to

Mackenzie Hughes Mackenzie Hughes (born November 23, 1990) is a Canadian professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Hughes was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a graduate of Kent State University. He won the 2011 and 2012 Canadian Amateur Championship. ...

. In July 2023, Straka won the

John Deere Classic The John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July, usually the week before The Open Championship, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois. History The tournament be ...

for his second win on the tour. Following this, Straka finished a joint second in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

Brian Harman Brian Harman (born January 19, 1987) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is one of the few ambidextrous players on tour. Amateur career In college, Harman was a three-time 2nd Team All-American on the University of ...

, six shots back, but his best finish in a major to date. On 4 September, Straka was announced by European captain

Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour. Donald had an outstanding year in 2011, winn ...

as one of six captain's picks for Team Europe at the

2023 Ryder Cup The 44th Ryder Cup Matches will be held in Italy in autumn 2023 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia Montecelio near Rome. The biennial event was originally scheduled from 30 September to 2 October 2022, before the 43rd matches were ...

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Web.com Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Champions was discontinued from 2023.

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Austria): 2011 Professional * Hero Cup (representing Continental Europe): 2023 (winners) *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

(representing Europe): 2023

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Straka, Sepp Austrian male golfers PGA Tour golfers Olympic golfers for Austria Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Korn Ferry Tour graduates Georgia Bulldogs men's golfers Golfers from Georgia (U.S. state) Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sportspeople from Vienna Sportspeople from Valdosta, Georgia Sportspeople from Athens, Georgia 1993 births Living people