John Deere Classic:
Overnight leader Ryan Moore fashioned a bogey-free 4-under-par 32-35=67 in the final round of the John Deere Classic to post 22-under 262, good for a two-shot win over Ben Martin and his fifth PGA TOUR title in 276 career events (271 pro).
This was Moore’s first win since the 77-man no-cut CIMB Classic in the 2014-15 season (40 starts ago), where he co-led thru 54 holes. Overall, he improves to 4-for-8 when leading/co-leading after 54 holes.
After opening with 65, the UNLV alum was just one off the pace, and co-led after 36 holes with another 65, this one taking two days to compete. His co-lead at the midpoint marked his first lead/co-lead after any round this season.
Following his third straight 65, Moore entered the final round with a one-shot lead over two players, including playing competitor Martin, who shot 68.
The Tacoma, Washington, native split 13 (of 14) fairways and hit 14 greens in regulation, circling a two-putt birdie on the par-5 second, and adding birdie-3 at the fourth (24'6"), and birdie-3 at the ninth (10'2"), extending his margin to three at the turn.
1- Ryan Moore: -21 (thru nine holes)
2- Morgan Hoffmann: -18 (thru 9)
3- Ben Martin: -17 (9)
4- Whee Kim: -16 (10)
5- Johnson Wagner: -15 (9)
T6- Kevin Na: -14 (in with 64)
T6- Adam Hadwin: -14 (in with 64)
After the break, Moore added birdie-4 (from 3’0”) at the 10th and then steadied eight straight pars, including up-and-down saves on 14 and 17.
This was the 45th playing of the Deere and 17th consecutive at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. The 7,268-yard par-71 layout (35-36) played under-par all four rounds with a cumulative scoring average was 69.743.
Making his eighth JDC appearance, Moore posted rounds of 65-65-65-67 for a 16.974 in SG: Total, and extended his streak to 23 straight sub-par rounds in the event. His previous-best finishes were T7 in 2014 and T8 in 2012.
Notes: Significant rains on Thursday and Friday led to delays of 3 hours, 30 minutes and 5 hours, respectively. By nightfall Friday, only 57 players (of 153) had completed two rounds. The second round was eventually completed at 12:54 p.m. CT (Saturday) with 39 golfers playing their entire second rounds on Saturday. After the cut was made, Round 3 began at 1:30 p.m. with 73 players off both sets of tees.
The tournament was back on schedule by nightffall Saturday, but not without the cooperation of officials and players alike. Well past sunset and in near darkness, the final groups on both sides of the course were running between shots and some groups even combined to get finished. For his part, Moore played 35 holes on Saturday in 12-under-par (13 birdies, one bogey).
Round 2 (Friday and Saturday) and Round 3 (Saturday) were both played with lift, clean and place in effect.
The win comes in Moore’s 18th start of the season and is his sixth top 10, first since T5 at the WGC-Dell Match Play (3-1-1 record) – lost in quarters to Rafa Cabrera Bello – and first in stroke play since solo third at the Valspar. Both of those were in March.
The Las Vegas resident entered the week off T70 at the PGA Championship and T17 at last week’s Travelers, and won as a pre-tourney 22/1 outright. He played his final 46 holes blemish-free.
Moore collects 500 FedExCup (FEC) points for the win, jumping from 62nd in the FEC standings to 23rd.
With a Strength of Field rating of only 79, he garnered just 24.00 world-ranking points for the win, nudging from 59th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to 50th. His career-high OWGR is 27th after the 2015 Valero Texas Open.
Opposite the Rio Olympics, that moved the tourney from its normal spot on the calendar of early July, and with two-time and defending champ Jordan Spieth choosing not to play, there were only TWO players in the field that were in the top 50 in OWGR entering the week. No. 22 Zach Johnson finished T34 (more on him below), and No. 34 Kevin Na, who back-doored a T8 with bogey-free 64.
Of those surrounding Moore in the world rankings, No. 53 Daniel Summerhays, No. 56 Gary Woodland, and No. 63 Robert Streb, all missed the cut.
Moore, 33 years of age, is the second PGA TOUR winner for Scottsdale-based Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG). James Hahn was the first at the Wells Fargo in May. Moore garnered their first big headline though, putting a set of PXG 03x prototypes into play at the 2015 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 73 players):
Eagles: 1 (T3)
Birdies: 22 (T3)
Bogeys: 2 (T1)
Par-3 Scoring: 2.75 (T4)
Par-4 Scoring: 3.80 (3rd)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.25 (T1)
Driving Distance: 288.7 yards (T35)
Driving Accuracy: 46/56 (T10) at 82.14 percent
Greens in Regulation: 60/72 (T1) at 83.33 percent
Proximity to Hole: 27’0” (3rd)
Putts per GIR: 1.667 (6th)
Total Putts: 112 (T12); by round: 28-27-28-29
Scrambling: 11/12 (T1) at 91.67 percent
SG: Off-the-Tee: 2.091 (23rd)
SG: Approach-the-Green: 9.239 (2nd)
SG: Around-the-Green: 0.848 (32nd)
SG: Tee-to-Green: 12.178 (1st)
SG: Putting: 4.795 (8th)
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($1,939,200):
Group 1: Ryan Moore (Won): $864,000
Group 2: Ben Martin (2nd): $518,400
Group 3: Morgan Hoffmann (T3): $278,400
Group 4: Whee Kim (T3): $278,400
Note: Moore is the first Group 1 winner since Dustin Johnson (WGC-Bridgestone).
Draw:
In total, 73 players from a field of 156 made the cut of 3-under 139:
33 (of 77) EARLY/late advanced (1 WD)
40 (of 74) LATE/early (4 WDs)
Of the FOUR top-finishers in Golf Channel, TWO were EARLY/late, including the champion, TWO were LATE/early.
Ryan Moore (Won): EARLY/late
Whee Kim (T3): EARLY/late
Ben Martin (2nd): LATE/early
Morgan Hoffmann (T3): LATE/early
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Tom Gillis; Andrew Loupe (64)
R2 (FRI): Wesley Bryan (64) *preferred lies
R2 (SAT): Kelly Kraft; Miguel Angel Carballo; Johnson Wagner (64) *preferred lies
R3: Ben Martin; Morgan Hoffmann (62) *preferred lies
R4: Kevin Na; Adam Hadwin (64)
What We Learned:
The pre-tourney odds-favorites have won just TWICE this season thru 41 events and Jordan Spieth has both of them, winning the Hyundai TOC and the DEAN & DELUCA.
Zach Johnson: The 2012 champ and three-time runner-up was the top-ranked player at OWGR No. 22 and was also the pre-tourney odds-fave at 13/2.
He kicked off brilliantly with bogey-free 65 to sit one off the pace, extending his streaks to 29 straight rounds in the 60s at TPC Deere Run.
Unfortunately, the Iowa native chased with a pair of 71s (preferred lies in effect both rounds) to end the run and quickly fall out of contention.
He began the final frame on 6-under (T50) and saved some face with five birdies against two bogeys to end with 68 and T34.
For the week, the St. Simons Island, Georgia, resident totaled 16 birdies against five bogeys and a double. His streak of FIVE consecutive top-3 finishes at the Deere ended with a thud.
Johnson is in the midst of his worst season on TOUR since 2008 when he finished 131st in the FEC standings. He’s made 18-of-21 cuts, including 11 straight, but has just five top 10s (no wins, places or shows), and ranks 49th in FEC points.
The 40-year-old has won at least once in each of the previous four seasons and has 12 top-3 finishes during that span. After playing three weeks in a row (T34-T47-T33), he takes this week off to refresh and rejuvenate for the Playoffs.
There were 24 first-timers at TPC Deere Run and 10 (of 17) PGA TOUR rookies:
Kelly Kraft: The 27-year-old carved out a 2-under-par 34-35=69 in the final round and was the top debutant with a three-way T5 on 15-under 269 (69-64-67-69).
It’s his first top 10 of the season in 19 starts and first in 32 career events.
The SMU alum is a first-time member thought not a rookie (eight starts in 2012). He made a little noise three weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open where he was T3 thru 36 holes but a third-round 3-over 75 derailed his momentum, eventually finishing T26.
Kraft began the final round in a three-way T5 on 13-under, five back. Playing out of the third-to-last twosome, he raced out with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 2 and 3, but stalled out from there, carding 13 pars and exchanging bogey-5 at six with birdie-3 at 11 the rest of the way.
For the week, the Texas native and resident had one eagle and 17 birdies against four bogeys. He climbs 18 spots to 164th in the FEC standings with one event remaining in the regular season.
Kraft’s previous-best finish this season (and lone top 25) entering the week was T15 at the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open.
Andrew Landry: The recently turned 29-year-old (August 7th), was top rookie after crafting a third straight 67 with a final-round 4-under-par 33-34=67 to post 14-under 270 (69-67-67-67), up eight places into a six-way T8.
He circled five birdies against three bogeys, adding a hole-out eagle at the par-4 eighth from 138 yards away en route to his first top 10 (second top 25) of the season in 17 starts and first in 18 career events.
It’s the second time this season the Texas native and resident has been low rookie, joining T15 at the U.S. Open where he was the first-round leader with 66 and T2 at the three-quarter pole (71-70), but ended with 8-over 78.
For the week, the University of Arkansas alum recorded one eagle and 21 birdies against nine bogeys. He nudges 11 spots to 177th in the FEC standings.
Honorable Mention:
Wesley Bryan: In his first start as a PGA TOUR member, the 26-year-old finished off his tourney debut with a 1-under-par 35-35=70 and a 72-hole aggregate of 14-under 270, good for a six-way T8.
After opening with 66 and bogey-free 64, the University of South Carolina alum co-led thru 36 holes with Moore. He concluded with a pair of 70s, including a four-birdie three-bogey effort in the finale, finishing the week with 21 birdies against five bogeys and a double.
Overall, the Augusta, Georgia, resident was making his third career TOUR start (all this season), but first as a card-carrying member, and supplants a previous-best T29 at the QL National.
He arrived off last week’s playoff win at the Digital Ally Open on the Web.com Tour, his third win this season in 13 starts, earning the three-win promotion. Bryan is in the published field at this week’s regular-season-ending Wyndham Championship.
Biggest Bounceback:
Ben Martin: The Clemson alum, who won his lone TOUR title at the 2014-15 Shriners, orchestrated a 3-under-par 35-33=68 in the final round to reach 20-under 264, two shy of champion Moore and his first runner-up finish in 105 career starts.
This was the 28-year-old’s third appearance in Silvis, Illinois, and first top 10. His previous best was T38 on debut in 2011.
The South Carolina native and resident began the final frame in a two-way T2 on 17-under after opening in 66-68 and a career-tying-low 62, one back of Moore. Playing with the would-be-champ in the final twosome, he mustered nine (of 14) fairways and hit 14 greens in regulation, posting 1.714 putts per GIR and 0.699 in SG: Putting (No. 1 for the week in the latter two stats).
Martin, who arrived off a 65-77-MC at last week’s Travelers, was also first in total birdies with 25 (five in R4), outpacing five bogeys (two in R4) and one double.
This is his second top 10 of the season in 24 starts (T7, Barracuda), and climbs 62 spots to 59th in the FEC standings and moves from OWGR No. 134 to No. 105. Martin’s career-high OWGR is 48th after the 2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational.
Top 10 Performers Weekly Stats:
John Deere Classic | |||||||
Player | |||||||
288.8 (T34) | 82.14% (T10) | 83.33% (T1) | 27' 0" (3) | 91.67% (T1) | 1.199 (8) | 8/ 45; 17.78% (T30) | |
292.0 (T25) | 80.36% (T22) | 72.22% (T43) | 28' 7" (11) | 75.00% (T13) | 2.904 (1) | 14/ 39; 35.90% (1) | |
312.4 (3) | 64.29% (71) | 80.56% (T5) | 28' 2" (T8) | 78.57% (6) | .398 (33) | 7/ 42; 16.67% (T39) | |
297.5 (15) | 78.57% (T28) | 83.33% (T1) | 30' 6" (27) | 91.67% (T1) | .788 (18) | 10/ 49; 20.41% (19) | |
274.5 (64) | 71.43% (T56) | 77.78% (T13) | 30' 0" (T23) | 75.00% (T13) | .307 (38) | 7/ 39; 17.95% (28) | |
298.0 (14) | 78.57% (T28) | 83.33% (T1) | 29' 10" (T18) | 75.00% (T13) | .167 (43) | 8/ 42; 19.05% (25) | |
292.0 (T25) | 75.00% (T43) | 73.61% (T35) | 33' 10" (53) | 89.47% (3) | .820 (16) | 10/ 48; 20.83% (12) | |
271.1 (71) | 82.14% (T10) | 80.56% (T5) | 28' 9" (12) | 64.29% (T40) | -.179 (54) | 7/ 46; 15.22% (T47) | |
293.9 (21) | 83.93% (T6) | 83.33% (T1) | 31' 0" (T29) | 58.33% (T57) | -.105 (51) | 8/ 48; 16.67% (T39) | |
291.0 (28) | 80.36% (T22) | 79.17% (T8) | 26' 11" (2) | 66.67% (T28) | .396 (34) | 6/ 42; 14.29% (T50) | |
297.4 (16) | 83.93% (T6) | 72.22% (T43) | 31' 4" (32) | 55.00% (64) | 1.443 (4) | 10/ 46; 21.74% (8) | |
305.9 (9) | 85.71% (T4) | 79.17% (T8) | 32' 5" (T36) | 66.67% (T28) | .421 (32) | 10/ 44; 22.73% (6) | |
283.6 (49) | 82.14% (T10) | 80.56% (T5) | 27' 6" (6) | 64.29% (T40) | -.200 (57) | 9/ 46; 19.57% (T20) | |
Tour Average | 286.3 | 74.50% | 70.57% | 32' 7" | 60.08% | N/A | 776/ 4,896; 15.85% |
Source: PGA TOUR Media
Up Next:
The TOUR heads to Greensboro, North Carolina, for the regular-season-ending Wyndham Championship at the 7,127-yard par-70 Sedgefield Country Club. Three-time and 2015 winner Davis Love III is not in the field as he is still on the mend from July hip surgery to repair a torn labrum.
The then 51-year-old won last year’s edition in come-from-behind fashion, overcoming a four-shot deficit with a closing 64 to edge 54-hole leader Jason Gore by one.
There are six past champions scheduled to compete: Camilo Villegas (2014), Patrick Reed (2013), Webb Simpson (2011), Arjun Atwal (2010), Ryan Moore (2009) and Brandt Snedeker (2007).
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and opinions as the TOUR readies for its 42nd and final regular-season tournament of the season. After this week, the FEC Playoffs begin in earnest.
