The deafening screams of “Come on, Tommy lad” permeated Sepp Straka’s ears across five soggy hours at Royal Liverpool on Sunday. The Austrian (-7), a winner on the PGA Tour in back-to-back years, clinched a runner-up place at The Open Championship for his best major finish yet. But a larger prize appears to have also been secured. The burly Austrian now looks odds-on to make his Ryder Cup debut at Marco Simone in Rome, bolstering a European side that is suddenly riding a wave of momentum as the American behemoth mostly staggers below unlikely major winners Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman and metronomic world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Straka’s Sunday experience would prepare him for both a Ryder Cup at home, absorbing the support, even if it was directed at his playing partner Tommy Fleetwood, and away, forcing him to block out the noise and focus on his own game.
