John Deere Classic
Silvis, IL
Beginning the final round four strokes back, World No. 144 Bryson DeChambeau birdied his final two holes to cap a 6-under-par 35-30=65 and post 18-under 266, good for a one-shot win over 36- and 54-hole leader Patrick Rodgers, who shot 70, and two clear of PGA TOUR rookies Wesley Bryan (64) and Rick Lamb (66), who shared third.
DeChambeau, a first-time member though not a rookie, bags his first TOUR title in his 40th career start (35 pro), and secures the final spot in this week’s The Open, where he’ll make his tourney debut.
He is the second straight first-time winner on TOUR – second straight 23-year-old (Xander Schauffele, Greenbrier) – and sixth straight winner in their 20s.
Overall:
22 winners this season were in their 20s
11 were in their 30s
4 were in their 40s
This was DeChambeau’s second Deere, missing the cut in 2015 as an amateur (on a sponsor invite), in a then-third career TOUR start.
It’s his fourth top 25 of the season in 25 starts, third consecutive, and second top 10, eclipsing a then-career best T2 at the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open (as 36-hole co-leader) 16 weeks and 13 starts ago.
In between, the Dallas resident posted a T44 at the Shell Houston Open, missed eight straight cuts, cashed a T26 at the Travelers, where he was T15 thru 54 holes, and chased with T17 at the Quicken Loans and T14 last week at the Greenbrier.
Season Recap:
25 starts
10 made cuts
14 missed cuts
1 WD
4 top 25s
2 top 10s
2 top 5s
This was the 46th playing of the John Deere and 18th consecutive at TPC Deere Run. DeChambeau is the 19th player to make the Deere their first win on TOUR, first since Brian Harman in 2014.
Field Scoring Average:
7,268 yards; par 71 (35-36)
R1: 70.716
R2: 69.771
R3: 68.185
R4: 69.411
Total: 69.753
DeChambeau posted 12.084 Strokes Gained: Total
DeChambeau’s Position by Round:
R1: T7
R2: 2nd
R3: T5
Final Leaderboard:
1st- Bryson DeChambeau: 66-65-70-65 (-18)
2nd- Patrick Rodgers: 65-64-68-70 (-17)
T3- Wesley Bryan: 66-71-67-64 (-16)
T3- Rick Lamb: 69-70-63-66 (-16)
T5- Steve Stricker: 73-67-65-64 (-15)
T5- Zach Johnson: 65-67-70-67 (-15)
T5- Jonathan Byrd: 70-65-67-67 (-15)
T5- Scott Stallings: 71-64-64-70 (-15)
T5- Daniel Berger: 69-67-63-70 (-15)
How DeChambeau Won on Sunday:
DeChambeau’s stats in Round 4:
SG: Off-the-Tee: 0.584
SG: Approach-the-Green: 3.070
SG: Around-the-Green: 0.451
SG: Putting: 0.307
SG: Total: 4.411
Greens in Regulation (GIR): 17
Proximity: 23’3”
Putts: 30
After kicking off in 66-65-70, the SMU product began in a three-way T5 on 12-under, trailing leader and second-year man Rodgers.
Playing out of the fourth-to-last twosome, he found nine (of 14) fairways and pelted 17 GIR.
DeChambeau went out in even-par, exchanging bogey-5 at four (3-putt from 26'2") with birdie-3 at eight from 11'3".
He circled the par-5 10th from 6’9” and at that point, was T10, three back of clubhouse leader Bryan – who shot a day-tying-low 64 – and 2012 champ Zach Johnson, who was 5-under thru 14 and 16-under total.
DeChambeau went back-to-back with a 16-footer for birdie-3 at 11, and doubled-up again with birdie-3s at 13 and 14 from 9’7” and 10’5”, respectively, the latter tying Bryan’s clubhouse target.
At the par-5 17th, he drove in the right rough just left of the cart path, leaving 268 yards to the hole, and hit a ridiculous shot 259 yards to the green, where he 2-putted from 40’5” for his sixth birdie of the day, fifth on the back nine.
DeChambeau wasn’t done yet, striping his second to the par-4 finisher from 194 yards out to 14’1”, canning it for the eventual winner and an inward 30. In total, he circled seven of his final 11 holes.
With a Strength of Field rating of 140 (up from 79 last year), DeChambeau banks 30.00 world-ranking points and leaps 63 places to a career-high 81st in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
He collects 500 FedExCup (FEC) points for the victory and jumps 80 spots to a career-high 34th in the FEC standings.
DeChambeau earns a two-year exemption on TOUR (thru 2018-19) and along with The Open, earns invites to the 2017 PGA Championship and WGC-Bridgestone, and the 2018 SBS Tournament of Champions, Masters and THE PLAYERS.
He is the 11th straight winner on TOUR that did not check in off a top-10 finish in their previous start (T14, Greenbrier).
The most-recent winner to record a top 10 in the start prior to their respective win was Kevin Chappell 12 events ago at the Valero Texas Open (T7, Masters).
One of this week’s top-10 finishers did arrive off a top 10: Daniel Berger (T5), finished P2 in his last start at the Travelers.
DeChambeau’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 73 players):
Birdies: 24 (T3)
Bogeys: 6 (T16)
Par-3 Scoring: 2.63 (T1)
Par-4 Scoring: 3.91 (T30)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.33 (T6)
Driving Distance (all drives): 291.0 yards (T18)
Driving Accuracy: 42/56 (T32) at 75.00 percent
GIR: 57/72 (T11) at 79.17 percent
Proximity to hole: 30’7” (13th)
Putts per GIR: 1.649 (10th)
Total Putts: 114 (T23)
Putts by Round: 30-26-28-30
Scrambling: 10/15 (T29) at 66.67 percent
SG: Off-the-Tee: 1.926 (17th)
SG: Approach-the-Green: 2.177 (27th)
SG: Around-the-Green: 0.503 (38th)
SG: Putting: 7.477 (2nd)
SG: Tee-to-Green: 4.607 (18th)
Patrick Rodgers: Chasing his first TOUR title in 78 career events (75 pro), the second- and third-round leader backed up with a 1-under-par 36-34=70 for a four-day total of 17-under 267.
It’s his second career runner-up, joining T2 at the 2015 Wells Fargo 113 weeks ago, and a season best, eclipsing T4 at the Farmers back in January, where he was a 54-hole co-leader.
Season Recap:
23 starts
10 made cuts
13 missed cuts
6 top 25s
3 top 10s
2 top 5s
Playing the first two rounds with DeChambeau, the duo were 1, 2 at the midpoint, with Rodgers opening in 65-64 and leading by two.
He maintained his two-shot advantage with a third-round 68, with Daniel Berger and Scott Stallings his closest pursuers.
Playing out of the final twosome with Berger, the Indiana native hit 10 (of 14) fairways and 15 GIR.
He went out in 1-over, outpacing birdie-4 at No. 2 with bogeys at 3 (3-putt from 45’1”) and 5, now T3 at the turn, one adrift.
The 25-year-old got back on track with circles at 10, 12 and 13 (from 28'4"), retreated one at 14, and tied DeChambeau’s clubhouse lead with birdie-3 at 15 from 21'2".
Trouble off the tee at 17 however, led to bogey-6, having to pitch his third from the green due to the angle, and missing the par-saver from 8’2” – which by the way, counted as a 3-putt.
Needing birdie now at the last to force extra time, he missed the fairway and the green, and the birdie pitch.
This is the Stanford product’s second top 25 at the JDC in six tries and first top 10, brushing aside a previous-best T15 in 2013.
He vaults 49 spots in OWGR from No. 177 to No. 128, and jumps 55 places in the FEC standings from 107th to 52nd. Rodgers was No. 1 in SG: Putting (8.288) but 67th (of 73) in SG: Approach (-2.494).
Rodgers’s stats in Round 4:
SG: Off-the-Tee: 0.682
SG: Approach-the-Green: -1.148
SG: Around-the-Green: -0.020
SG: Putting: -0.102
SG: Total: -0.589
Putts: 32
Draw:
A total of 80 pros and two amateurs from a field of 153 pros and three amateurs made the 36-hole cut of 2-under 140:
47 (of 77) EARLY/late; 1 WD
35 (of 76) LATE/early; 2 WDs
Note: Robert Garrigus made the cut but was DQ’d after R3 (67-68-71)
11 players finished in the top 10 with SEVEN of those EARLY/late, including the CHAMPION and the runner-up.
EARLY/late: Bryson DeChambeau (Won), Patrick Rodgers (2nd), Wesley Bryan (T3), Zach Johnson (T5), Daniel Berger (T5), Brian Harman (T10), J.J. Henry (T10)
LATE/early: Rick Lamb (T3), Steve Stricker (T5), Jonathan Byrd (T5), Scott Stallings (T5)
Note: Seconday 54-hole cut was 4-under 209 (71 pros, two ams)
25 tourneys this season with a traditional draw:
WINNERS:
EARLY/late: 17 (68.0%)
LATE/early: 8
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Charles Howell III, Ollie Schniederjans* (63)
R2: Kevin Tway* (63)
R3: Daniel Berger, Rick Lamb*, Brian Harman (63)
R4: Morgan Hoffmann, Steve Stricker (64)
*career lows: Schniederjans, Tway, Lamb
Leader/co-leaders by Round:
R1: Charles Howell III: Drops to 0-for-7 as 18-hole leader/co-leader
R1: Ollie Schniederjans: Drops to 0-for-1
R2: Patrick Rodgers: Drops to 0-for-1
R3: Patrick Rodgers: Drops to 0-for-2
Field Breakdown:
7 of the Top 50 in OWGR were in the field
3 finished in the top 10:
No. 20 Daniel Berger (T5): top-ranked and pre-tourney fave outright (12/1)
No. 26 Brian Harman (T10)
No. 41 Wesley Bryan (T3)
Others:
No. 24 Kevin Kisner (T44)
No. 39 Charley Hoffman (T39)
No. 43 Ryan Moore (CUT); defender
No. 44 Bubba Watson (T44)
Top-10 finishers:
No. 144 Bryson DeChambeau (Won)
No. 177 Patrick Rodgers (2nd)
No. 41 Wesley Bryan (T3)
No. 440 Rick Lamb (T3); career best
No. 81 Steve Stricker (T5)
No. 74 Zach Johnson (T5)
No. 596 Jonathan Byrd (T5)
No. 294 Scott Stallings (T5)
No. 20 Daniel Berger (T5)
No. 26 Brian Harman (T10)
No. 465 J.J. Henry (T10)
First-timers and/or Rookies:
First-timers: 32
Top-10 finishes: 2
Rick Lamb: The PGA TOUR rookie was top debutant with a career-best T3 on 16-under 268 (69-70-63-66). It’s his second top 25 of the season in 15 starts (T17, Travelers) and first career top 10, also in 15 starts.
An Indiana native like runner-up Rodgers, he was No. 1 in SG: Off-the-Tee (5.963). Along with being the top first-timer, the 26-year-old was top rookie for the first time, sharing the honors with Wesley Bryan (below).
Daniel Berger: Playing his third season on TOUR, the 24-year-old was the other top-10 debutant with T5 on 15-under 269 (69-67-63-70). It’s his fifth top 5 of the season in 19 events, second straight (P2, Travelers), and third in his last four starts (Win, FedEx St. Jude).
TOUR Rookies: 19
Top-10 finishes: 2
Wesley Bryan: Along with Lamb (above), the 27-year-old shared top-rookie honors with T3 on 16-under 268 (66-71-67-64). It was his second appearance after T8 last year, which came the week following his 3-win promotion off the Web.com Tour.
The South Carolina alum records his sixth top 25 of the season in 22 starts, fifth top 10 and fourth top 5, highlighted by his maiden win at the RBC Heritage.
He was No. 1 for the week in birdies (27) and SG: Approach-the-Green (8.170). It’s the fourth time this season the Augusta, Georgia, resident has been top rookie, sharing this time with Lamb.
Season Stats:
Consecutive Top 10s on TOUR:
Rickie Fowler (T3-T5)
Daniel Berger (T5-P2)
Consecutive Top-10 streaks ended:
Charley Hoffman (T39-T3-8th)
Leaders in Top-10 Finishes:
Justin Thomas (8 in 18 events)
Jordan Spieth (7 in 16 events)
Rickie Fowler (7 in 14)
Jon Rahm (7 in 16)
Brian Harman (7 in 23)
Dustin Johnson (6 in 12)
Kevin Kisner (6 in 20)
Daniel Berger (6 in 19)
Consecutive Top 25s on TOUR:
Bryson DeChambeau: (Won-T14-T17)
Steve Stricker: (T5-T16)
Patrick Reed: (T20-T17-T5-T13); eight in last nine
Phil Mickelson (T20-T9-T22)
Webb Simpson (T14-T8)
Matt Kuchar (T16-T4-T12-T9)
Louis Oosthuizen (T23-T18-T2-T24)
Sergio Garcia (T21-T12-T20)
Marc Leishman (T5-T17); three in last four
Anirban Lahiri (T17-T2)
Consecutive Top-25 streaks ended:
Danny Lee: (WD-T9-T22-T3)
Curtis Luck: (CUT-T20-T5)
Updated Top 10 in OWGR (this week’s finish):
1. Dustin Johnson (idle)
2. Hideki Matsuyama (idle)
3. Jordan Spieth (idle)
4. Rory McIlroy (CUT on Euro Tour)
5. Sergio Garcia (idle)
6. Jason Day (idle)
7. Jon Rahm (idle); UP one
8. Henrik Stenson (T26 on Euro Tour); DOWN one
9. Alex Noren (CUT on Euro Tour)
10. Rickie Fowler (T9 on Euro Tour)
Updated Top 10 in FedExCup standings (points):
1. Dustin Johnson (2,270)
2. Hideki Matsuyama (2,145)
3. Justin Thomas (2,060)
4. Jordan Spieth (1,979)
5. Jon Rahm (1,708)
6. Rickie Fowler (1,592)
7. Daniel Berger (1,543); UP two
8. Brooks Koepka (1,534); DOWN one
9. Brian Harman (1,492); UP two
10. Kevin Kisner (1,468); DOWN one
Up Next:
The TOUR double-dips with the 146th The Open at Royal Birkdale taking center stage.
Henrik Stenson won last year’s edition as 54-hole leader at Royal Troon, claiming his first major over first- and second-round leader Phil Mickelson.
The opposite field event is the Barbasol Championship at the RTJ Trail (Grand National) in Opelika, Alabama.
Aaron Baddeley is the non-playing defending champion, having qualified for The Open. He erased a three-shot deficit with 5-under 66 to match Si Woo Kim, and then defeated him with birdie on the fourth hole of sudden death.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and analysis as the TOUR readies for its 37th and 38th tournaments of the season.
