The 31-year-old beat Justin Thomas for his third career PGA win on the back of a final round 70 with Australia's Jason Day in a tie for third.
Straka, the first Austrian to win on the tour three years ago, took a four-shot lead into the final round at the Coachella Valley tournament.Â
He didn't have a bogey across the four days until making two in the final three holes on Sunday, but his competitors couldn't mount a charge to make it uncomfortable.
Straka looked cool and collected on PGA West's Stadium Course— but he wasn't.
"Nerves, just complete nerves," Straka said. "Stomach in a knot, the whole nine. So, yeah, just really excited about the way I handled the pressure today."
Playing in the final group, Jason Day has finished third in The American Express PGA tournament. (AP PHOTO)
Thomas shot a 66 to finish at 23 under, one shot ahead of Justin Lower (69) and Day (69). Lower matched the best finish of his tour career.
Patrick Cantlay and Charley Hoffman were 20 under.
Hitting greens regularly and putting capably, Straka was three holes away from becoming the first tour player since 2022 to play 72 bogey-free holes in a victory — until he sprayed his second shot on the 16th into the far right rough behind a berm.Â
His third shot didn't reach the green, and he barely missed a 17-foot par putt.
Straka's first major mistake made no difference, nor did his next.
He put his approach shot into a bunker on the 18th and then missed a 23-foot par putt, but he buried his 4-foot bogey putt and celebrated with a minimal fist pump.
"This golf course, you can't really let up," Straka said. "You've still got to make really aggressive swings, because you're one swing away from a double bogey. I think that was the biggest challenge today was keeping aggressive on my targets."
Thomas, who finished in a third-place tie at The American Express last year, made six birdies on his first 11 holes in the final round to briefly trim Straka's lead to three shots.Â
The two-time PGA Championship winner ran out of steam on the back nine in his quest for his first tour victory since 2022, finishing his round with seven consecutive pars.
"I had a chance," Thomas said.
Cool, calm and collected 😎— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) Three-time TOUR winner @SeppStraka talks about how he handled the pressure with his first 54-hole lead that led to victory @TheAmExGolf. pic.twitter.com/1ywTFPFiVNJanuary 20, 2025
"It wasn't, obviously, a great one on the back nine, but I was proud of myself. I did what I needed to do on the front nine today to at least be making some noise and moving up the leaderboard.
"It was unfortunate to kind of stall there after 11. Really, really played some great golf today."
Day was another former PGA Championship winner in with a chance heading into the fourth round.
But he failed to mount a charge while playing in the final group with Straka, and a bogey on the 15th pushed him out of range.
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