Washington (AFP) – Austrian Sepp Straka withdrew from the PGA Tour BMW Championship on Monday for family reasons, but will compete in next week’s Tour Championship, the tour announced. Straka ranks fifth in the FedEx Cup playoffs and has ensured himself a place in the season ender at Atlanta even without playing the BMW, thanks in part to wins at The American Express in January and in May’s Truist Championship.
“For personal reasons, Sepp is unable to play this week,” Straka’s manager, Butler Melnyk, said in a statement. “He intends to compete at the Tour Championship, but requests privacy at this time as he attends to a family matter at home.”
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That leaves a field of 49 for the BMW this week at Caves Valley Golf Club in suburban Baltimore. The top 30 in the season rankings will then advance to the Tour Championship on Aug 21-24 at East Lake.
World number 10 Straka, 32, is a four-time PGA Tour winner with 13 top-25 finishes this season, including a share of 17th at last week’s first playoff event in Memphis. In three Tour Championship appearances, Straka’s best showing was a share of seventh in 2022.
Straka ranks sixth in the European Ryder Cup team qualifying standings, with the top six after the Tour Championship claiming automatic spots in September’s US-Europe team showdown at Bethpage State Park.
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