Golfbet recap: Davis Thompson cruises to maiden win at John Deere Classic
Davis Thompson’s news conference after winning John Deere Classic
It did not take long for Davis Thompson to leave no doubt as to who was going to win the John Deere Classic on Sunday.
After finishing runner-up last week in Detroit – having done the same seven weeks ago at the Myrtle Beach Classic – Thompson did one better on Sunday in Silvis, Illinois, earning his first-ever PGA TOUR victory, absolutely blistering the field and winning by four shots with a winning score of 28-under par.
There are so many incredible things to unpack here. Thompson shot 29 on the outward nine.
After nine holes, the closest person to him on the odds board was at +6600 while he was at -5000. He had seven one-putts on the front nine and over 100 feet of putts holed. He was grouped with Aaron Rai and Eric Cole, who began the day two shots off the pace – but they were eight shots back at the turn after going out in even par.
Davis Thompson cards front-nine 29 in final round at John Deere
Round-by-round odds for Davis Thompson to win John Deere Classic (via BetMGM)
Pre-tournament: +2200
After Round 1 (T4, trailed by 4): +800
After Round 2 (T4, trailed by 2): +900
After Round 3 (led by 2): +100
It was almost comical. I expected Thompson to have a leg up on everyone today and have multiple chances to win this golf tournament – but honestly, this was pretty much “game over” after about two holes. There was about as much drama in the Quad Cities on Sunday as there were bogies on Thompson’s scorecard.
Davis Thompson’s Round 4 winning highlights from John Deere
Before they knew what hit them, Cole and Rai, who trailed by two shots to begin the day, they were suddenly down by four shots when Thompson began his Sunday with a birdie-birdie start. Cole was at +450 and Rai at +333 to begin the day. Thompson teed off at even money (+100) but quickly jumped to a -500 favorite to win the golf tournament.
It was a Sunday 64 in the end. Mind you, this all coming off a career-low round of 62 on Saturday and an opening round of 63 on Thursday. His winning score of 28-under eclipsed the old scoring record at the John Deere Classic by a shot. Michael Kim reached 27-under par in 2018 and won by eight strokes.
Thompson did show signs of being human on No. 12, making his first bogey in his last 31 holes played. Meanwhile, Michael Thorbjornsen, owner of a decorated amateur career while attending Stanford, had closed to within three shots of Thompson’s lead as he made his way to the green at No. 14, looking for his seventh consecutive birdie. Thorbjornsen instead made bogey and we were right back to where we started.
Thompson slammed the tournament door shut for good, however, with a pitch shot from the rough from 47 yards away to 3 feet from the cup – for yet another birdie.
Results for outright picks from
Will Gray: Maverick McNealy (+2500) MC
Ben Everill: Denny McCarthy (+2200) T7
Chris Breece: Maverick McNealy (+2500) MC
Matt DelVecchio: Seamus Power (+4500) 17th
Rob Bolton: Sungjae Im (+1400) T12
Mike Glasscott: Denny McCarthy (+2200) T7
Thorbjornsen finished in a tie for second place after shooting a round of 63 on Sunday. Amateur Luke Clanton, who finished top-10 last week at the Rocket Mortgage, also fired a 63 on Sunday to tie Thorbjornsen for second at 24-under. C.T. Pan also shared the runner-up position after shooting a 64 on Sunday.
Thompson finished the week at TPC Deere Run, ranking No. 1 in the field for SG: Total, gaining nearly 18.7 strokes on the field. He ranked fifth in SG: Putting, 11th in SG: Off the Tee, and fifth in Scrambling.
Thompson boarded a charter flight to Scotland after the win as he will tee it up next week at the Genesis Scottish Open and then the season’s final major championship, The Open Championship at Royal Troon. An interesting connection of Georgia Bulldogs in the mix here as Sepp Straka won the John Deere Classic last year, Thompson this year, Brian Harman in 2014 – and Harman is the defending Open champion. Rory McIlroy, who we haven’t seen since his near-miss at Pinehurst, is the defending champion next week at the Renaissance Club, the home to next week’s Genesis Scottish Open. Scottie Scheffler is not in next week’s field and McIlroy is the early favorite to repeat, priced in the neighborhood of +700.
Results from Rob Bolton
Andrew Novak to win (+8000) T7
Mark Hubbard Top 5 Finish (+850) T32
Neal Shipley Top 10 Finish (+500) MC
Nick Hardy Top 20 Finish (+450) MC
David Skinns Top 40 Finish (+130) MC
Davis Thompson Top 5 Finish (+450) WIN
Aaron Rai Top 5 Finish (+350) T7
Sam Stevens Top 5 Finish (+700) T34
Jordan Spieth to Miss the Cut (+210) T26
Jason Day to Miss the Cut (+170) T23
Patrick Rodgers Top 20 Finish (+250) T34
Patrick Fishburn Top 20 Finish (+450) MC
Eric Cole, Beau Hossler and Kevin Yu all Make the Cut (+250) T7/T61/T20
Joel Dahmen Top 20 Finish (+300) T46
Ryo Hisatsune Top 40 Finish (+100) T52
Sungjae Im Top Asian (+160) T12
Michael Kim Top 20 Finish (+320) MC
Ben Kohles Top 40 Finish (+130) T52
Justin Lower Top 40 Finish (+130) T73
Michael Thorbjornsen Top 40 Finish (+105) T2