Sepp Straka isn’t expected to play in next week’s BMW PGA Championship in England with the rest of the 12-man European Ryder Cup team, but for good reason.
Having already withdrawn from the 50-man field at the BMW Championship, the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, last month, Straka is unlikely to tee it up next week as he stays home to tend to his newborn.
Straka and his wife, Paige, previously have a son named Leo, who was born in December 2023. During his Wednesday press conference ahead of the Irish Open, European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald was asked if he was concerned that Straka wouldn’t be playing in the DP World Tour’s signature event ahead of the Ryder Cup later this month.
“Yeah, everything is OK. I don’t think an official announcement has been made, but him and his wife welcomed their baby a few weeks ago prematurely,” Donald said. “Everything is going extremely well with their baby. He just doesn’t want to be so far away. I think that’s only fair.”
Totally understandable and Straka should be applauded for putting family first. Donald said he has every reason to believe that the burly Austrian will be ready to go for Bethpage Black when the Ryder Cup begins on Sept. 26.
“Had many conversations with Sepp. He’s very motivated. He’s going to be continuing to work on his game hard. He’ll join us for the practice trip. But that’s the reason why he won’t be in Wentworth,” Donald said.
Straka, 32, enjoyed a banner season, winning twice on the PGA Tour – at The American Express in January and Truist Championship in May.
He was one of Donald’s six captain’s picks on Monday, and was a member of Europe’s winning team in Rome in 2023.
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