Sepp Straka shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday while his top competitors failed to match his sizzling pace, staking the Austrian to a four-shot lead over Charley Hoffman, Jason Day and Justin Lower after three rounds at The American Express.

Sepp Straka boatraced his closest competitors for most of the back nine at the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West Sunday afternoon in the closing round of T. With a relatively comfortable lead, he could even afford two bogeys on the final three holes – his first of the 72-hole tournament – before closing it out with a two-putt for his third career PGA Tour victory.

I think that was the biggest challenge today was keeping aggressive on my targets,” Straka said after his two-under 70. “Nerves, just complete nerves. Stomach in a knot, the whole nine. So, yeah, just really excited about the way I handed the pressure today.

Straka, one of more than a dozen active PGA Tour players from the University of Georgia, followed up his third-round 64 with a 70 on Sunday at the Stadium Course and at 25-under-par 263 won The American Express by two shots over Justin Thomas (66).

Straka’s round at La Quinta in many ways was the reverse of what might have been expected. Playing the back nine first, Straka made six birdies on the way to a 30, the kind of score generally associated with the front nine at the course that opened in 1959.

Sepp Straka held off Justin Thomas by two shots at The American Express to claim his third PGA Tour title; the 31-year-old Austria was on the verge of becoming the first tour player since 2022 to play 72 bogey-free holes in a victory,

Straka shot 8-under-par 64 for the second day in a row to surge to the lead on Saturday at La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif. He's at 23 under and will take a four-stroke lead to Sunday's final round on Pete Day Stadium Course.

Sepp Straka won The American Express by two shots over Justin Thomas on Sunday, finishing his third career PGA Tour victory at 25-under 263 with a

Leading final round scores on Sunday in the US PGA Tour's American Express tournament in La Quinta, California (USA unless stated; par-72):

Pro Charley Hoffman dumped two golf balls into the water during the American Express — then got a “big break” after an intriguing rules talk.

Lower is now second behind only J.J. Spaun with one event left before signature-event exemptions are handed out.