Ahead of the St. Jude Championship, Rory McIlroy made headlines when he decided to withdraw from the event. His status already cemented for the BMW Championship, McIlroy opted to take the weekend off to rest up for the penultimate FedEx Cup Playoff event at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, MD this week.
Just a week later, another PGA Tour star was forced to withdraw from another playoff event.
Sepp Straka Withdraws From BMW Championship
FedExCup No. 5 Sepp Straka withdrew from the BMW Championship due to a private family manner and will not play the second and penultimate event of the FedExCup Playoffs. Straka entered the St. Jude Championship at No. 3 in the standings, but slipped two spots after finishing T-17.
“For personal reasons, Sepp is unable to play this week. He intends to compete at the TOUR Championship, but requests privacy at this time as he attends to a family matter at home,” Straka’s manager Butler Melnyk said in a statement.
Straka’s Rise During the 2025 Season
The four-time PGA Tour winner and No. 11 player in the world has already won twice on tour this season – at The American Express in January and the Truist Championship in May. He also has 13 top-25 finishes, including a T-17 at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
This will be the fourth consecutive time, and fourth time overall, that Straka has qualified for a Tour Championship. His highest finish came back in 2022 when he finished T-7.
Straka is well on his way to punching his ticker to the Ryder Cup as he currently sits sixth in the European Team’s standings – the top six in the European standings after the Tour Championship will qualify automatically for next month’s matches at Bethpage.
No matter what happens at the BMW Championship, Straka will advance to the Tour Championship thanks to his impressive efforts earlier this season.
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