PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - Georgia is on Sepp Straka's mind in a different way this time.
The former University of Georgia golf standout and Athens resident is headed to Augusta in a few weeks.
Straka will compete in the Masters for the first time, earning a spot in the year's first major April 7-10 at Augusta National by pulling off a huge comeback Sunday afternoon to win the Honda Classic.
Down by five shots entering the final round, Straka tapped in for a birdie in the rain on the final hole of the Champion Course at PGA National and ended up beating Ireland's Shane Lowry by one shot to become the first Austrian winner in PGA Tour history. Straka shot a 4-under-par 66 to finish at 10 under and earn $1.44 million.
"The words aren't really coming to me right now," said the 28-year-old Straka, who in 2019 became the first Austrian player to earn a PGA Tour card. "It's just crazy. I really don't know what to think."
He sure knew how to play. A first-round 71 was followed by a 64 on Friday and a 69 on Saturday that had him among four players tied for second but five shots behind 54-hole leader Daniel Berger. Straka was 4 under in his final 10 holes on Sunday and 3 under over the final five, finishing with a flourish while most others sputtered.
Lowry shot his third consecutive 67, but it wasn't quite enough.
"It's hard to win out here," said Lowry, the 2019 British Open champion with two victories on the PGA Tour and five on the European circuit. "It's just hard. End of story. There is no point saying any different."
First-round leader Kurt Kitayama (68) was third at 8 under.
Berger, who led by six shots with 19 holes left in the tournament, simply fell apart Sunday. Mistake-free golf had put him in position for his second PGA Tour career win, but after a round that included four bogeys and a double on the par-5 third, he had to settle for fourth at 7 under - a shot ahead of Gary Woodland (67) and Sweden's Alex Noren (68).
"Just a poor round," said Berger, who made a bogey on his final hole Saturday. "It can happen at any time. I'm not going to dwell on it too much. Just didn't hit quality shots at the right time. Probably would've had a chance to win if I made a few more putts. I don't think I made a single putt today."
Both of Berger's birdies on Sunday were indeed chip-ins - one from the sand, one from a grassy slope.
Lowry needed to make a 45-footer for birdie on the final hole to force a playoff. He missed, and with that, the Honda Classic had a new champion - one who started the tournament at No. 176 in the Official World Golf Ranking, who has never been higher than No. 129 and whose claim to fame as a pro probably was being the first-round leader at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
"It's crazy. It's a lifelong dream of mine just to be heading to Augusta in a month or so," Straka said. "It's still surreal."
He matched the PGA Tour's biggest comeback win this season. Baylor School graduate Luke List was also down by five entering the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open in late January before winning a playoff for his first career victory.
Straka - whose family moved from Vienna to Valdosta, Georgia, when he was 14 - is among several former Bulldogs stars on the PGA Tour. That group includes Chattanooga native Keith Mitchell, whose lone win on golf's top circuit came at the Honda Classic three years ago.
Mitchell shot a 68 on Sunday to move 10 spots up the leaderboard and share ninth with five others at 2 under - one shot behind Austria's Matthias Schwab (68) and former Georgia golfer Chris Kirk (73).
Stephan Jaeger, a former Baylor School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga standout, closed with a 68 and tied for 48th at 4 over.
AP photo by Marta Lavandier / Sepp Straka kisses the Honda Classic trophy on Sunday after rallying from five shots down to earn his first PGA Tour victory.Ace for emphasis
TUCSON, Ariz. - Miguel Angel Jimenez made his second hole-in-one of the tournament while closing with a 7-under 65 to win the PGA Tour Champions' Cologuard Classic.
Jimenez started the final round at Tucson National's Catalina Course with a two-shot lead and got off to a birdie-eagle start. German star Bernhard Langer - the reigning Charles Schwab Cup champion whose 43 senior tour wins rank second in history - cut the lead to three with a birdie on the par-5 12th, but Jimenez followed with one of his own in the group behind.
The 58-year-old Spaniard ended any hope of a late rally with an ace on the 178-yard par-3 14th hole to match the one he had at No. 7 in the opening round. Jimenez, who holds the DP World Tour record with 10 holes-in-one, then closed with four straight pars to finish at 18-under 198 in the 54-hole event and win for the 12th time on the 50-and-older tour.
The 64-year-old Langer wrapped up a 65 to match Woody Austin (66) at 14 under and share runner-up honors.
Jimenez also won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in January and was fifth last week at the Chubb Classic, where Langer won to become the oldest winner in tour history and move within two victories of matching Hale Irwin's senior record.