The thing about sports is you have to be patient. And hardworking. You have to put in the work behind the scenes so that the result turns in your favor. And that is the case with Sepp Straka. The University of Georgia alum made his debut on the PGA Tour in 2018, where he failed to make the cut in 12 of his 25 events played. But he kept his head down and worked. Nearly four years later, he won his first title on the Tour at the Honda Classic. He then added another one a year later, before playing an integral part for Team Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup.

The PGA Tour pro went the entire 2024 season without a victory, but again, he put his head down and put in the grind. He claimed his third title at the American Express event in 2025. And now at the Truist Championship in Philadelphia, the golfer made a resounding statement. After a thrilling four days of golf, Austrian Sepp Straka had cause for celebration. He claimed only his fourth-ever victory on the PGA Tour at the Truist Championship held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, defeating Shane Lowry, who was close in the running. “This year has been pretty good to me. Just really grateful for all the hard work from the people that don’t get to stand on that 18th green and celebrate,” the PGA Tour pro stated.

The 32-year-old’s career is hitting a crescendo at the right moment. He is currently second in the FedEx Cup points list, right behind his Team Europe mate Rory McIlroy, and is the only person other than the Northern Irish golfer to win multiple times on the PGA Tour this season. Reflecting on the same, he said, “The whole team, my wife, just the stuff that she does every day for me to be able to do this. My parents that sacrificed pretty much every trip — they didn’t take trips without golf trips. It was really special to get this win. Yeah, just really grateful for the people in my life that allowed me to play golf this way.”

Straka’s dad, Peter, was a golf course architect, while his mother, Mary, used to frequently play back in her days. In fact, the couple met each other while Peter was buying golfing gloves at a shop where Mary was working. “My parents are both golf nuts, so I suppose it was natural that Sam [my brother] and I would take up the game, even though we enjoyed playing football more when we were growing up,” the four-time PGA Tour winner stated. The love for golf definitely played a huge part in choosing golf as a career for Sepp Straka, and it has shown in his game this season.

Despite the two missed cuts at the Genesis Invitational and the Masters, Straka has been a proper model of consistency. And this consistency did not come just like that. It came with back-breaking work and focused training.

The team behind Sepp Straka’s success

“I don’t want to sound like some weird prophet but I knew he could be this good because I saw it the first few times we played that this guy was the real deal.” This was what John Tillery had to say about Straka, something he realized after playing a practice round with him. Straka and Tillery started working together in late 2021. At that time, the Austrian was yet to make a mark on the PGA Tour and was outside the top 200 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Nearly four years later, Straka could crack the top 10 with the Truist title.

Another person who is responsible for the improved game of Straka is putting coach Tim Yelverton. The eventual winner ranked second in the field in Strokes Gained by Putting and is a big reason why he pulled a victory, despite the nerves towards the latter stages of the round. Straka also went with a different caddie after his regular caddie, Duane Bock, was sidelined due to a back injury. He asked his friend Drew Mathers, who agreed despite the fact that it meant foregoing participation in the upcoming US Open qualifying for him. “Easiest yes ever,” Mathers stated.

While he was not able to caddy, Bock was there at the end to give Straka a big hug on his victory. That shows the level of connection and bonding Straka shares with his support staff, which is a huge reason why he is now one of the top golfers in the world. Here is to more titles for the Austrian star!