In his 63rd begin, Davis Thompson can formally name himself a PGA Tour winner.
He carded a last spherical 7-under 64 to publish a 28-under complete and win the John Deere Classic by 4 photographs over Michael Thorbjornsen, newbie Luke Clanton and C.T. Pan, who tied for second place at 24-under.
Thompson turned the twenty fourth first-time event winner at this occasion. He did it in grand vogue by setting the John Deere Classic’s 72-hole scoring report. Michael Kim initially set it at 27-under in 2018.
He stayed stoic all week lengthy, however Thompson let the emotions flow as soon as he noticed his spouse.
“Just seeing my spouse means so much,” Thompson mentioned to CBS Sports analyst Amanda Balionis after his win. “I like her a lot and so grateful she was in a position to make it. I attempted to remain current all day. When that putt lastly went in, it was a giant sigh of aid.”
Throughout his interview with Balionis, Thompson couldn’t maintain again the tears. He wiped them away a number of occasions.
All that arduous work lastly paid off for the 25-year-old.
“I’ve been working arduous this yr. It was okay for some time then I acquired going this final month and performed effectively final week,” he mentioned. “Tried to maintain it rolling this week; was in a position to get the win.”
The former Georgia Bulldog set the tone from his opening tee shot. He went five-under via his first six holes and added his sixth birdie on the ninth to exit in 29 photographs. Through 9 holes, Thompson made 120 ft of putts, and by the tip of the spherical, he recorded 139 ft of putts.
His first birdie was over 44 ft, and on the par-4 fifth, he made a 29-footer. The flat stick was on fireplace for him, as Thompson couldn’t miss.
The Sea Island resident made an 8-footer on 10 for his seventh birdie. His one hiccup got here on the twelfth when he bogeyed the outlet. However, that slip-up wouldn’t stick with the teenager. Thompson returned to 7-under at 14 when he made his last birdie and got here dwelling with 4 straight pars.
Throughout 4 days of play, he gained +18.694 in strokes gained complete. He picked up not less than two strokes on the sphere in all 5 fundamental classes. Thompson led the sphere with 30 birdies.
In quick, the previous Bulldog placed on a clinic.
He changed the 2023 John Deere Classic champion Sepp Straka’s place within the Champions House and have become the third straight participant to win the occasion whereas staying there.
J.T. Poston gained whereas staying there in 2022, Straka gained final yr and Thompson has now been added to the lore.
“No, positively not,” Thompson mentioned about not letting the custom go, “I believe I’ve to pay for the entire home now, which is unlucky, however I’ll gladly write the test for that.”
Thompson turned the twelfth Georgia golfer coached beneath head coach Chris Haack and the seventeenth in this system’s historical past to win on the PGA Tour. This victory additionally will get him into the Open Championship later this month and subsequent yr’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National. It additionally vaulted him from No. 51 to No. 22 within the FedEx Cup standings.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For extra golf protection, comply with us @_PlayingThrough on all main social platforms. You may also comply with her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
