• Straka, sekarang berada di urutan ke-14 dalam klasemen FedExCup, tertinggal dengan lima tembakan memasuki babak final dan membuat birdie di tengah hujan di hole terakhir untuk mengalahkan Shane Lowry dengan satu tembakan untuk menjadi pemenang Austria pertama dalam sejarah PGA TOUR. Dia menembak 4-under 66 pada hari Minggu untuk menyelesaikan di 10 di bawah dan mendapatkan 1,44 juta.

  • Lowry shot his third consecutive round of 67, his 9 under total for the week coming up one short. First-round leader Kurt Kitayama (68) was alone in third at 8 under, and Daniel Berger — who led by six shots with 19 holes left in the tournament — simply fell apart Sunday, his round of 74 leaving him 7 under for the week and three shots behind Straka.

  • Lowry needed to make a 45-footer for birdie on the final hole to force a playoff. It missed, and with that, The Honda Classic 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.

  • "The third round, I definitely didn't have my best stuff," Straka said. "I just hung in there and grinded out a good round. I hit the ball really nice today and really could take advantage."

  • The victory ensures that Straka — who played his college golf at Georgia — will play the Masters in April. His wife took a flight in to be at the course on Sunday, just in case, and Straka hadn't even seen her until he got to the practice green before teeing off.

  • They'll have quite a bit to celebrate, after Straka matched the biggest come-from-behind win this season. Luke List was also down by five entering the final round at San Diego last month.

  • Berger needed a miracle at the end, and it didn't happen. His second shot at the par-5 18th went into the water, and with that his hopes were officially gone.

  • Lowry juga tertinggal dengan lima tembakan memasuki hari itu; defisit itu hilang setelah hanya lima lubang.

  • Kehancuran Berger benar-benar dimulai pada hari Sabtu ketika dia melaju ke tee ke-18 dengan keunggulan enam-tembakan, kemudian membuat bogey. Namun, keunggulan lima-tembakan melalui 54 lubang cocok dengan yang terbesar dalam sejarah Honda dan untuk seorang pria kampung halaman, bahan-bahannya sudah siap untuk kemenangan yang tak terlupakan.

  • Sunday had different ideas. He was paired with Lowry for the final round, and it didn't take long for the leaderboard to considerably tighten.

  • Lowry membuat birdie pada pukulan pertama; keunggulannya tinggal empat. Berger memasukkan bola tee ke dalam sedotan pinus di par-5 sepertiga, lalu mengubur bola di pasir bunker sisi hijau dan membuat double-bogey 7 untuk melihat keunggulannya dipangkas menjadi dua.

  • Lowry memasukkan birdie pada kuarter keempat. Memimpin ke satu. Berger three-putted dari jarak 60 kaki di posisi kelima untuk mendapatkan bogey. Memimpin itu hilang. Dan ketika Berger melewatkan 15-kaki untuk par di keenam, Lowry tiba-tiba naik satu.

  • Straka was in the group five shots back to start the day, then made bogey on the opening hole. But slowly and steadily, he clawed back — a birdie on the par-4 ninth got him to 7 under, followed by another birdie on the 14th.

  • A 20-footer on the 16th pulled him into a tie. That's when weather decided to show up, too.

  • Seolah-olah penyelesaiannya membutuhkan lebih banyak drama, itu mulai mengalir saat kelompok terakhir selesai. Kitayama dan Straka berkemah di fairway ke-18, keduanya tidak ingin muncul dari bawah payung mereka untuk memainkan pukulan kedua mereka ke hole finishing par-5.

  • Keduanya akhirnya melakukannya, masing-masing memukul sekitar 50 kaki dan menyiapkan putt elang. Straka two-putted, lalu menunggu untuk melihat apakah Lowry bisa mendapatkan 10 under.

  • He couldn't. And Straka is on his way back to Georgia.