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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Sepp Straka is going back to Georgia in a few weeks. He’s headed to the Masters, after pulling off a huge comeback to win the Honda Classic.
Straka, down by 5 shots entering the final round, tapped in for birdie in the rain on the final hole and ended up beating Shane Lowry by 1 shot to become the first Austrian winner in PGA Tour history. He shot a 4-under 66 on Sunday to finish at 10 under and earn $1.44 million.
“The words aren’t really coming to me right now,” Straka said. “It’s just crazy. I really don’t know what to think.”
He sure knew how to play.
A first-round 71 was followed by a 64 on Friday, 69 on Saturday and then a 66 on Sunday. He was 4 under in his final 10 holes, 3 under over the final five, finishing with a flourish while most others sputtered.
“It’s hard to win out here,” Lowry said. “It’s just hard. End of story. There is no point saying any different.”
Lowry shot his third consecutive round of 67, finishing the week 9 under. First-round leader Kurt Kitayama (68) was alone in third at 8 under, and Daniel Berger — who led by 6 shots with 19 holes left in the tournament — simply fell apart Sunday, his round of 74 leaving him 7 under for the week and 3 shots behind Straka.
“Just a poor round,” Berger said. “It can happen at any time. I’m not going to dwell on it too much. Just didn’t hit quality shots at the right time. Probably would’ve had a chance to win if I made a few more putts. I don’t think I made a single putt today.”
He didn’t. Berger made two birdies Sunday — both chip-ins, one from the sand, one from a grassy slope.
Lowry needed to make a 45-footer for birdie on the final hole to force a playoff. It missed, and with that, the Honda had a new champion — one who came into the week ranked No. 176 in the world, has never been higher than No. 129 on that list, and whose claim to fame as a pro probably was being the first-round leader at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
He’s a PGA Tour winner now.
“I hit the ball really…
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Source : espn
