Two European Ryder Cup veterans stared each other down in the final group, all tied up with three holes to go. Two red-hot, 220-plus-pound ball strikers trying to earn a signature win for their biggest PGA Tour victories in years at Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Shane Lowry? He blinked first, bogeying the 16th hole with an approach into an awkward green-side hill.
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Meanwhile, Sepp Straka kept finding greens, steadily rolling into the clubhouse with three pars to win the Truist Championship by two shots on Sunday for his fourth career PGA Tour win and second of the season.
Straka, 32, continues to elevate his standing on tour, rising from a fringe, nondescript Ryder Cup captain’s pick two years ago in Rome to one of the best iron players in the world. The win moves Straka up to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings behind only Rory McIlroy.
It further validates the dominant season thus far by Europeans in a Ryder Cup year, with Europeans winning eight tournaments and five of eight signature events in 2025. Between McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Straka — plus Jon Rahm playing well on LIV — and the top Europeans are breaking through more than the top Americans outside of Scottie Scheffler.
Add Lowry to that mix as well, as the 38-year-old Irishman added one more heartbreak to a year of frustrating close calls amid excellent golf. Lowry, ranked No. 17 on DataGolf, was in the final group Saturday at the Masters before a poor finish dropped him to 42nd. He was also in the final group at Pebble Beach as McIlroy pulled away to win. This close call gives Lowry his eighth top-20 finish in 11 starts, including four top 10s.
But this one will hurt.
When his eagle pitch on 15 missed a hole out by centimeters, Lowry looked like he was in the driver’s seat. Instead, Straka birdied 15 moments later, and Lowry’s poor approach on the par-3 16th left him in a difficult spot. Then on 18, with Straka up by one shot, Straka teed off first and found a fairway bunker. An opportunity for Lowry. But Lowry pulled his drive far to the left near the grandstand.
Even then, thanks to relief from the grandstand, Lowry put it closer to the pin than Straka. Again, he missed the opportunity, three-putting to bogey and lose an extra $400,000 as he dropped into a tie with Justin Thomas for second.
Next up on the golf calendar is the PGA Championship next week at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C., and once again, it will be the Europeans in the best form.
(Photo: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
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