Sepp Straka reigned victorious at the Truist Championship on Sunday, after getting the better of Shane Lowry on the final day at Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Straka has firmly established himself as a top tier PGA Tour player, and his win at the Truist Championship cemented his standing inside the top 10 of the Official Golf World Rankings.
The big Austrian now has four wins in 180 events played on the PGA Tour, along with 25 top-10 finishes.
Straka showed his class after winning the Truist Championship, by praising his playing partner Lowry.
It was refreshing to hear Straka say that he has reined in his distance in order to find more fairways before the start of the 2025 season.
Now he will be looking forward to The PGA Championship at Quail Hollow this week.
Another man flying high on life right now will be his stand-in caddie for the tournament at Philly Cricket.
Sepp Straka says how much he paid his caddie at the Truist Championship
Drew Matthews – a college buddy of Straka’s – filled in for the European Ryder Cup star.
Straka’s regular caddie – Duane Bock – was forced to miss out on the Truist Championship last week due to back problems.
And considering how lucrative the week was for Straka, many golf fans are now wondering whether Matthews will get the full 10% that caddies usually receive when their man wins a tournament.
The 32-year-old was a guest on the Dan on Golf podcast on Monday.
And Straka lifted the lid on the reasoning behind his old college friend filling in on the bag for him at Philadelphia Cricket Club.
The Austrian explained, “Yeah, Dewey hurt his back last week, and, yeah, he wasn’t able to go. He came up just in case, but then he told me to have a backup plan.
“And so I called Drew. We played golf together in Birmingham. He’s a professional golfer. Plays on the mini tours, yeah, he was nice enough to just hop right on a plane and be here.
“So, he flew up Tuesday morning. We played a practice round and just kind of went from there. And yeah, he’s definitely going to get the usual winnings, guys get 10%.“
Dan Rapaport then said, “I mean, like, a guy who’s chasing his dream, like, did you have any moments with him to sort of sink in? I mean, obviously, it’s massive for you, but it’s huge for him, too.”
And Straka responded by sharing his delight and having potentially changed his friend’s life.
He said, “Yeah, it’s awesome. Yeah, I caught myself thinking about that last night, you know, I was like, yeah, 10%. It’s a lot for this guy, and Drew’s a great dude. He deserves everything, and, yeah, good player too. So hopefully this will kind of help him out and get him to, you know, pay for his travel for a little while.”
$360,000 for four days’ work, not a bad gig if you can get it!
Where next for Straka – the stats say a major win is close
Straka’s numbers this season are looking supreme.
Could a major win be just around the corner. It certainly can’t be ruled out…
| 2025 statistical category | Straka’s ranking |
| Strokes gained off the tee | 56th |
| Strokes gained approach | 2nd |
| Strokes gained putting | 36th |
| Strokes gained total | 5th |
| Driving accuracy | 14th |
| Greens in regulation | 2nd |
| Putts per round | 44th |
Add to that the fact that he has two wins in 14 events played this season, and four top-10s to his name, and you have someone who’s ready to win one of the biggest four prizes in golf.
Will Straka be able to get the job done at The PGA Championship this week? Maybe it will come too soon for him.
But a major win is undoubtedly in Straka’s future.
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