SILVIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Davis Thompson shot 7-under par 64 to run away with the John Deere Classic for his first PGA Tour victory Sunday in Illinois.
Thompson finished with a tournament-record 28-under 256 for a four-shot victory on a trio of contenders, breaking away from a two-shot lead from the beginning of the day and leading by as many as six strokes.
Luke Clanton, a Florida State golfer, shot 63 and became the first amateur to record top 10 finishes in back-to-back weeks on the PGA Tour since 1958. He tied for second place with Michael Thorbjornsen (63) and Taiwan’s C.T. Pan (64).
Ben Griffin had the day’s best score with 62 to finish at 23 under and he was joined in fifth place by Carson Young 63).
Denny McCarthy (64), Andrew Novak (64), Eric Cole (69) and England’s Aaron Rai (69) ended at 21 under and tied with Hayden Springer, who opened the tournament with Thursday’s 59. Springer played the backside in 5 under Sunday for a late surge.
By midway through the round, it became clear that there would be a first-time winner on the PGA Tour. Griffin, Young, Thorbjornsen, Clanton, McCarthy, Novak and Springer were also seeking their first title on the circuit, but Thompson’s lead was too large.
Thompson, 25, is a former University of Georgia golfer who has been contending in recent weeks. He tied for second place last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and shared ninth place in last month’s U.S. Open.
Thompson recorded birdies on seven of the first 10 holes of the final round at TPC Deere Run to open a six-shot lead. He had his first bogey of the weekend on No. 12 before a birdie on No 14 stretched the margin back to four shots on Griffin.
Clanton played the back nine in 6 under Sunday. Thorbjornsen notched six consecutive birdies from Nos. 8-13, but still trailed by five shots.
Young, a 29-year-old former Clemson golfer, had his only bogey on the last hole and fell out of second place.
Griffin had an eagle on the par-5 second hole, but after reaching 10 under for the round dropped a stroke with a bogey 6 on No. 17.
Because of weather concerns, golfers were placed in threesomes and Nos. 1 and 10 were used as starting points with tee times moved up.
–Field Level Media
