Will Sepp Straka waltz off with this AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am?

PEBBLE BEACH —  He was born in Vienna and plays golf with consistency as beautifully as Strauss composed waltzes. His given name, Josef, offers a window to his origin, and his talent provides insight into his skill. Straka stomped across the California desert a week and a half ago, going 69 holes at one stretch without a bogey and winning the American Express Classic. Some 250 miles north, Straka is in the lead halfway through the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

He shot a 7-under par 65 on a cool, drizzly Friday at Pebble Beach and is at 14-under 130 for 36 holes. That put him 4 shots ahead of 2 men, 1st-round leader Russell Henley, who had a 69, and Cam Davis, 68, both of whom were at Spyglass Hill. 

The son of an Austrian father and an American mother, Straka and his twin brother Sam moved early on to Valdosta, Ga., where there may not be any strudel or downhill runs, but there are plenty of golf courses. He played at the University of Georgia and, since joining the PGA Tour, has secured three victories. A fourth could be as close as Sunday, but one thing we have learned in golf is never to make predictions—except when Straka is in the field. He's going to score effectively. So far in the two rounds of this historic event, he’s made only two bogies, one each day.   

“It was kind of a team effort,” he said about his spectacular second round. However, he was the only member of the team and was referring to the manner in which he scored.  “Hitting the ball really well early in the round, and then missed a few putts but made some really nice putts, too. So it was just all around a pretty solid day.”

Through the decades of this event which began as the Bing Crosby Pro-Am, frequent downpours have been so famous, that they’ve been labeled “Crosby weather.” Last year’s tournament was called after three rounds on a Sunday night, which was a precedent. A heavier rain than Friday’s drizzle has been predicted for Saturday, and how that affects Straka and the others is a guess.

“Yeah, the forecast looks pretty rough. I think it’s going to be a lot more challenging. Yeah, looking forward to that challenge.”

There was no 36-hole cut in this accelerated tournament, meaning everyone who started will finish—unless the player chooses otherwise, so still in the field are last year’s champion, Wyndham Clark, and Brendon Todd, even if they are 18 shots behind. Jake Knapp, with an-even-par 72 at Spyglass, slipped out of a first-round tie for second, but at 137, is in a decent position for a high finish. He is the former night club bouncer, who is now bouncing golf balls into cups. Of course, he and everyone must chase Sepp Straka, who has made the bogey virtually obsolete.

Waltz to that music.