Luke Donald gets Ryder Cup boost after Tyrrell Hatton win as hopeful holds off Justin Thomas
Luke Donald gets Ryder Cup boost after Tyrrell Hatton win as hopeful holds off Justin Thomas
Share:
Sunday was a hugely encouraging day for European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, with two of his charges claiming big wins in different corners of the world. LIV Golf star Tyrrell Hatton started the day off in style with an impressive victory at the Dubai Desert Classic, holding off a chasing pack that included world No. 3 Rory McIlroy. And things got better late in the evening as Sepp Straka cruised to victory at The American Express in California.
The Austrian, a member of Donald's victorious team in Rome in 2023, claimed his third PGA Tour title in the process, finishing at 25-under-par, two shots clear of Justin Thomas at PGA West Pete Dye Stadium Course. Former World No. 1 Jason Day was a shot further back at 22-under.
Straka has done much of the work over the opening three days of the tournament – which were played across three different courses – taking a commanding four-shot lead into his final round. And the 31-year-old ruthlessly took his opportunity, going round in two-under-par at the much tougher Stadium Course and slamming the door on the rest of the leaderboard.
Straka's victory propelled him back into the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, putting to bed the frustrations of a winless 2024. But despite looking cool under pressure, Straka admitted his stomach was "in a knot" throughout the back nine. He added: "Definitely not comfortable. That's quite the opposite. I never really felt safe with the lead all day. Charley [Hoffman] was making birdies, Jason [Day] was making birdies, I think Justin [Thomas] was playing well ahead of us.
