This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
Sepp Straka stepped onto the 18th tee on Sunday at TPC Deere Run needing a birdie to shoot 59. He was 11-under-par on the day and had surged to a four-stroke lead in the John Deere Classic. Par would almost certainly win the tournament, even though his closest pursuers were still early on the back nine in this big-time birdie-fest.
It was logical to think: Birdie definitely wins the tournament, par probably does. … But what about double bogey?
Yes, after putting his drive in the middle of the fairway, Straka incredibly hooked his approach into the water on the left. Not only was the 59 gone, but the four-stroke lead was suddenly two, and Straka had to anxiously wait out the final hour of the tournament.
In the end, no one could catch Straka, whose Sunday 62 was good enough for a two-stroke win over Brendon Todd and Alex Smalley and his second career PGA Tour title.
As Straka said afterward, "As fun as the 59 would be, I think winning the golf tournament is always more fun."
The man has a point. (Heck, 59 isn't even what it once was, after Jim Furyk shot a 58 at the 2016 Travelers.)
The field was not robust, to put it kindly, as the Deere never is, but the win was still incredibly important for Straka (ask the likes of Adam Schenk and Denny McCarthy, good players still looking for their first career wins).
The 30-year-old Austrian struggled for a good chunk of 2023, only recently starting to emerge from a malaise. He was seventh at the PGA Championship, 16th at the Memorial. That may not sound like all that much for someone who won the Honda Classic last year and reached the top-25 in the world rankings.
But Straka had drifted into the 30s OWGR and nearly 40th. His break-and-butter approach play improved of late, as did his putting.
But still, he shot 73 on Thursday and sat in 133rd place. Missing the cut at the Deere would've been two steps back. Straka said his putting coach texted him on Thursday night, pointed out something amiss. The change meant everything, as Straka played the final 53 holes of the tournament in 23-under. He won the tournament at 21-under.
Straka now sits 18th in the FedExCup standings, with the playoffs starting next month. Reaching the all-important Tour Championship is well within reach. Maybe more importantly – probably more importantly –Straka suddenly is a larger presence in European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald's thought process. He's not on the team for Italy in late September yet, but the Deere win surely vaulted him ahead of some other contenders.
Straka was asked about the Ryder Cup on Sunday.
"Yeah. You know, September is a few months away, and I'm glad my game is in good shape. Hopefully I can make a push for that."
He didn't bite, just like he didn't bite when asked about shooting 59.
Straka knew that winning the tournament was more important than shooting 59.
He also knows that making the Ryder Cup is more important than shooting 59.
His Sunday 62 may work out fine all the way around.
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Brendon Todd
This was the second runner-up of the year for Todd, who also was second at Pebble Beach in February. In between then and now, it had been tough sledding for him, with just one top-25 across the five months (T8 at the Wells Fargo). Todd, like most of the top guys at the John Deere, is skipping this week's Scottish Open. But he'll be in the Open Championship the following week. His one good result in five months came at the right tournament – the Wells Fargo was part of the Open Qualifying Series and he was one of three non-exempt guys to punch tickets to Royal Liverpool that week.
Alex Smalley
Smalley is making a late-season push that has landed him firmly in the upcoming playoffs. After this co-runner-up, which followed a tie for ninth at the Travelers a few weeks back, he sits 43rd in the point standings, well within the top-70 threshold. Those two top-10s are his only ones in 2023.
Ludvig Aberg
The young Swede still has not missed a PGA Tour cut in 2023, and this was his best result by far. Aberg tied for fourth, combining great driving (third in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee) with stellar putting (fifth in SG: Putting). He now heads to the Scottish Open, hoping to snare one of the final berths in the Open Championship. Three slots are being held for players not already in the field for Royal Liverpool.
Adam Schenk
Schenk did it again – another great week, but one that left him still searching for his maiden win. He tied for fourth and now has four top-7s in his past six starts. He moved to a career-high 45th in the world rankings. More importantly, he's now 19th in the FedExCup standings, meaning if the Tour Championship started today, he'd be in it.
Cameron Young
When Young took the 36-hole lead, he seemed headed toward showing everyone that he was the class of this field. But instead, his season-long woes continued as he wound up tied for sixth. He's had some other good results, such as a top-7 at the Masters and runner-up at the Match Play, but he has not been the same golfer as the one who took Rookie of the Year honors last season. We'll see Young next at the Open, where he was runner-up last year. He certainly needs a strong finish to the season to give him any chance to be a captain's pick from Zach Johnson for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Grayson Murray
Murray has been spending time on both the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour this season, winning a KF event in May. He had a great week at the Deere with a tie for sixth, but he still has a long way to have a PGA Tour card for next season. Murray sits 176th in the point standings.
Mark Hubbard
Hubbard rebounded from two missed cuts in a row with a tie for sixth, his third top-10 in his past six starts. He's 54th in the point standings, which would get him into the playoffs. When your approach play is strong, as Hubbard's is, there aren't too many truly down weeks.
Lucas Glover
Glover switched to a long putter recently and the results have been outstanding. Following a tie for fourth at the Rocket Mortgage, he tied for sixth at the Deere. He ranked 16th in the field in SG: Putting. It's too soon to tell, but for Glover, a very good iron player, this could set off a career renaissance.
J.T. Poston
Poston tied for sixth in his title defense, and he really needed a good week. It was his first top-25 in nine stroke-play tournaments, since the Valspar back in March.
Denny McCarthy
McCarthy entered as the betting favorite with the top DraftKings price. That could put a lot of pressure on a player, especially one who hasn't won before. McCarthy wound up tied for sixth and, while he's still searching for that first PGA Tour win, it was another great week that sets him up nicely for the upcoming playoffs.
Troy Merritt
Last week, Merritt found comfort as a course horse at Detroit Golf Club, allowing him to make a cut for the first time in 15 starts. He tied for 17th. It felt so good he went out and did it again, tying for 17th at the Deere.
Peter Kuest
All Kuest needed to do to pick up Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour was to make the cut. He did a lot more, tying for 17th. That followed a tie for fourth last week at the Rocket Mortgage. There are only a few tournaments left this season, so it doesn't buy a lot of time for Kuest. But he's shown he's a capable player who might have fantasy value down the stretch and next season.
Gordon Sargent
The Vanderbilt star who made the cut at the U.S. Open got a sponsor invite and made the most of it, tying for 57th.
