Sepp Straka shoots a 66 in the final round of Honda Classic to win by one stroke

In the end, the rain poured down.

In the end, Daniel Berger could not keep his grasp on a somewhat-comfortable five-stroke lead heading into the final round.

In the end, Shane Lowry, who was the leader for most of the back nine, severely pulled his tee shot on the 18th hole and could not make the birdie that he desperately needed to force a playoff.

And, finally, in the end, little-known Sepp Straka was holding the Honda Classic Championship trophy.

“It’s crazy,” Straka said of his first PGA Tour victory. The triumph also earned him a berth in the Masters.

“It’s a lifelong dream of mine just to be heading to Augusta in a month or so,” Straka said. “It’s still surreal. I’m sure it will sink in here before long, but yeah, it’s crazy.”

And there’s one other important factor: Straka can put a $1,440,000 check in the bank in the next few days, his share of the $8,000,000 total Honda purse.

The day did not start off well for Straka as he bogeyed the first hole of the final round with a missed putt.

“I was pretty ticked off, but I had been putting well all week,” Straka said. “But when the greens get as fast as they are here, and it gets windy, you’re going to have some misses. So you kind of have to get over it and try to make the next one.”

And, for the rest of the final round, Straka made a lot of “next ones.”

OK, who is Sepp Straka?

A lot of people would like to know that, so here <FZ,1,0,14>are his credentials, or lack thereof. No offense intended. Just his history

<bullet>The Honda Classic, played on the Champion Course at PGA National, was his first PGA Tour victory.

<bullet>He is the first Austrian to receive a PGA Tour playing card and win on the tour.

<bullet>He moved from Austria to Georgia when he was 14 and gave up soccer to play golf for the Bulldogs in college, as did his twin brother.

For Straka, pulling off the Honda victory was no easy task. Straka birdied three of the final five holes to finish 10-under 270 after rounds of 71-64-69-66.

In second was Shane Lowry, playing in the final twosome, with 70-67-67-67—271, followed by Kurt Kitayama at 64-69-71-68—272 and Daniel Berger 65-65-69-74—273.

The deluge during the final two holes seemed to play a factor in the outcome.

Just ask second-place Lowry.

With Straka in the next-to-last group, the rain was very light when the 6-3, 235-pound Austrian pounded a 334-yard drive on the par-5 hole and made birdie.

Lowry, along with Berger. was in the final twosome and when they reached the 18th tee the rain was a full-fledged downpour.

Lowry pulled his drive horribly to the left, leaving little chance for a tying birdie.

“That bad weather came in just as we were hitting our tee shots,” Lowry said. “That was as bad a break that I’ve had in a while. It was a tough one to take.”

The entire day was tough for Berger.

Berger, who lives just a few miles from the course, easily had the biggest fan following for the entire tournament.

The final result disappointed both him and his fans, particularly after he shot meticulous rounds of 65, 65 and 69 before blowing up to 74 on the final day.

“Didn’t play well, so I didn’t deserve to win the tournament,” Berger bluntly said. “Today was a learning experience for me. I just did not hit the shots I needed.”Then he said what most every golfer knows.

“That’s the way golf goes sometimes.”