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Valdosta's Sepp Straka developing a knack for playing well on PGA Tour's toughest courses

garry smits, florida times-union
·6 min read
Sepp Straka follows the flight of a tee shot at the 15th hole of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass during the 2022 Players Championship.
Sepp Straka follows the flight of a tee shot at the 15th hole of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass during the 2022 Players Championship.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — If Peter Straka had not needed to buy a new golf glove at the counter of a course in Austria, the newest PGA Tour star from the University of Georgia might not have been born.

Straka's mother, Mary, was an avid golf fan and had moved from Valdosta, Ga., to Austria to be with her boyfriend, a native of that country who was involved in golf course architecture.

The relationship ended but she fell in love with Austria, stayed on and went to work at a pro shop in Salzburg.

When her eyes locked with Peter Straka, it started another chain of events. This time, the relationship was lasting. The two got married and she gave birth to twin boys, Josef (nicknamed "Sepp") and Sam.

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Nearly three decades later, Sepp Straka has become the 11th Georgia Bulldog product to win on the PGA Tour, finished seventh on last year's FedEx Cup standings and given his knack for playing well on tough courses, was a pre-tournament betting favorite in this week's RSM Classic, which began on Thursday at the Sea Island Club Seaside and Plantation Courses.

The RSM Classic is the final event of the Tour's fall schedule. The Tour will break for the holidays and resume in January in Hawaii with the Sentry Tournament of Champions — where Straka will realize another perk for winning the Honda Classic last February, getting a berth at Kapalua.

He already clinched spots for the first time in The Players, Masters and British Open.

"The whole season was kind of a dream come true," said Straka, who is now residing in Athens, Ga. "Playing the 150th Open at St. Andrews was amazing, with my brother on the bag there. There's just so many tournaments that I've always kind of dreamed of playing and was able to play last year ... dreams come true."

They have been dreams that have spanned two continents.

Adjusting to South Georgia life

The Straka twins were athletic from the start, concentrating mostly on soccer and golf. They became members of the Austrian national junior team and when they were 13, they moved to Valdosta so their mother could be closer to her family.

Initially, Straka said it was a bit of a culture shock — two brothers from Austria now living in South Georgia.

Sepp Straka (right) has lost two tournaments in playoffs in the last three months. One was to Mackenzie Hughes (left) in the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Sepp Straka (right) has lost two tournaments in playoffs in the last three months. One was to Mackenzie Hughes (left) in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

But it didn't take long for them to adjust, especially since they were close to the American wing of the family — even if it was difficult spending so much time away from their father, who has an architecture business in Austria.

"It was big ... [Lowndes] is very different," he said. "We had spent a decent amount in South Georgia, my mom's side of the family is in South Georgia, so we always went and visited them. So we kind of knew what we were getting into, but yeah, the difference is huge, mostly in the school side."

Their progress continued in golf and Georgia coach Chris Haack signed them as a package deal out of Lowndes High. They carved out solid if not spectacular college careers but Sepp Straka has been the one to elevate his game.

Straka elevates game on tough tracks

He turned pro in 2016, became the first native of Austria to earn a PGA Tour card off the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour, when he won his first pro event at the KC Golf Classic and has kept his Tour card ever since.

Straka added PGA Tour winner to his resume last February when he won at PGA National, rallying from five shots off the lead and winning with three birdies on his last five holes.

He's come close two times since then, losing playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Classic to Will Zalatoris and at the Sanderson Farms Classic to Mackenzie Hughes.

Sepp Straka, hitting from the rough at the 11th hole of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass during the 2022 Players, has developed a knack for playing his best on tough courses. He tied for ninth in his first Players start.
Sepp Straka, hitting from the rough at the 11th hole of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass during the 2022 Players, has developed a knack for playing his best on tough courses. He tied for ninth in his first Players start.

Along the way, Straka has established a record of playing well on difficult courses. There's his victory at PGA National (with bad weather during the final round), a tie for ninth at The Players Championship (again, battling more weather issues), a tie for third at Harbour Town Golf Links, a tie for 15th at Riviera and a tie for seventh in the Tour Championship at East Lake, which clinched seventh place on the final FedEx Cup points standings.

With a week of chilly, windy weather in the forecast this week at Sea Island, Straka isn't a bad bet.

"Sepp's a fantastic golfer," said fellow player Brian Harman. "He strikes the ball really well ... big strong guy [Straks is 6 feet 3, 235 pounds], flights the ball ... he's got a good short game. I'm most impressed by the way he can control his trajectory."

Straka said the tougher courses play to his strength as a long, but accurate driver of the ball — but he added a caveat.

"When I'm playing my best, my driver's very accurate," he said. "So left, right is not a big problem to me when I'm playing well. Those courses [where he's had good finishes] where it's pretty tight ... you're still having to hit a lot of drivers. When I'm playing my game, that's probably one of my biggest strengths."

Game is still 'a work in progress'

Consistency is the issue. Straka had five top-10s last season but he missed 14 cuts. Since his runner-up at the Sanderson, he's tied for 45th, tied for 62nd and missed two cuts.

"Looking forward to just one more good week because all the FedEx Cup points matter and the more you can get early, the easier scheduling comes," he said.

Straka admits his overall game is "a work in progress ... you just keep trying to get better."

He also said he's still learning the process of practice and preparation, working with John Tillery on the full swing and Tim Albertson on this short game.

"When I came out I didn't really know what I was doing," he said of the process of staying on the PGA Tour once a player gets there. "I would just come out and hope my game was good and if it was, good; if not, probably wouldn't be so good.

Now it's a lot more structured. I've got a couple of guys that help me out with my short game and my swing and they come out a lot. Kind of structuring time around that and just making sure ready kind of going into Thursday."

But other see the raw talent and have no doubt Straka is a rising star.

"Sepp is really solid," said Harris English. "He just does everything well, he doesn't have a weakness in his game. He's very confident in his game, drives it straight, wedges it good, putts it good."

And English went so far as to speculate that he might step on the first tee of a Ryder Cup in the future for the U.S., and see Straka wearing the European colors.

"I think he's going to be a really good Ryder Cup pick even [if] it's kind of weird being from Austria and growing up in Valdosta," English said. "I think of him as a Georgia guy through and through, but I think [2023 European captain] Luke Donald would have a great pick in Sepp Straka."

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sepp Straka learned to play golf in Austria, learned to win at UGA