Davis Thompson won the John Deere Classic with a record tournament score of 28-under to clinch his first PGA Tour win.
On Sunday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, Thompson stormed to a four-shot victory over the field to win the John Deere Classic - an event that takes place on a “bottom-half easier” course according to Jordan Spieth . Thompson starred throughout his third round on Saturday, shooting a nine-under 62 which matched his career-low and gave him a two-shot lead over the field.
Taking to the tee for his final round, Thompson made five birdies in his first six holes of the day and carded a 29 on the front nine as he held a six-shot lead over at the turn that would prove insurmountable. While he shot just one-under on the back-nine, the 25-year-old’s lead was too much and he held on to clinch his maiden PGA Tour victory.
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The victory earned Thompson one of the final spots in the British Open, the final major of the year, in two weeks. The event at Royal Troon will be Thompson’s first appearance at the major championship, and just the fifth major start of his career.
“I’m just thankful it worked out. I got off to a great start today and was able to just kind of cruise on the back nine,” Thompson said. “Getting off to a good start was crucial, and I was just able to ride the momentum coming in.”
He added: “I just wanted to stay aggressive. I knew there would be low scores out there today because the wind kind of died down and the conditions were a little soft. So I knew I was going to have to go play well. Thankfully, I made a great putt on 1 and had a great up and down on 2 and kept the ball rolling.”
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Thompson is in his second full year on the PGA Tour. The former Georgia star entered this week following his runner-up finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, but victory on Sunday means he is one of two golfers to clinch a British Open spot alongside C.T. Pan, who won the tiebreaker with Michael Thorbjornsen and Luke Clanton after finishing second based on his Official World Golf Ranking.
Thompson is the 24th player to get his first PGA Tour win at the John Deere Classic, the most of any tournament dating to 1970. Spieth claimed his first victory at the event in 2013, and the three-time major champion claimed the title again two years later, which is why he has made no secret regarding how easy he finds the course.
After shooting a 67-second round on Friday, Spieth said: “It’s one of the probably bottom-half easier golf courses. It’s a great golf course. When it’s soft it’s one of the easiest ones we play. Yeah, I can make a move, but everyone is going to make a move. So I will try and beat the field average by four or five shots, but that is going to take shooting 8- or 9-under. So it’s not like it’s a walk in the park. You still have to hit nice shots.”
Spieth’s score of 15-under made him finish tied for 26th. The three-time major champion will be desperate to see his form transition to for the Scottish Open and The Open later this month.
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