PGA Tour golf: Sepp Straka holds off Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas to Truist Championship victory
Shane Lowry's nightmare finish handed Sepp Straka his fourth PGA Tour win at the Truist Championship; Lowry bogeyed two of his last three holes to finish tied-second with Justin Thomas; Straka claimed two-shot victory; Defending champion Rory McIlroy ended tied-seventh
Monday 12 May 2025 13:46, UK
Shane Lowry missed out on PGA Tour victory after two late bogeys saw Ryder Cup teammate Sepp Straka claim a dramatic win at the Truist Championship.
The two players went into the final round at the top of the leaderboard and exchanged the lead on multiple occasions during a thrilling Sunday at Philadelphia Cricket Club, where the two remained tied for the lead with three holes to play.
Lowry bogeyed the 16th to fall one behind heading to the par-four last, where a three-putt bogey from 20 feet dropped him back to tied-second with Justin Thomas and handed Straka a two-stroke victory.
- Truist Championship: Final leaderboard
- Recap: Sepp Straka's win as it happened
- Rory McIlroy's results, news and 2025 schedule
- Stream the PGA Tour and more sport with NOW
Straka made an eagle, three birdies and three bogeys during an eventful final-round 68, seeing him finish on 16 under and claim a second PGA Tour win of the season, while Lowry's late errors left him posting a level-par 70.
Patrick Cantlay claimed a share of fourth with Jacob Bridgeman and England's Tommy Fleetwood, while Masters champion Rory McIlroy heads into the PGA Championship with a tied-seventh finish after a bogey-free 68.
How Straka pipped Lowry to PGA Tour title
Lowry claimed the early advantage by rolling in from 12 feet at the first but joined Straka in missing a birdie look from inside six feet at the par-three third, with Straka also scrambling a par at the fourth to avoid falling further behind.
The Irishman produced a stunning up-and-down from the rough to set up a tap-in birdie at the par-five fifth, only to lose his outright lead when Straka drained a 20-foot eagle to also get to 16 under.
Straka took two attempts out of the rough on his way to a bogey at the sixth and holed from eight feet to save par at the next, before a two-shot swing at the eighth saw the Austrian make a 15-foot birdie as Lowry dropped a shot.
A 28-foot birdie saw Straka take a two-shot lead into the back nine, where he three-putted from long range at the tenth and failed to get up and down from the bunker at the 11th to card back-to-back bogeys.
Thomas - playing in the penultimate group - made three birdies in a four-hole stretch on his front nine and missed a four-foot putt at the par-five 15th to pull level with the European pair, before a bogey at the next dropped the American further behind.
Lowry almost chipped in for eagle from off the 15th green and tapped in for birdie, as Straka matched his effort from six feet, but lost his advantage when he missed from six feet to save par at the next.
Straka retained a one-shot advantage heading to the par-four last, where he fired a brilliant iron from the fairway bunker to 30 feet and then ran his initial birdie putt some four feet past the target.
Lowry had taken relief from the hospitality stand and left himself 20 feet for a birdie to potentially extend the contest, only to three-putt for bogey and take the pressure off Straka's par putt for victory.
Thomas birdied the 17th and scrambled an unlikely par to join Lowry on 14 under, while Cantlay, Bridgeman and Fleetwood all carded final-round 65s to share fourth spot. McIlroy went into the final round six back and opened his day with a birdie, but finished on 10 under after adding one birdie and 16 pars over the rest of his round.
Straka celebrates 'biggest win'
Straka, who moves second in the FedExCup standings, said: "It [winning] is huge, the biggest win of my career. Yeah, just so grateful for the process and the whole team that kind of makes me play as well as I do.
"My coaches weren't here this week, but they're there almost every week. Even this week when they weren't here, there's always a back and forth, and they're always working on my game to help me succeed. It's great to see their hard work pay off."
Thomas, who chased a second consecutive Signature Event title, said: "It was a good day. Obviously I gave myself a chance. Starting three back to have a putt on 15 to tie for the lead, I definitely would have taken that at the start of the day.
"I'm a little disappointed in myself on 16 for pushing it too much and trying to attack there. I had two really, really good players that were playing really well behind us to where I felt like I needed to. I fought hard, played well, and gave myself a chance, which is what I wanted."
What's next?
Sky Sports is the home of the majors, including the PGA Championship, with over 40 hours of live coverage from the four tournament days and a host of extra programming available throughout the week.
"Live from The PGA Championship" will offer eight hours of extended build-up, news and interviews on both Tuesday and Wednesday, before live coverage from the opening round begins on Thursday at 1pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
