Sepp Straka received a lot of thought for the final round of the Honda Classic as the focus was on the final pairing of Daniel Berger and Shane Lowry, but it was Straka who produced a late birdie and snatched the tournament - the first by a PGA Tour. Victory. Austrian.
Like Lowry, Straka started the day in Berger's bailout, but made more of that ground with a six-birdie, two-bogie 66. His first four birdies all came within 12 feet, but it was one birdie. The par-4 beat from 18 feet in 16th place, which put Straka in part of the lead before a final two-put birdie, proved the difference.
A huge 334-yard tee shot at 18 - the longest tee shot of the week on that hole - helped establish the winning birdie and was the sign of Straka's tee off play for the week. He finished first in the receiving/off-the-tee stroke with his 9-degree TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver with a Mitsubishi Ky'Lee White 60 shaft, scoring nearly five shots on the field. Straka combined distance (310.0-yard average, ranked 17th) with accuracy (a field-leading 83.9 percent of fairway hits).
This allowed Straka to hit 76.38 percent of his greens, ranking third in the green in regulation percentage for the week, including his Shrixen ZX7 iron, a one-piece forged with compact short iron with a narrow sole. There was iron. The Grips are a Golf Pride's Tour velvet model. His wedge is Cleveland's RTX ZipCore, which he also uses for his pitching wedge.
All of which can now be regarded as the tools of a PGA Tour winner.
What Sepp Straka had in the bag at the 2022 Honda Classic
Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond
Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (Mitsubishi Kai’li White 60), 9 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus, 15 degrees
7-wood: Callaway Apex UW
Irons (4-9): Srixon ZX7; (PW): Cleveland RTX ZipCore
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (52, 56, 60 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey Stroke Lab Tuttle