SILVIS, Ill. — Davis Thompson had been working toward a moment like this, and he wasn’t about to let anything stop him.
Not a soft golf course that produced the best scores in four days of action, nor the pressure of trying to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.
Thompson started Sunday’s final round at TPC Deere Run with a two-shot lead. Six holes in, he had five birdies and had stretched his lead to six shots, sending the 25-year-old Atlanta native and former University of Georgia golfer on his way to a four-shot victory in the John Deere Classic, the lowest 72-hole score in the history of a tournament that dates to 1971, and a spot in the next three major championship events.
“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 after closing with a 7-under-par 64. “Getting off to a good start was crucial, and I was just able to ride the momentum coming in.”
Thompson made a 45-foot birdie putt on the first hole for a three-shot lead, and no one got closer to him the rest of the way as he finished at 28-under 256 to break by one stroke the John Deere Classic record set by Michael Kim in 2018.
“I just wanted to stay aggressive,” Thompson said. “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.”
The victory gets him into the next three majors, starting with his first British Open in two weeks at Royal Troon. He also will make his Masters debut next April, then get a second shot at the PGA Championship after missing the cut in 2023. Thompson tied for ninth at the U.S. Open last month, having missed the cut in his first two appearances in 2020 and 2023.
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.
Quad City Times photo by Rob Dabner via AP / Davis Thompson acknowledges the crowd as he lifts his trophy after winning the John Deere Classic for the first victory of his PGA Tour career on Sunday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. Thompson’s final score of 28-under 265 for 72 holes set the tournament’s scoring record.The final hour was all about who would finish second and earn the other spot in the British Open. That went to Taiwan’s C.T. Pan, who birdied the 16th and 17th holes and finished with a two-putt par from 20 feet for a 64, but a pair of youngsters made him sweat it out.
Amateur player Luke Clanton holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 63, making the Florida State sophomore the first to get to 24 under. Michael Thorbjornsen, the No. 1 player in the PGA Tour University ranking after finishing at Stanford, hit out of a fairway bunker to 18 feet and made the birdie putt for a 63 to join Clanton.
With a three-way tie for second on the leaderboard, the British Open spot went to Pan based on the Official World Golf Ranking.
“Honestly going to be hectic to arrange all the travel details last minute, but it will be a good problem to have,” Pan said.
Clanton, meanwhile, became the first amateur since Billy Joe Patton in 1958 to finish in the top 10 in consecutive PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments. Patton was the low amateur at the Masters and the U.S. Open that year. Clanton tied for 10th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week in Detroit.
Ben Griffin (62) and Carson Young (63) tied for fifth at 23 under, with five players two shots further back.
Chattanooga native Keith Mitchell tied for 18th at 18 under, with the former Baylor School and University of Georgia standout shooting his second straight 67.
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.
Thompson is in his second year on the PGA Tour and was a runner-up last weekend at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, so he had hoped to keep the momentum going.
Perhaps his choice of lodging played a role, too. Several players from Georgia have been renting a house near the John Deere Classic for the past few years. J.T. Poston stayed there when he won the tourney two years ago, while Sepp Straka stayed in the house last year and won.
Straka brought his wife and young son with him this year, so he gave up his 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 that.”
The victory was worth $1,440,000. It also moves Thompson to No. 22 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings, all but assuring he will be in all the lucrative signature even
Kolbert-Press/DPA photo by Christian Kolbert via AP / Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson reacts after winning the DP World Tour’s BMW International Open on Sunday.Ferguson earns ticket to home major
MUNICH — Ewen Ferguson won the DP World Tour’s BMW International Open by two shots, with his third career win on the Europe-based circuit also clinching a spot in the British Open taking place in his native Scotland.
Ferguson, No. 168 in the OWGR, smiled before tapping in the winning putt for a final round of 4-under 68 to finish 72 holes at Golfclub München Eichenried at 18-under 270.
Jordan Smith, who had shared a one-stroke lead with Ferguson after 54 holes, closed with a 70 and shared second place with Australia’s David Micheluzzi (68).
A two-time winner in 2022, at the Qatar Masters and the ISPS Handa World Invitational, Ferguson ended his wait for No. 3 with a victory that felt extra special to him because of the bonus prize that came with it.
Royal Troon isn’t too far from his birthplace of Glasgow in western Scotland, and in a tearful interview after his round, Ferguson said the British Open “is a tournament that everyone wants to play in. I feel like I can do well there.”
Ferguson will play in the Scottish Open, which starts Thursday at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, to tune up for the year’s final major.