Sepp Straka has withdrawn from the 2025 BMW Championship due to a private family matter, the PGA Tour announced Monday. Straka was set to enter the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at No. 5 in the season-long standings, and while he will miss a significant point-adding opportunity, he should still qualify for the Tour Championship featuring the top 30 golfers competing in the postseason finale.
“For personal reasons, Sepp is unable to play this week.” manager Buter Melnyk said in a statement. “He intends to compete at the Tour Championship but requests privacy at this time as he attends to a family matter at home.”
The big-hitting Austrian entered the postseason No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings but fell two spots after Justin Rose and J.J. Spaun both passed him with top-two finishes at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Straka secured a T17 finish continuing a strong 2025 campaign that has elevated his status in the game.
Straka is one of six multiple-time winners on the PGA Tour this season joining the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. An early win at The American Express in January was accompanied by his victory at the Truist Championship, one of the eight signature events on the PGA Tour playing calendar.
Along with his two wins, Straka secured top-10 finishes in some of the PGA Tour’s biggest events, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial Tournament and most recently the Scottish Open.
Straka had teed it up in the BMW Championship each of the last three seasons with his best finish a T13 in 2024 at Castle Pines. Regardless, Straka is assured a spot on the tee sheet at East Lake Golf Club where he will look to improve on his career-best finish in the FedEx Cup, a T7 in 2022.
With Straka’s absence, the field for the BMW Championship at Caves Valley is now 49 players. McIlroy returns to the field after skipping the St. Jude Championship last week.