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Davis Thompson cruises to inaugural PGA Tour win at John Deere Classic, earns British Open berth

Davis Thompson rolled to a four-shot win at TPC Deere Run on Sunday afternoon

ryan young
Staff writer
·3 min read
16

Davis Thompson had no issue cruising through TPC Deere Run on Sunday afternoon. Now, thanks to a timely spot for his inaugural win, Thompson is headed to Royal Troon.

Thompson rolled to a dominant four-shot victory over the field to win the John Deere Classic on Sunday in Silvis, Illinois. The win marked the first of his PGA Tour career, and also earned him one of the final spots in the British Open in two weeks. That will be his first appearance at the major championship, and just the fifth major start of his career.

Thompson posted a 9-under 62 on Saturday in the Quad Cities, which matched his career low and gave him a two-shot lead over the field. That dropped him to 21-under on the week, too, which gave him the first 54-hole lead of his career.

Then on Sunday, Thompson took off. He made five birdies in his first six holes of the day and carded a 29 on the front nine. That gave him a massive six-shot lead over the field at the turn.

Though Thompson slowed down on the back side — he had just two birdies and a bogey while finishing 28-under overall, which set a new tournament scoring record — his lead was too big for anyone else to make a true push. Thompson held on to grab the four-shot win and earn his trip to Scotland.

C.T. Pan, Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur Luke Clanton finished in second at 24-under on the week. Clanton made four birdies in his final five holes of the day to post a 63 on Sunday. He's now the first amateur to record a top-10 finish in back-to-back starts since Billy Patton did so in 1958. Ben Griffin and Carson Young finished in fifth at 23-under.

Thompson, 25, is in his second full year on the PGA Tour. The former Georgia standout entered this week on the heels of a runner-up finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week in Detroit — which was his second T2 finish of the season. The lone win of his career came on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022.

Thompson is one of two golfers who earned a British Open berth with his finish at the John Deere Classic, where two of the final 10 entries were up for grabs. The final entry available this week will go to Pan — who finished in a tie for second. Pan, who won the tiebreaker with Thorbjornsen and Clanton based on his Official World Golf Ranking, has just one other top-10 finish on Tour this season.

The British Open will kick off on July 18 from Royal Troon Golf Club. The Genesis Scottish Open is set for next week at The Renaissance Club, where many big names — including Rory McIlroy, who hasn’t played since his rough loss at the U.S. Open last month — will be in the field.