Kim wins John Deere Classic by record 8 shots
SILVIS, Ill. – Michael Kim didn’t just win his first PGA Tour event on Sunday. He dominated in a fashion never seen at TPC Deere Run.
Kim’s prizes? A little over a million bucks, a two-year exemption on tour and a trip to the British Open.
Kim shot a final-round 66 on Sunday to win the John Deere Classic by a record-setting eight strokes.
Kim, who turned 25 on Saturday, finished at 27-under 257 to break Steve Stricker’s tournament record from 2010 by one shot.
Kim also qualified for next week’s Open at Carnoustie – an unexpected bonus for a player who had missed five of his last six cuts before his breakthrough in the Quad Cities.
Kim also made 30 birdies for the week, a season high on tour in 2018.
“To be able to finish out in style like this, it means a lot,” said Kim. “To be sitting here with a trophy, I’m at a loss for words.”
Bronson Burgoon, Francesco Molinari, Joel Dahmen and Sam Ryder all finished at 19 under.
PGA Tour Champions
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – Vijay Singh birdied the second playoff hole to beat Jeff Maggert and win the Constellation Senior Players Championship.
Singh knocked in a putt from about 2 feet after a nearly perfect approach on the 18th hole at Exmoor Country Club, giving an understated fist pump as the ball fell in. That gave him his first major title on the PGA Tour Champions to go with victories at the Masters and two PGA Championships.
Singh (67) and Maggert (68) finished at 20-under 268. Brandt Jobe (66) was two strokes behind, while Jerry Kelly (64) and defending champion Scott McCarron (71) finished at 17 under.
LPGA Tour
SYLVANIA, Ohio – Thidapa Suwannapura won her first LPGA Tour event, closing with a 6-under 65 and birdieing the first playoff hole to defeat Brittany Lincicome at the Marathon Classic.
The 25-year-old Thai player is the sixth first-time winner on tour this year. Her previous best finish in 120 starts was seventh at the 2014 Kingsmill Championship.
Suwannapura picked up three strokes over her final two holes, making eagle on the par-5 17th and closing with a birdie on the par-5 18th to finish at 14-under 270.
In the playoff, Suwannapura converted a short birdie putt after Lincicome hit her second shot into a water hazard and scrambled for par.
USGA
WHEATON, Ill. – Laura Davies went virtually unchallenged in Sunday’s final round of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open, claiming the title by 10 strokes over Juli Inkster.
The 54-year-old Davies shot a 5-under 68 to finish at 16-under 276 at Chicago Golf Club in the USGA’s championship for women 50 and older.
Celebrity golf
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Nev. – Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo rallied from four points back to win his first American Century Championship at Lake Tahoe on Sunday.
Romo, who retired after the 2016 NFL season and is now an NFL analyst, had 27 points on the day to beat threetime defending champion Mark Mulder and San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski.
The American Century Championship uses a modified Stableford scoring system which rewards points for eagles (six), birdies (three) and pars (one) and deducts points (two) for double bogeys or worse. Bogeys are worth zero points.