In his 63rd begin, Davis Thompson can formally name himself a PGA Tour winner.
He carded a last spherical 7-under 64 to put up a 28-under complete and win the John Deere Traditional by 4 photographs over Michael Thorbjornsen, beginner Luke Clanton and C.T. Pan, who tied for second place at 24-under.
Thompson turned the twenty fourth first-time event winner at this occasion. He did it in grand style by setting the John Deere Traditional’s 72-hole scoring document. Michael Kim initially set it at 27-under in 2018.
He stayed stoic all week lengthy, however Thompson let the feelings circulate as soon as he noticed his spouse.
“Simply seeing my spouse means loads,” Thompson mentioned to CBS Sports activities analyst Amanda Balionis after his win. “I like her a lot and so grateful she was in a position to make it. I attempted to remain current all day. When that putt lastly went in, it was a giant sigh of reduction.”
All through his interview with Balionis, Thompson couldn’t maintain again the tears. He wiped them away a number of occasions.
All that onerous work lastly paid off for the 25-year-old.
“I’ve been working arduous this 12 months. It was okay for some time then I bought going this final month and performed nicely final week,” he mentioned. “Tried to maintain it rolling this week; was in a position to get the win.”
The previous Georgia Bulldog set the tone from his opening tee shot. He went five-under via his first six holes and added his sixth birdie on the ninth to exit in 29 photographs. By means of 9 holes, Thompson made 120 ft of putts, and by the tip of the spherical, he recorded 139 ft of putts.
His first birdie was over 44 ft, and on the par-4 fifth, he made a 29-footer. The flat stick was on hearth for him, as Thompson couldn’t miss.
The Sea Island resident made an 8-footer on 10 for his seventh birdie. His one hiccup got here on the twelfth when he bogeyed the outlet. Nevertheless, that slip-up wouldn’t stick with the teen. Thompson returned to 7-under at 14 when he made his last birdie and got here house with 4 straight pars.
All through 4 days of play, he gained +18.694 in strokes gained complete. He picked up at the least two strokes on the sphere in all 5 fundamental classes. Thompson led the sphere with 30 birdies.
In brief, the previous Bulldog placed on a clinic.
He changed the 2023 John Deere Traditional champion Sepp Straka’s place within the Champions Home and have become the third straight participant to win the occasion whereas staying there.
J.T. Poston gained whereas staying there in 2022, Straka gained final 12 months and Thompson has now been added to the lore.
“No, undoubtedly not,” Thompson mentioned about not letting the custom go, “I feel I’ve to pay for the entire home now, which is unlucky, however I’ll gladly write the examine for that.”
Thompson turned the twelfth Georgia golfer coached beneath head coach Chris Haack and the seventeenth in this system’s historical past to win on the PGA Tour. This victory additionally will get him into the Open Championship later this month and subsequent 12 months’s Masters Match at Augusta Nationwide. It additionally vaulted him from No. 51 to No. 22 within the FedEx Cup standings.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. For extra golf protection, comply with us @_PlayingThrough on all main social platforms. You may also comply with her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
