Davis Thompson is a PGA Tour winner who fell just short.
July 7, 2024, 6:16 PM ET
• 4 min read
SILVIS, Ill. — Davis Thompson set the John Deere Classic 72-hole scoring record Sunday, shooting 7-under 64 to win his first PGA Tour event and save all the drama for second place.
Leading by two strokes, Thompson made a 45-foot birdie putt on the opening hole and no one got close after that. He started with five birdies in six holes to extend his lead to six strokes and eventually won by four strokes.
The 25-year-old Georgia native finished at 28-under 256, one step ahead of Michael Kim’s John Deere Classic record set in 2018.
The win puts him into the next three majors, starting with the British Open at Royal Troon in two weeks’ time, and he’s also set to make his Masters debut next April.
Thompson is the 24th player to win his first PGA Tour event at the John Deere Classic, the most in the tournament since 1970.
The final hour focused on who would finish in second place and claim the other British Open spot, which went to CT Pang of Taiwan, who birdied the 16th and 17th holes and two-putted for par from 20 feet for a 64.
But the two young men made him sweat.
Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton became the first player to reach 24-under par with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 63. Michael Thorbjornsen, who finished out of Stanford ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour college rankings, hit an 18-foot shot from a fairway bunker for a birdie putt to tie Clanton with a 63.
The three finished tied for second place, but Pan was awarded the spot in the British Open based on his world ranking.
Clanton, meanwhile, became the first amateur to finish in the top 10 in consecutive PGA Tour tournaments since Billy Joe Patton in 1958. Patton was the lowest-placed amateur in the Masters and U.S. Open that year. Clanton tied for 10th at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Had Clanton been a pro, he would have been worth just over $804,000 over his final two weeks.
Carson Young was also in the running for second place and a place in the British Open, but on the 18th hole he hit a chip shot from the right rough over the green and about 25 feet short of the hole and missed the par putt. He finished with a score of 63.
There was no doubt about the winner. Thompson made a 45-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, plus a 30-foot birdie putt on the fifth hole, giving him seven birdies in 10 holes.
After finally dropping a stroke on the par-4 12th, Torbjornsen looked like he had a chance to at least make the match interesting. The Massachusetts native had six straight birdies and was playing comfortably on the par-4 14th hole, but his driver shot went wide right and he hit a hard chip shot about 35 feet. He missed the 4-foot par putt and three-putted for bogey.
Thompson is in his second year on the PGA Tour and was runner-up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week, and he’s hoping to keep that momentum going.
Perhaps the choice of accommodation also played a role.
Several Georgia players have rented homes near the John Deere Classic in recent years. JT Poston stayed there when he won the Deere two years ago. Sepp Straka stayed there last year and won.
Straka brought his wife and young son with him this year and gave Thompson his room.
“I guess I’ll have to pay for the whole house, which is a shame,” Thompson said with a smile, “but I’m happy to pay it.”
The win earned Thompson $1.44 million and moved him to 22nd in the FedExCup standings, all but guaranteeing him a spot in every major tournament next year.
Jordan Spieth, playing at the Deer for the first time since winning in 2015, didn’t have a great time, making three consecutive bogeys at the turn and finishing with a final round of 70, which puts him in a tie for 26th place and 59th in the FedEx Cup standings with four weeks left in the regular season.
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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
