Shane Lowry will be left wondering what might have been after a crushing three-putt on the 72nd hole left Sepp Straka with the comfort of having two putts from just inside four feet for his second PGA Tour win of 2025.
He’d only need one, but the pressure was off after Lowry’s heavy-handed first effort went six feet by and the comeback putt lipped out.
Starting the day tied and with a three-stroke cushion over Justin Thomas and Keith Mitchell, it was always likely to come down to wire between the Ryder Cup teammates and foursomes partners.
It was Lowry who drew first blood at Philadelphia Cricket Club, rolling in a 12-and-a-half-footer for birdie on the first after Straka had missed from just outside, and it looked as though he would maintain his advantage after a deft chip secured a tap-in birdie on the par-5 fifth with Straka facing a 20-footer for eagle, but the big Austrian rolled it in to draw level.
Lowry was quickly back in front when Straka bogeyed the next, but a two-shot swing on the eighth and another Straka birdie on nine left Lowry playing catchup heading into the back nine.
Lowry continued to play steady golf but couldn’t make any putts but back-to-back bogeys from Straka on 10 and 11 tied it up again, and Justin Thomas suddenly found himself in contention before a short miss for birdie on 15 and a bogey on 16 left him needing a grandstand finish and help from behind.
After both Lowry and Straka came up short on the par-5 15th, the Offalyman had the honour and pulled off a delicious flop shot over the bunker that looked destined to drop for eagle before taking a left-turn at the death to sit inches from the hole. Straka responded with an excellent flop of his own, but he still faced a tricky five-footer that caught just enough of the left edge to drop.
The pivotal moment came on 16, with Lowry pulling his tee shot left of the par-3, leaving himself short-sided and despite an excellent recovery, watched in agony as his six footed lipped out.
Both parred 17, leaving Straka one ahead on the final tee. He found the fairway bunker, but drew a good lie, while Lowry was a little fortunate to land on the grandstand roof and careen forward. From 207 yards, Straka’s bunker shot was sublime, finding the putting surface but running 30 feet past.
Lowry’s approach was equally good, leaving himself 20 feet, but after Straka ran his putt an uncomfortable distance by, Lowry made the job that much easier with his costly mistake and the resulting bogey carried a financial penalty of $400,000 as he fell into a tie for second with Thomas.
“It’s huge, the biggest win of my career,” Straka admitted afterwards. “It’s hard to eat [with the pressure]. You feel nauseous but that’s kind of what makes it fun, when you’re pulling off the shots with that pressure, it makes it special.”
Rory McIlroy’s week ended in mild frustration as he got nothing going on the greens but still finished in a four-way tie for seventh at -10.
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