Sepp Straka is having a brilliant season, with his second win of the year, at the Truist Championship, coming with a second caddie on his bag, friend Drew Mathers.
That came less than four months after he won The American Express alongside regular caddie Duane Bock. He had to sit out the Philadelphia Cricket Club signature event with a back injury, giving Mathers the chance to step in temporarily and bank an estimated $360,000 for his contribution to Straka’s win.
With Bock still out of action, it would have seemed natural for the Austrian to stick with Mathers for this week’s PGA Championship, but instead, he’s turning to another looper, and it’s someone he already knows very well indeed.
At the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Straka will be alongside twin brother Sam, as he confirmed to reporters the day before the first round, saying: “Yeah, Dewey [Bock] had an MRI yesterday, my regular caddie. He's not going to go this week, but hopefully will be ready coming up here in the next few weeks. They told him to rest a little bit. He's feeling a little bit better, so things are looking up there, and my brother is going to be on the bag this week.”
So, why has Sam been given the nod this week? According to Straka, even if Bock had been fit, he wouldn’t have been involved. He explained: “It was already planned. Dewey's daughter is graduating college on Friday, I believe. So my brother was already going to caddie Friday, Saturday. So it wasn't a huge change of plans. We just told him he's going to be going the whole week instead.”
It's safe to say the twins will have no issue figuring out what makes each other tick, while this isn’t the first time the pair have linked up on the course. Most notably, Sepp had Sam on the bag for his appearance at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago, where he led after the first round, setting a new tournament record with a 63, before finishing T10. Meanwhile, Sam also knows the game intimately, having played collegiate golf at the University of Georgia.
Given those credentials, as well as his brilliant form, Straka would have every right to feel confident heading into this week’s event. He admitted the win in Pennsylvania had taken it out of him, although he’s confident he’ll be ready to go by Thursday. He said: I've had a lot of off weeks after my wins recently, which definitely helps to decompress, take it all in, get your energy back. But when it's a quick turnaround like this, it's hard.
“The big thing is getting energy back. You get kind of drained. There's a lot of pressure. You're wrestling a lot of things, and then obviously after you win, there's a lot of adrenaline still going. Last night, I had a really good night of sleep. So hopefully, hopefully, we're getting back on that track.”
Another benefit of Straka’s form is that he’s now firmly ensconced in the top six of the European Ryder Cup rankings, which would guarantee his place at the Bethpage Black match. That’s something he hopes he can maintain as it draws closer.
He said: “Yeah, definitely was a little bit behind in the points. So the goal all year has been to make that team. Yeah, it's nice to kind of get that big chunk of points. But yeah, hopefully I can keep playing well and be in one of the top six there by the end of the year.”
