The DP World Tour made an exception to its rules to allow Austria’s Sepp Straka to keep his tour card for next season in the wake of a family emergency.
Straka’s wife Paige gave birth to their son, Thomas, prematurely in August, and the baby has remained in the hospital for the first two months of his life.
Straka took time away from competitive golf in the first days of his son’s life, withdrawing from the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship (the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs) and the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship in September. He was the only member of the European Ryder Cup team to skip that event in the weeks leading up to the team competition on Long Island.
Now, Straka has had to withdraw from the final two events of the DP World Tour season, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship, to be with his family as Thomas finally comes home from the hospital.
“I need to be in Alabama to support Paige, ensuring we give Thomas the best start possible as he transitions from NICU to home,” Straka said in a statement.
That means Straka made only two starts on the DP World Tour (formerly called the European Tour) this season, and a minimum of four is normally required to maintain membership.
But DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings said Friday that he would make a one-off exception to Straka’s eligibility requirements given his family circumstance.
“Paige and I are pleased to share that we are preparing for our son, Thomas, to return home in the coming weeks after spending his initial two months of life in intensive care,” Straka said in his statement. “We are immensely grateful to the dedicated medical teams who have cared for him and helped him grow stronger following his early arrival in August.
“Thank you for the thoughtful messages and ongoing support we have received over the past few months. I would like to extend my best wishes to all participants in the upcoming DP World Tour Playoff events and look forward to being back out there soon.”
