Thompson wins the John Deere Classic with the lowest score in tournament history

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) – Davis Thompson worked for a moment like this and he wasn’t about to let anything stop him – not a soft golf course that produced the best scores of the week, not the pressure of trying to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.

He started with a two shot lead. Six holes into the final round on Sunday, Thompson had five birdies and extended his lead to six shots and was on his way to a four-shot victory, a berth in the next three majors and the lowest 72-hole score in John Deere. Classical.

“I’m thankful it worked. I got off to a great start today and was able to kind of cruise the back nine,” Thompson said after closing with a 7-under 64. “Getting off to a good start was key and I was just able to ride. the impulse that comes.”

Thompson birdied a 45-foot putt on the first hole for a three-shot lead, and no one came close the rest of the way.

The 25-year-old from Georgia finished at 28-under 256 to tie the John Deere Classic record set by Michael Kim in 2018 by one.

“I just wanted to stay aggressive,” Thompson said. “We knew there were going to be low scores today because the wind died down and the conditions were a little soft.

“So I knew I was going to have to play well. Luckily I made a great putt on 1 and had a great up and down on 2 and just kept the ball rolling.”

The win takes him into the next three majors, starting with the British Open in two weeks at Royal Troon. He will also make his Masters debut next April.

Thompson is the 24th player to earn his first PGA Tour victory at the John Deere Classic, the most of any tournament since 1970.

The final hour was all about who would finish second and win the other spot at the British Open. That went to Taiwan’s CT Pan, who birdied the 16th and 17th holes and finished with a two-putt from 20 feet for a 64.

But a pair of young men made him sweat.

Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 63 and was the first to reach 24 under. Michael Thorbjornsen, the No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University rankings after finishing at Stanford, hit from a fairway bunker to 18 feet and birdied the putt for a 63 to join Clanton.

With a three-way tie for second place, the British Open spot went to Pan based on world ranking.

“Honestly, it will be hectic arranging all the travel details at the last minute, but it will be a good problem to have,” Pan said.

Meanwhile, Clanton became the first amateur since Billy Joe Patton in 1958 to finish in the top 10 in consecutive PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments. Patton was low amateur at the Masters and US Open that year. Clanton took 10th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week.

Clanton’s last two weeks would have been worth just over $804,000 if he had gone pro.

“We came into the week with pretty high expectations, I guess you could say after last week,” Clanton said. “I think we’ve kind of met that expectation for sure. Of course you want to win. But again, to do what I did out there today was awesome.”

Ben Silverman (65) of Thornhill, Ont., moved up nine spots on Sunday to tie for 18th at 18 under. The performance will likely move him into the top 100 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings.

Adam Svensson (69) of Surrey, BC tied for 34th at 12 under and Roger Sloan (70) of Merritt, BC tied for 61st at 8 under.

As for the winner, that was never in doubt. Along with that 45-foot birdie putt to start, Thompson rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 5 and had seven birdies through 10 holes.

He finally dropped a shot on the par-4 12th, and Thorbjornsen looked to have a chance to at least make it interesting. The Massachusetts native ran off six straight birdies and birdied the approachable par-4 14th. But his drive went well to the right and he hit a hard chip about 35 feet. He three-putted for bogey, missing a 4-foot par putt.

Thompson is in his second year on the PGA Tour and was tied for second last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. His hope was to keep the momentum going.

Perhaps his choice of accommodation also played a role.

Several Georgia players have rented a home near the John Deere Classic in recent years. JT Poston stayed there when he won the Deere two years ago. Sepp Straka stayed in the house last year and won.

Straka brought his wife and youngest son with him this year and gave the room to Thompson.

“I think I have to pay for the whole house, which is unfortunate,” Thompson said with a smile. “But I’ll gladly write the check for it.”

The win was worth $1,440,000. It also moves Thompson to 22nd in the FedEx Cup standings, all but ensuring he will be at every event next year.

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The Associated Press