Poston goes wire-to-wire in John Deere Classic
Finishes at 21 -under-par 263 / The Associated Press
SILVIS, Ill, — J.T. Poston completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the John Deere Classic for his second PGA Tour title and a spot in the British Open.
Three strokes ahead entering the day at TPC Deere Run, Poston closed with a 2-under 69 for a threestroke margin over fellow British Open qualifiers Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Emiliano Grillo.
Poston is the third wire-towire winner in tournament history, following Scott Hoch in 1980 and David Frost in 1992. The 29-yearold player from Hickory, North Carolina, finished at 21-under 263. He opened 6265-67.
“It’s just tough to play with the lead,” Poston said. “There is just a little bit of added pressure. Wire-towire, pretty much having the lead from Thursday on, I told all the media after every round that I was just trying to stick to my game plan and I wasn’t going to think about it.
“The truth is it’s hard not to think about the finish line and what comes with it, all that comes with getting win out here. As much as you try and put that aside and not think about it, it’s tough not to.”
Poston birdied the first three holes Sunday, bogeyed Nos. 5 and 6 and parred the next 10. He made a 4-footer for birdie on the par-5 17th and parred the 18th.
“I was just trying to breathe,” Poston said. “I was really. I think there were a lot of nerves, a lot more than the first few days. I was just battling through them. I think after today, after this week, I feel like knowing I can play with those nerves and I can still win, still shoot a solid score considering the pressure and trying to win out here.”
J.T. Poston, right, celebrates with his caddie on the 18th green after winning the John Deere Classic on Sunday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
Poston won a week after tying for second in Connecticut in the Travelers Championship. He also won the 2019 Wyndham Championship.
“They don’t come easy out here and I really wanted to get that second win to sort of validate Wyndham,” Poston said. “So, it feels good to get it out of the way.”
The British Open is July 14-17 at the Old Course at St. Andrews.
“I can’t wait,” Poston said. “I’ve always wanted to play in one of those at any venue, but first one to be in St. Andrews and the 150th, I can’t wait to get there and see what it’s like.”
Bezuidenhout shot a and Grillo had a 69.
“I just knew I needed a solid week,” Grillo said. “I just needed to play well and go up the rankings and have a job for next year. That was more important for me than going to the Open. Now I get both, so that’s pretty special.”
Christopher Gotterup, the former Rutgers player in the field on a sponsor exemption, had a 66 to tie for fourth at 17 under with Scott Stallings (70).
“Just more validation that I do belong out here,” Gotterup said. “And honestly, I didn’t have my greatest stuff this week. Hit it amazing, but just putted pretty poorly until coming down the stretch.” 66,
PGA Tour
John Deere Classic
Sunday
At TPC Deere Run
Silvis, Ill.
Purse: $7.1 million
Yardage: 7,289; Par: 71
Final Round Leaders
J.T. Poston, $1,278,000 62-65-67-69—263 C. Bezuidnhout, $631,900 69-65-66-66—266 Emiliano Grillo, $631,900 68-64-65-69—266 Chris Gotterup 65-67-69-66—267 Scott Stallings 67-66-64-70—267 Denny Mccarthy 66-65-66-71—268 Callum Tarren 68-65-65-70—268 Cameron Davis 68-68-65-68—269 Maverick Mcnealy 70-63-68-68—269 Patrick Flavin 70-66-68-66—270 Michael Gligic 64-69-68-69—270 Chesson Hadley 67-69-67-67—270 Charles Howell III 68-67-68-68—271 Mark Hubbard 67-67-68-69—271 Adam Long 70-67-66-68—271 Austin Cook 69-67-70-66—272 Bo Hoag 67-69-63-73—272 Patton Kizzire 69-65-68-70—272 Chris Naegel 66-66-67-73—272 Matthias Schwab 67-65-68-72—272 Greyson Sigg 70-66-67-69—272 Alex Smalley 71-67-68-66—272 Sahith Theegala 74-65-65-68—272 Kelly Kraft 70-63-68-72—273 David Lipsky 68-67-68-70—273 Ryan Moore 72-64-69-68—273 Taylor Moore 67-66-72-68—273 C.T. Pan 69-64-69-71—273 Adam Svensson 67-67-68-71—273 Hayden Buckley 69-66-72-67—274 Dylan Frittelli 66-70-70-68—274 Nick Hardy 71-68-71-64—274 Stephan Jaeger 69-70-69-66—274 Satoshi Kodaira 71-68-64-71—274 Martin Laird 69-68-70-67—274 Peter Malnati 73-66-68-67—274 Andrew Novak 70-67-70-67—274 Patrick Rodgers 69-69-69-67—274 Vaughn Taylor 65-68-73-68—274 Brandon Wu 72-65-70-67—274 Andrew Putnam 70-66-68-71—275 Kevin Streelman 69-68-72-66—275 Jonathan Byrd 70-68-71-67—276 Fabian Gomez 71-68-71-66—276 Lee Hodges 68-71-68-69—276 Hank Lebioda 69-65-67-75—276 Seung-yul Noh 70-66-67-73—276 Brendon Todd 71-65-71-69—276 Vince Whaley 70-69-68-69—276 Dylan Wu 69-70-71-66—276 Aaron Baddeley 69-70-69-69—277 Derek Ernst 71-68-72-66—277 Tommy Gainey 68-69-66-74—277 Morgan Hoffmann 72-64-73-68—277 Anirban Lahiri 69-67-74-67—277 Justin Lower 70-67-67-73—277 Preston Stanley 72-67-65-73—277 Curtis Thompson 67-67-68-75—277 Michael Thompson 70-68-65-75—278 Zach Johnson 69-69-67-74—279 Sam Ryder 71-68-70-70—279 Kramer Hickok 71-68-68-74—281 Brandon Hagy 70-69-68-75—282 Rory Sabbatini 70-68-72-72—282 Martin Trainer 67-70-75-70—282 Seth Reeves 68-69-67-79—283 James Hahn 68-70-75-71—284 Omar Uresti 72-67-73-72—284 Ricky Barnes 66-72-70-77—285