ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – It has been quite the year for Austria native Sepp Straka. The 25-year-old fell into a sophomore slump early in his second season on the Web.com Tour, having missed eight of 19 cuts heading into the KC Golf Classic. With just one top-40 finish on the year, Straka resorted to registering for the First Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, thinking he would have to go through three stages to regain Web.com Tour status for the 2019 season.

The tables turned for the University of Georgia alum that week in Kansas City, where he posted rounds of 64-65-64-69–262 to best Kyle Jones for his maiden Web.com Tour title. The victory moved Straka well within the top 75 on the Regular Season money list, earning him a Web.com Tour Finals berth and exempt status on Tour for the 2019 season.

Now, just a month later, the tables appear to be turning again for Straka, who posted a third-round 7-under 64 to claim the solo 54-hole lead heading into Sunday at the Web.com Tour Championship, the fourth and final event in the Web.com Tour Finals series. Straka enters the final round one stroke clear of three-time PGA TOUR winner Lucas Glover, Denny McCarthy and Curtis Luck.

Straka, who entered Moving Day T4, ran into trouble quickly, picking up a bogey at the par-4 opening hole at Atlantic Beach Country Club. The former Bulldog remained calm, however, picking up a birdie at the second to move back to even on the day.

“(My) ball-striking is really good,” Straka commented after the round, “it's been good all week, it's been really solid. I really haven't gotten in a whole lot of trouble and (have) been able to capitalize on a good number of chances with the putter. Hit a couple of bad putts today but some really good ones to make up for it. So ball striking's really solid.”

From there it was smooth sailing for Straka, who birdied Nos. 4, 7 and 9 to make the turn at 3-under 32. Back-to-back birdies on the par-4 16th and 17th moved Straka into a share of the lead heading into the final hole before a closing birdie on No. 18 allowed him to break away from the pack and claim the outright lead.

“It's nice,” he said of holding the lead. “It's always good to get an extra birdie in late. I got three of them to finish, which was nice. Yeah, it's very bunched up there, so you can't really take off, you've got to keep the pedal down and see where you end up at the end.”

The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada alum will be playing in the final Sunday pairing for just the second time in his career as he chases a spot in The Finals 25 and the first PGA TOUR card of his career.

“It’s fun to be in the final groups on the weekend and feel nervous,” Straka said of balancing the excitement with the nerves, “that's the fun part. So yeah, I mean, the balance is, you know, just try to tell yourself that everybody's feeling the nerves and just roll with it.”

Playing alongside Straka in the final grouping is Australian Curtis Luck, who is also chasing a spot in The 50 and his first PGA TOUR card.

Luck wasted no time going low at Atlantic Beach Country Club, opening with back-to-back birdies on his first two holes. He would par the par-3 third before going on a streak of five straight birdies, tying his previous career-best streak set earlier this year at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper.

“Obviously it just comes down to keeping that momentum going,” he remarked of the streak, “and trying not to change anything. That's the really important thing and I felt like I did that really well. I played really aggressive on the back nine, still went after a lot of shots and I hit it close a lot out there.”

Luck would ultimately make the turn at 7-under 28, marking just the fifth nine-hole score of 28 or better this season. The 22-year-old picked up two additional birdies on the back nine (Nos. 11 and 14) before running into trouble at the par-4 16th, a hole he has bogeyed in each of the first three rounds. Luck picked up another bogey at No. 17 before bouncing back with a par at the par-5 closing hole.

“Unfortunately (I) just had a lapse in concentration on the last few holes,” Luck reflected, “and hit a few uncharacteristic shots and they cost me, but really happy with the round.”