Sepp Straka: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Austrian Pro

1. Sepp Straka was born in Vienna, Austria, to an American mother and an Austrian father.

2. His family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, when he was 14.

3. His full name is Josef Straka, but he has gone by Sepp his whole career.

4. He played collegiate golf at the University of Georgia from 2011-2016 and graduated with a degree in business management - he turned pro as soon as he graduated.

5. He is the first Austrian-born player to earn a PGA Tour card.

6. He has a twin brother, Sam, who also played collegiate golf at the University of Georgia.

7. He is a huge fan of the Georgia Bulldogs college team and the Atlanta Braves baseball team.

8. He has one Korn Ferry Tour win which came at the KC Golf Classic in 2018.

9. He joined the PGA Tour in 2019.

10. He has won twice on the PGA Tour, with his victories coming at the 2022 Honda Classic and 2023 John Deere Classic.

11. He reportedly used to travel to tournaments with cases of Diet Coke if he knows the tournament only supplies Pepsi beverages.

12. His best Major finish of T2nd came at the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool.

13. He made his Ryder Cup debut in 2023 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome after European captain Luke Donald named him as one of his six wildcard picks.

14. Straka represented Austria at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (played in 2021 due to Covid-19) where he finished T10th.

15. He married his wife Paige Dean in 2021, a Senior Acquisitions Manager at Southern Veterinary Partners. It is reported that the pair met when Straka was playing college golf for the University of Georgia against Auburn University, where Paige was studying accounting.

16. Growing up in Georgia, USA, Straka speaks English with an American accent.

17. On his nationality, Straka said after his 2023 John Deere Classic win: "I used to say I'm 50% Austrian and 50% American. A friend of mine who is Austrian, Clemons, corrected me one day and said, you are 100% Austrian, 100% American."

18. He has won over $13m on the PGA Tour.

19. His career-high world ranking is 22nd, achieved in September 2023.

20. Straka has sponsorship deals with companies including Srixon, Squairz, Symplr, OneStream, Mizzen+Main and Conceal.io. Sepp Straka's clubs are a mix of Srixon, Cleveland, TaylorMade and Odyssey. He plays the Srixon Z-Star XV ball.

How far does Sepp Straka drive the ball?

The Austrian averaged 299.5 yards off the tee during the 2022/23 PGA Tour season, which ranked him 98th. That was down from his 303 yard average in the three previous seasons.

How many tournaments has Sepp Straka?

As a professional, Sepp Straka has three tour wins. His first came on the Korn Ferry Tour (one below the PGA Tour) in 2018 before two PGA Tour wins in 2022 and 2023.

Is Sepp Straka American?

Straka was born in Vienna, Austria, to an American mother and an Austrian father and moved to Valdosta, Georgia, when he was 14. He speaks English with an American accent and describes himself as both American and Austrian. 

He represented Austria at the 2020 Olympics and played for Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup.