2024-08-18
Sepp Straka was unable to improve on the final day of the St. Jude Championship and finished the FedEx Cup playoff event at the TPC Southwind only around 60th place. Next week, Austria’s number 1 will have to improve significantly in Colorado in order to be able to play in Atlanta for the third time in a row.
So far, the first playoff event from Blacksmith in Straka Viewed like a trough, because after a somewhat tough 71 (+1) opening round, he slammed a 67 (-3) onto the board on Friday, despite a final double bogey. However, the 31-year-old was unable to build on his very impressive performance on Moving Day and lost several places again with a 71 (+1).
With six strokes behind the top 10, a top result already seems quite unrealistic, but he will have to go full throttle again on Sunday, because so far he has not secured the Tour Championship in the top 30. In the end, every point could be decisive for the young father, which is why a good final day with a notable advance in the rankings could possibly be worth its weight in gold.
Early bogey
After the first drive only finds the rough, he even has to do some magic to get the ball under the trees and onto the front green, which at least allows for an initial par. The first quite feasible birdie opportunity arises on the 2nd, but the putter is not quite ready to play along from around five meters. However, things get uncomfortable for the first time on the only par 5 on the front nine, as he can no longer scramble for par after a watered attack.
He is unable to counterattack and gets himself into trouble again with another unpleasantly misplaced drive under a tree on the 6th. He pitches quite impressively to within 2.5 meters of the flag, but the par putt does not fall, which quickly leads to the next bogey. On Sunday, things continue to go pretty smoothly, because after a birdie-less front nine, a missed up & down from just outside the green proves his undoing, which puts him back to 3 over par for the day.
Double bogey dug out
On hole 12, he finally has reason to celebrate for the first time, as the risky tee shot is perfect and he then approaches the hole to within two metres, which the putter manages without any problems this time. Three holes later, the next iron sails to the flag at a similar distance, which at least allows him to adjust his overall score to even par. But even that cannot stabilize his game, as a wild ride on the par 5 proves: after a bunkered attack, he gets stuck in the sand twice and then misses the bogey putt from a distance of one metre.
He then defiantly putts in a shot from four metres and is able to limit the damage at least a little. He then makes it through the 18th hole again, but not unscathed after missing the fairway and green, and only manages to score 73 (+3). This means that the 31-year-old is only around 60th place and has also slipped back a bit in the FedEx Cup. He will start the second playoff tournament in Colorado in 23rd place, still on course for the Tour Championship, but next week he will have to slowly get into playoff form to avoid having to watch the tour finale of the best 30 for the first time in two years.
Leaderboard St. Jude Championship
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