Sepp Straka has been firing on all cylinders in his last two events on the PGA Tour, which sees him contesting the top of the leaderboard after round one at The Players.
He’s tied for the lead at five under par after day one at TPC Sawgrass. The Austrian had a bogey-free scorecard, which featured three birdies and an eagle on his way to an impressive round of 67.
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Straka was in contention last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational before struggling in his final round, and has carried that form into The Players. His play with his irons and around the green was so impressive that he achieved something only three players have done before him.
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Sepp Straka becomes the fourth player of over 9,200 to achieve TPC Sawgrass statistic
Straka’s scrambling was top-tier during Thursday’s round, which saw him save par time after time to keep his scorecard clean.
He ranked fourth in the field with his play around the green, gaining 2.27 strokes, and 16th with his approach play, gaining 2.06 strokes with his irons. This one-two punch has been the key to his success so far at The Players.
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And while over 9,200 rounds have been tracked at TPC Sawgrass, only three players have ever gained over two strokes on approach and around the green in the iconic course’s history.
That’s even more impressive when you consider how difficult the golf course is playing this year. The rough is thick around the greens, which saw even Scottie Scheffler have tremendous trouble with his chipping throughout his round.
That will give Straka some real confidence that he can take this tournament by the horns over the next three days.
The part of Sepp Straka’s game he said was ‘terrible’ during his first round at The Players
According to Straka, there should be some daylight between him and second place at this tournament, if not for being “terrible” off the tee”.
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That’s how he described his round when speaking to reporters afterwards. He said, “I didn’t play very well today off the tee. I hit it terrible off the tee. My iron play was good and my putter saved me a lot. But yeah, definitely need to clean up the tee balls out there.”
But Straka was impressed by his short game, even though he doesn’t think this form is repeatable over the entire tournament. He added: “I don’t think I can putt much better than I did today or hit my wedges much closer than I did today.
“So can’t imagine that would continue, so definitely going to need to find some fairways out there.”
Straka thinks that if he can’t fix his play from long range, he’ll tumble down this leaderboard. He can’t rely on this incredible play from around the green forever.
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