Sepp Straka held off Justin Thomas by two shots at The American Express to claim his third PGA Tour title; the 31-year-old Austria was on the verge of becoming the first tour player since 2022 to play 72 bogey-free holes in a victory,

Straka shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday in his third straight bogey-free round, staking the newly bald Austrian to a four-shot lead over Charley Hoffman, Jason Day and Justin Lower in the Coachella Valley desert.

Straka, one of more than a dozen active PGA Tour players from the University of Georgia, followed up his third-round 64 with a 70 on Sunday at the Stadium Course and at 25-under-par 263 won The American Express by two shots over Justin Thomas (66).

With the $918,000 check for finishing second in the $8.8 million event, Thomas becomes the latest PGA Tour player to surpass the $60 million mark in career earnings. He is now 10th all time at $60,827,898, passing Matt Kuchar on the list. Thomas is still just under $60 million shy of all-time leader Tiger Woods.

Sepp Straka overcomes some late nerves to claim his third PGA Tour title by edgin out Justin Thomas at The American Express.

The 31-year-old Austrian won the American Express at PGA West without carding a bogey until the 70th hole of the tournament.

The win earned the 31-year-old Straka his first title since the 2023 John Deere Classic and the $1,584,000 first-place check, the largest of his career.

Sepp Straka boatraced his closest competitors for most of the back nine at the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday afternoon in the closing round of T. With a relatively comfortable lead, he could even afford two bogeys on the final three holes – his first of the 72-hole tournament – before closing it out with a two-putt for his third career PGA Tour victory.

I think that was the biggest challenge today was keeping aggressive on my targets,” Straka said after his two-under 70. “Nerves, just complete nerves. Stomach in a knot, the whole nine. So, yeah, just really excited about the way I handed the pressure today.

Because of a screwy part of the European rankings, Austrian did not earn any points toward making the team for the 2025 event at Bethpage.

Austria’s Sepp Straka clinched his third PGA Tour title with a two-shot victory at The American Express in California. Heading into Sunday’s final round with a four-shot lead, Straka was able to hold his nerve despite two late dropped shots to get across the line carding two under 70.