FLOURTOWN, Pa. — Sepp Straka walked into the media center Sunday night at Philadelphia Cricket Club with the Truist Championship trophy.
Years ago, though, some predicted that his brother would be the one with the hardware.
Sepp has a twin, Sam, and they played together on the University of Georgia golf team. Sam was actually more heavily recruited than Sepp. But now, Sepp is a four-time PGA Tour winner—and the only multiple-time winner this season, except for Rory McIlroy.
How did he get here?
“I would say consistency,” Sepp said after his two-stroke victory over Shane Lowry and Justin Thomas. “Consistency of working at it regardless of where I was in my game. Junior golf, I wasn’t all that good. I definitely had some talent. I could hit the golf ball fairly well, but very rough around the edges.
“At Georgia, I just felt like I kept getting better. Had a quick bout with the chipping yips my junior year and redshirted, but other than that, I felt like I just kept getting better.”
What a Philly finish 🏆
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 11, 2025
@SeppStraka secures his second win of the season @TruistChamp! pic.twitter.com/9uoK9YfZkV
Indeed. Many of Sepp Straka’s competitors in his youth made it to the PGA Tour before him. But that didn’t deter him. After his collegiate career at Georgia ended, the Austrian played several events on PGA Tour Canada and eventually claimed his Korn Ferry Tour card for 2017. Then, he was a PGA Tour member for the 2018-19 season.
Success didn’t come immediately, though. And he needed to make sacrifices. So Straka began working with renowned swing coach John Tillery. With a few tweaks, Straka lost a few yards off the tee, but that was worth it. Three months into their partnership, Straka won the 2022 Honda Classic for his maiden Tour triumph.
“Once I started working with him, my iron play got really good,” Straka said. “At that point, I was just very much concerned with getting the ball on the fairway, so I could take advantage of that with my iron game.
“Yeah, it just kind of naturally happened. It’s not a crazy switch. I went from like 174 [mph] ball speed to about 170 or so. But, yeah, I’ve been able to hit a lot of fairways in the last couple years, and I’ve been able to kind of take advantage of my iron play that way.”
Just a few years ago, Straka was ranked outside the top 200 in the world. Then came the win at Honda (the first ever for an Austrian on Tour). Then another at the 2023 John Deere Classic. And that turned into a berth on the winning 2023 European Ryder Cup team.
Straka, 32, added another win at the American Express earlier this year. Now, with his triumph in Philadelphia, he’s projected to vault inside the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time.
Maybe some once thought his brother would be in this position. But with dedication and sacrifice, Sepp’s name is etched on the trophy.
“It’s just kind of a culmination of a lot of people putting a lot of work that’s gotten me to this point,” Straka said.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Sepp Straka Beat the Odds to Become One of Golf's Best Players.
