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Growing the lead: Sepp Straka crafts four-shot lead entering American Express' final round

Sepp Straka shot a second consecutive 64 on Saturday at the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta, but the two rounds of 8 under couldn’t have been more different.

Straka’s 64 on Friday came on the demanding Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West, a course playing just a shade under par for the week. Straka again posted a 64 on Saturday, but on the cozy La Quinta Country Club.

“It was very different,” said Straka, whose three-day total of 23-under 193 gives him a four-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round. “Honestly, off the tee (La Quinta) is a little more, I guess, a little tighter. It's not as much penalty areas out here as there is at Stadium, but you still have to drive it really well."

The similarity in the two rounds was the way Straka was hitting the ball, particular on the greens.

“Iron play was not as good today as yesterday, had to make a lot of putts. Fortunately, the putter was really hot, especially early in the round,” said Straka, who has yet to make a bogey in three rounds.

Completing the three-course rotation without a bogey, Straka has put himself in position to earn a third PGA Tour title. He’ll return to the host Stadium Course for a final pros-only round that will see tougher pin positions than for the first three pro-am days.

“Stadium's the type of course where no lead is safe. I think my first win I got at Honda, it's a very similar golf course, and there I think five shots back at the start of the day,” said Straka, a 31-year-old from Austria. “So there no lead is safe. You just got to keep hitting your spots, and you really got to strike the ball well out there, so that's really what I'm looking for tomorrow is just a good solid ball-striking round.”

While Straka was playing La Quinta on Saturday, many of the top contenders were playing the Stadium Course.

Jason Day came out the best on the day, shooting a 5-under 67 despite two bogeys and is now 19 under for 54 holes. Charley Hoffman, the second-round co-leader, managed a 69 on the Stadium Course and is tied with Day and Justin Lower for second place. Lower had the best chance to stay close to Straka, reaching 20 under and 5 under on the Stadium Course. But he bogeyed the par-5 eighth hole to fall back into a tie at 19 under with Hoffman and Day.

Day matched Lower’s 67 on the Stadium Course. Mark Hubbard and Patrick Cantlay are the the only other players in the field withing five shots of the lead. Hubbard shot 69 at La Quinta for an 18-under total, while Cantlay managed a strong 66 on the Stadium Course for his 18 under.

“It's a golf course I'm comfortable on,” said Cantlay, who fired a course-record 61 in the final round of the 2022 American Express to finish second behind Si Woo Kim. “I played this tournament a number of times. I feel like my game's in a good spot.”

Straka’s round at La Quinta in many ways was the reverse of what might have been expected. Playing the back nine first, Straka made six birdies on the way to a 30, the kind of score generally associated with the front nine at the course that opened in 1959.

Making the turn, Straka made seven pars and just two birdies, those on the back-to-back short par-5s at Nos. 5 and 6 — holes that often yield eagles. In all, Straka needed just 28 putts for the round.

Hoffman, playing in the first group off the tee Saturday, managed two birdies on his front nine but just one birdie on the back of a course that has been the talk of players all week because of firm greens that were renovated last summer.

“The other two golf courses (La Quinta and the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West) you have a lot of wedges in, you're attacking, the greens are a little more receptive and perfect, like the Stadium golf course,” Hoffman said. “But you've got to hit quality golf shots into the Stadium Course, and I was able to do that. I just wasn't able to convert on the birdie putts today like I did the first two rounds.”

Jason Day surveys the third green before making his putt of the Pete Dye Stadium Course during the third round of The American Express at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025.
Jason Day surveys the third green before making his putt of the Pete Dye Stadium Course during the third round of The American Express at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025.

Day’s round of 67 at the Stadium Course did include bogeys on the par-5 fifth and the par-3 13th. But he added seven birdies and felt relatively comfortable on the course in near-perfect weather conditions.

“I thought that with the practice round coming into today, I felt I would have had to play a little bit more conservative coming into these pin locations,” Day said. “But after a few holes you could see that they were a little bit more receptive, even though they are firmer than other two courses. It's nice to be able to get on the Stadium and play well.”

For Straka, whose last tour win came at the 2023 John Deere Classic, he is not only happy to be on the leaderboard, but happy to be with some of the players he will compete against. Straka will be in the final group with Day and Hoffman.

“It's amazing, it's a very fun leaderboard to look at. I played with Charley last week (at the Sony Open in Hawaii),” Straka said. “He said he's feeling good, so any time his body's feeling good he's kind of dangerous. Yeah, it's a great leaderboard, a lot of great players. It's just such a deep, deep tour. And so many good players out there and yeah, it will be, should be a fun Sunday.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Sepp Straka's lead grows to four at the American Express after 64