How golf star Sepp Straka wrote the history of Austrian sport

Vienna celebrates another historic success. His professional career was marred by accidents even before he was born.

Sepp Straka's entire existence is tied to a simple glove. A piece of clothing hanging in a golf shop in Salzburg decades ago. A few years later, the buyer became Straka's father and the American-born saleswoman's mother.

Since at least last year, 30-year-old Straka has been inextricably linked with Austrian sporting history. In February 2022, he became the first golfer from Austria to win a US PGA Tour event - and a famous and lucrative one with the Honda Classic in Florida. 1.44 million US dollars transferred to the Viennese native, only one Austrian has ever received higher prize money: tennis player Dominic Thiem for his 2020 US Open victory (3 million US dollars).

Nearly 15 months later, Straka followed suit and celebrated another historic result from an Austrian perspective. The Austrian-American finished the PGA Championship in Rochester (New York) in seventh place, which not only brought her more than half a million US dollars in prize money. He is the first Austrian to finish in any of the four majors (Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, British Open) in the top 10. The previous record was held by Markus Brier, who finished twelfth at the 2007 British Open.

But who is this Sepp Straka? How did you get into golf? And what connects it with Austria or America?

The big world of golf still regards Austro-Americans as some sort of extraterrestrial mismatch. In 2019, in his first season on the PGA Tour, Golf Digest magazine headlined the young pro: "Most unknown name on the scoreboard." And even in Sunday's latest score report, it's featured on the tour's official website. : "How many Austrians do you know with a southern accent?"

In fact, Sepp Straka has nothing but a distinctive golf career behind him - both in the US and in Europe. Coincidence isn't the only factor that plays a decisive role today at the Salzburg Golf Shop.

Straka came to golf relatively late, even though his parents were avid golfers. Chance – or fate – again plays an important role in his life. His first passion was football, Straka was a youth goalkeeper in Vienna. When the club closes for the summer, he signs up for a golf camp with his twin brother Sam. They were both eleven years old.

Since then, the brothers have become passionately fond of golf. In 2011, Sepp first received international attention. Together with Matthias Schwab from Styria, the red-white-red duo promised success by winning a silver medal at the European Junior Team Championships. The two made up for it long ago, not least on Sunday at the Honda Classic, where Schwab also finished seventh in sensational fashion.

The place Schwab and Straka yearn for lies from the start over the Atlantic, where the world's best golfers play for the biggest trophies and winner's checks on the best courses. For Straka it's also a family affair, in 2013 his family emigrated to Georgia in the US. "For weeks, my brother and I were the talk of high school," recalls Sepp Straca.

In your shadow

For years she was in the shadow of her twin, "as much as I hated losing to Sam, it happened a lot," she once admitted. As a result, the University of Georgia only knows about Sam, while Sepp accepts a tempting scholarship offer.

Sepp Straka's meteoric rise began in college. While brother Sam struggled to make the transition to adult professional golf, Sepp was never able to stop. In 2018 he became the first Austrian to qualify to play on the US PGA Tour.

"Anyway it's an honor. "It will always be associated with my personality," he said shortly afterwards in a KURIER interview. He entered his first year on the big tour plain and simple: "I still look at hotel prices, but now I can indulge myself with something better."

He also acknowledged his special background. Even though she has lived in the US for a long time and is married to an American, Austria still plays an important role in her life: “I am not 50/50 American and Austrian, I see myself as 100 percent Austrian and 100 percent Austrian” rather than American. ”

The red-white-red flag beside his name has long been his unique selling point on the PGA Tour and Sepp Straka will also be competing for the country of his birth at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

And at the tournament in Japan, he attracted attention with grandiose gestures. At the Olympics, he replaced the regular caddy with his twin. “The relationship with Austria is very strong and it's great to have it in your pocket here. This is a special tournament and I felt it would be a great moment to share."

His looks don't detract much from a great game changer. He achieved a strong tenth place. Not everything in his life is accidental.