Sepp Straka Leads Pebble Beach Pro-Am After R2, Compared to Scottie Scheffler By Fans

Julia StumbaughJanuary 31, 2025

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 31: Sepp Straka of Austria hits a tee shot on the third hole during the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 2025 at Pebble Beach Golf Links on January 31, 2025 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Sepp Straka's performance through 36 holes of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is earning him comparisons to the world's No. 1 golfer.

Some golf fans compared Straka to Scottie Scheffler after watching the Austrian pro take a commanding three-shot lead by hitting a 7-under 65 in Friday's second round.

After stumbling with a bogey on the 16th hole, Straka recovered to finish strong with his eighth birdie of the day on No. 18.

Golf Channel @GolfChannel
Sepp Straka birdies 18 at Pebble for an excellent round of 65 and a two-shot lead. 👏 📺 Golf Channel | <a href="https://twitter.com/attproam?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ATTProAm</a> <a href="https://t.co/1tfq0CSf5f">pic.twitter.com/1tfq0CSf5f</a>

GOLF.com @GOLF_com
Thursday: 8 birdies, 1 bogey Friday: 8 birdies, 1 bogey Sepp Straka is 14-under and leads the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after two rounds. <a href="https://t.co/44dMyzfCmG">pic.twitter.com/44dMyzfCmG</a>

brian spilner @scrawnyrat1
Sepp Straka is the new Scottie Scheffler ?

Broc @fotballboi
Sepp Straka is the new Scottie Scheffler

Capman Grig @Pacmangrig
Is Sepp the new Scottie? My lord

Straka is coming off The American Express in Coachella Valley, which he won by two shots.

Should he follow up that victory with another win at Pebble Beach, Straka would become the first player since Mark O'Meara in 1997 to claim wins in consecutive PGA Tour starts (h/t Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group.)

Overall, Straka has made 40 birdies on his last 100 PGA Tour holes, according to Ray.

Straka credited his improvement to working on his putting ahead of the 2025 season in an interview with the Golf Channel (h/t NBC Sports.)

"We changed a little bit of the setup. Got my hands a little bit higher. Changed that grip, re-gripped the putter to kind of a slimmer grip," Straka said about the changes to his putting game ahead of the season. "So, we did a full overhaul of the putting setup, and it's paid off pretty well for the start of this year."

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Those improvements had some fans predicting big things for Straka as the PGA Tour continues.

Mike Hussey @hussey45
Cool to hear Sepp Straka acknowledge his putting issues over the years. Love that he's done a complete overhaul. If he puts 4 good rounds in a row, he will a major this year or next. Everything else in his game is unreal

Jets @JetsSuperbowl59
Sepp Straka. My guy. On a roll. Winning a major this year.

Straka's bid to win a second straight PGA Tour event could get trickier as the weekend continues. Wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour are slated to hit the course Saturday, per Riley Hamel of Golfweek.

Scheffler will meanwhile look to orchestrate a comeback over the final two days of the event. The world No. 1 heads into the weekend tied for 20th after finishing Friday with a 2-under 70.

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