He had to fend off Shane Lowry, but Sepp Straka’s impressive 2025 continued on Sunday afternoon.
Straka held on late to grab a two-shot win over Lowry and the rest of the field to claim the Truist Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club on Sunday. Strka posted a final-round 68 to get to 16-under on the week.
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The win marked Straka’s second of the season, which made him the second multiple-time winner on the PGA Tour this year. Rory McIlroy, who completed the career grand slam last month at the Masters, is the other. It also ended Lowry’s quest to finally win again on Tour after a bit of a dry spell. Lowry hasn’t won a solo title in nearly five years.
Straka and Lowry flew ahead of the field on Saturday and built up a three-shot lead after the 54-hole mark. That lead, though, disappeared pretty quickly in the final round — even with Lowry carding a birdie at the opening hole. Lowry made the turn at 1-under on the day, while Straka looked like he was poised to run away with the tournament. He eagled the par-3 fifth, and then made back-to-back birdies at the turn to build up a two-shot lead.
But Straka erased those birdies immediately with back-to-back bogeys. That kept Straka and Lowry locked up, and allowed Justin Thomas to stay within striking distance — though Thomas missed two very makeable putts, one for birdie and another for par, to play himself out of it. He finished in a tie for second at 14-under on the week.
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Straka and Lowry remained in lockstep on the back nine, and even each birdied the 15th after making nearly identical chips up onto the green. Lowry’s stopped just short of falling, which would’ve given him an eagle and a one-shot lead.
But finally, Straka pulled away for good at the 16th. Straka stuck his approach at the short par-3 and two-putted for an easy par. Lowry, though, missed the green off the tee and then had his par look lip out. That left him with a bogey and sent him one back.
Straka then closed out with back-to-back pars, including one on the 18th after he landed in the fairway bunker, while Lowry continued to stumble to the finish. Lowry missed a birdie look at the 17th, and then sent his tee shot right up against the grandstands along the left rough at the last hole to pave the way for Straka to claim his title.
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Lowry three-putted on the green at 18 to drop back to 14-under with Thomas in second, which left Lowry crouching with his head in his hands off the side of the green as Straka finished out. Straka easily sank his par putt to complete the two-shot win.
Lowry hasn’t won an individual title on the PGA Tour since 2019, when he won the British Open at Royal Portrush. He won the Zurich Classic last season alongside Rory McIlroy in New Orleans, which marked his third career win on Tour. Lowry has missed just a single cut on Tour this season and now has four top-10 finishes. His runner-up finish on Sunday is his second of the season, too.
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Straka is quietly having a very good 2025. He started the year off with a win at The American Express in his third start of the season. Since then, he’s missed just two cuts and hasn’t finished worse than T28. Now, not even halfway through the season, he’s doubled up his career wins total. Sepp is now in second in the FedExCup standings, too.
Straka has largely struggled at the PGA Championship throughout his career. He finished T66 in his first ever outing at the event in 2020, and he missed the cut there last season. He did finish T7 in 2023, though he was seven shots off the lead and didn’t stand a legitimate chance at the Wanamaker Trophy that Sunday.
But with the way he’s been playing this season, Straka is absolutely capable of making a move at the second major next week at Quail Hollow Club. With two wins under his belt in a matter of months, now may finally be his time to break through.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.