Jordan Spieth has a date with destiny this week at St. Andrews, but before heading to Scotland he stuck around to fulfill his commitment to the John Deere Classic.
Not only that, Spieth made par on the first playoff hole to turn back 40-year-old Tom Gillis and win for the second time at TPC Deere Run and for the fourth time this season on the PGA Tour.
“I came here for a reason, and we accomplished that reason, and certainly have some momentum going into next week,” said the 21-year-old Spieth, who got plenty of advice from people who said he should cross the Atlantic early to prepare for trying to join Ben Hogan (1953) as the only players to win the first three majors of the year in the modern era.
“I really didn’t care anyway (about what others were saying). … This tournament means a lot to me. This is a tournament I truly love.”
Spieth, who took a two-stroke lead into the final round after shooting 10-under-par 61 on Saturday, stumbled on the last day with three bogeys in the first 11 holes before making birdies on four of fives holes through No. 17 to shoot 68 and get into the playoff.
Gillis, 40, who was a rookie on the PGA Tour the year Spieth was born and has never won on the circuit, birdied eight of the first 12 holes but had a costly bogey on the 16th hole and finished at 64.
After both players parred the first extra hole, Gillis drove into the right rough on the second playoff hole and hit his second shot into the water, making it easy for Spieth to win with a routine par.
Danny Lee of New Zealand, who claimed his first PGA Tour victory last week in the Greenbrier Classic, closed with a 67 to finish one stroke back in a tie for third with Zach Johnson, the 2012 John Deere champion, who lipped out a 14-foot birdie putt on the final hole to wind up at 65.
Lee birdied three of four holes through No. 17 to tie for the lead, but drove wildly on No. 18 and missed a 16-foot par putt that would have put him in the playoff.
After heavy rain, the players were allowed to lift, clean a place their golf balls in the fairway in the third round, but Lee had a momentary lapse on the fourth hole in the final round and was assessed a one-stroke penalty after he marked and picked up his ball.
Rookie Justin Thomas posted a 67 and finished two shots back in a tie for fifth with Chris Stroud, who birdied six holes on the front nine en route to a 63, and Johnson Wagner, who eagled the second hole on his way to a 67.
Kevin Chappell of Fresno and UCLA shot 67 to earn a spot in the Open Championship this week and was four shots behind in a tie for eighth with Steve Wheatcroft (65), Will Wilcox (67) and Daniel Summerhays (68).
