Brendon Todd and Alex Smalley were unable to overtake Sepp Straka, who won the John Deere Classic on Sunday with a final-round 9-under 62 that could have been much better. Despite making a double bogey on the last hole, Straka won by two strokes.
The 30-year-old Austrian, who attended Georgia in college and has two PGA TOUR victories to his credit, improved his prospects of playing for Europe in the Ryder Cup this autumn in Rome by climbing to No. 27 in the world. After shooting 73 on Thursday, he went on to shoot 63, 65, and 62.
“I do believe I can compete with anyone when I’m at my best. I could have played with just about anyone in the world over the past three days, but when I was younger, I never would have imagined that I would have the opportunity to even play on the PGA TOUR. The entire situation is basically a great dream come true.” Straka said.
At TPC Deere Run, Straka finished with a score of 7-under 28 after starting his round birdie-eagle an hour before the final group. On the 10th par-5 hole, he made par, but he then scored four consecutive birdies, none further than 14 feet.
Straka needed to play the final four holes in 1 under to shoot 59 at that moment because he was 11 under for the day and 23 under for the competition. At TPC Deere Run in 2010, Paul Goydos hit the magic number in golf during the opening round.
“For the 59, I wasn’t going to alter my approach or game plan. The objective remained to follow the same strategy and attempt to compete in and win a golf event. Even though a 59 would be exciting, I believe that winning the golf match is always more enjoyable.” Straka said.
On holes 15 and 16, Straka made simple pars. On the 17th par-5 hole, he was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker and missed a birdie putt from 9 feet. He made a 6 and a final score of 21-under 263 on the 18th par-4 after hooking his approach shot from 181 yards into the pond next to the green.
“I made really strong contact with the ball, but I ended up pulling it well to the left of where I wanted it to go. So, yes, the timing of my poor swing was unfortunate, but happily, it didn’t damage me.” Straka said.
For a probable playoff, Straka went to the driving range to keep loose. Playing in the last group, Todd and Smalley had many holes to match him. Todd came the closest when he aced the 14th par-4 hole to move to 20 under par. Todd, though, bogeyed the 16th par-3 and added another par with a clumsy wedge into the 17th par-5.
“Sepp played a round that was obviously exceptional. I salute him. I’m very glad for him. He is a friend of mine,” Todd, who played at Georgia as well, added.
Prior to receiving a heads-up from presenter Colt Knost, Smalley claimed he was unaware of what Straka was doing ahead of him.
“Truthfully, I had no idea what was happening. I made no effort to look, as was my intention. If that wasn’t enough, it wasn’t enough, and Sepp is deserving of the victory after shooting a 62. That playing is amazing.” Smalley said.
After a stellar collegiate career at Texas Tech, Ludvig Aberg finished with a 63 to tie for fourth, the Swede’s best result in four professional starts. Alongside Adam Schenk (68), he had 18 under.
“I anticipated it to be a lot of fun, but it’s even better than I anticipated,” Aberg said when questioned about life as a pro.
The leader after 36 holes and the man with the highest ranking in the tournament, Cameron Young, finished with a 68 to join a group of seven players at 16 under.
