Round 4 - Ryan Moore seals two shot win

August 15, 2016

For all the late pars and the closing run of 46 holes without a bogey, Ryan Moore thought the key to his victory Sunday in the John Deere Classic was a 24-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole.

It moved him to 20 under and kept him two strokes ahead of Morgan Hoffmann, who was about to birdie the fifth hole.

''That was huge to get another birdie early, just to show the guys behind me I'm not messing around,'' Moore said. ''The worst thing to do is to be even or 1 over after five or six holes. Then all of a sudden you've got 10 guys thinking, 'All right, I can go get this today.'''

With Moore making three birdies on the front nine and another on the 10th hole en route to a 4-under 67, they had no chance. He won his fifth PGA Tour title by two strokes over Ben Martin.

The 33-year-old Moore finished at 22-under 262 at TPC Deere Run, making only one bogey in 72 holes. He won for the first time since successfully defending his CIMB Classic title in Malaysia in 2014.

''Every win is a little different,'' Moore said. ''I like how steady this was, with no bogeys on the weekend.''

Martin had three straight back-nine birdies in a 68.

''I never got a whole lot going,'' Martin said. ''I just told (Moore), 'You couldn't make one bogey out there for me today?' Hats off to him for just a solid round of golf. I don't think he really ever sniffed a bogey.''

South Korea's Whee Kim shot 67 to tie for third with Hoffmann (71) at 17 under.

Moore birdied Nos. 2, 4, 9 and 10 and closed with eight pars. He had a five-stroke lead when Hoffmann bogeyed the 12th hole. Martin, playing with Moore in the final twosome, birdied Nos. 12-14, but couldn't get closer than two strokes. Martin parred his last four holes, and Hoffmann his final six.

''I just wanted to make a putt, which didn't happen all day,'' Hoffmann said. ''In the middle of the round, it kind of went sideways.''

Moore hit 13 of 14 fairways in the final round and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, including the 18th, which he two-putted from 47 feet for the victory. He opened with three straight 65s in the event thrown off schedule by rain Thursday and Friday.

Jordan Spieth chose not to defend his title because he didn't think it would be appropriate in light of his decision to skip the Rio Olympics.

Wesley Bryan, the leader Friday when play was suspended, tied for eighth at 14 under after his second straight 70. He earned a PGA Tour card last week with his third Web.com Tour victory of the year.

NCAA champion Aaron Wise followed his third-round 63 with a 70 to tie for 16th at 12 under in his PGA Tour debut as a pro. The former Oregon player won a PGA Tour Canada event two weeks ago in Edmonton, Alberta.

Zach Johnson, the 2012 winner and member of the tournament's board, shot a 69 to tie for 34th at 9-under 275. He's from nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Steve Stricker had a 72 to tie for 52nd at 6 under. The 49-year-old Stricker, a former University of Illinois player from Wisconsin, won the event in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Round 3 - Ryan Moore takes over lead

August 14, 2016

Ryan Moore made sure he could sleep in Sunday at the John Deere Classic.

Racing to finish Saturday night so he wouldn't have to get up early again to complete the third round, Moore wrapped up his third straight 6-under 65 - and second of the day - 22 minutes after sunset at 8:25 p.m..

''It was a long day,'' Moore said. ''It was a lot of golf holes I played today, so to play that solid all day long, I'm very encouraged about it. I think that was 34 holes I played today. It will be nice to get to sleep a little bit tomorrow and be well-rested and just ready to get after it again tomorrow.''

By racing to finish, the players finally put the event back on schedule. Play was delayed 3 1/2 hours Thursday when an inch of rain fell, then the start was delayed five hours Friday after an overnight storm dumped another 2.4 inches on the soaked course.

Morgan Hoffman and Ben Martin each shot 62 to pull within a stroke at 17 under.

The 33-year-old Moore has four PGA Tour victories, winning the CIMB Classic in 2013 and 2014. He was third in March in the Valspar Championship and has five top-10 finishes this season.

In the third round, Moore birdied the par-4 14th, hitting a 60-yard approach to a foot, and made a 6-foot birdie putt on par-3 16th. He parred the final two holes, lipping out a 26-foot birdie try on the par-4 18th with two large scoreboards and the moon providing enough light to see.

''It was dead center with about a foot to go,'' Moore said. ''The greens were getting a little bumpy with the amount of play on them today. We could see just fine around the green.:

Hoffman had six straight birdies on Nos. 11-16 and parred the last two. He's winless on the PGA Tour.

''It is really dark, and the last few greens are getting really soft and bumpy, too, so it was hard to read,'' Hoffman said. ''I guess they're running in right now.''

Martin birdied the first five holes and four of the last five, chipping in for birdie on the par-4 18th. He won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in October 2014.

''It was one of those days where all the putts were going in,'' Martin said. ''It would have been nice to get the first five and the last five, but strong start, strong finish.''

Johnson Wagner was fourth at 14 under after a 67.

Wesley Bryan, the leader Friday when play was suspended, was tied for fifth at 13 under after a 70. He earned a PGA Tour card last week with his third Web.com Tour victory of the year.

South Korea's Whee Kim also was 13 under after a 64.

NCAA champion Aaron Wise was 11 under after a 63. Making his PGA Tour debut as a pro, the former Oregon player won a PGA Tour Canada event two weeks ago in Edmonton, Alberta.

Steve Stricker shot 68-68 to reach 7 under. The 49-year-old Stricker, a former University of Illinois player from Wisconsin, won the event in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

''This is pretty hard today.'' Stricker said. ''It's wet. It's tough to control your ball out of the fairway. If you hit it in the rough, it's thick and lush. So you have to be in the fairway. But even out on the fairway, it's hard to control it because the fairways are wet. We're lucky to be playing. The course took a lot of rain. It's still in great shape, but it's tough.''

Zach Johnson shot 71-71 to remain at 6 under. The 2012 tournament winner and two-time major champion is from nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

''Frustrating. Long. Stale. Very stale,'' Johnson said.

Jordan Spieth chose not to defend his title because he didn't think it would be appropriate in light of his decision to skip the Rio Olympics.

Round 2 - Wesley Bryan leads weather hit day

August 13, 2016

Wesley Bryan took the lead in the rain-delayed John Deere Classic on Friday, five days after earning a PGA Tour card with his third Web.com Tour victory of the year.

Bryan played 26 holes in 10 under Friday at TPC Deere Run, birdieing three of the final holes to finish off a first-round 66 and shooting a 64 in the second round to reach 12-under 130.

''Been hitting the ball great all week, really the last couple weeks,'' Bryan said. ''Struck it well, made the putts when I needed to, and here we are.''

Area favorite Zach Johnson faced a long day Saturday after not even getting onto the course Friday.

Play resumed five hours late at noon after nearly 2.4 inches of rain overnight - on top of the inch Thursday morning that delayed play 3 1/2 hours Thursday morning and afternoon. Because of the wet conditions, the players were allowed use preferred lies in the fairways in the second round.

Bryan has made a fast rise since focusing on tournament golf last year after working as a trick-shot artist with brother George. The 26-year-old former South Carolina player dominated the Web.com Tour this season, winning in Louisiana, Mexico and Kansas and earning $449,392 in 13 starts.

''Just knowing that I've been in contention and been able to hit the shots that I needed to on that level, I mean, there's a lot of really good players out there, and it's just as hard to win a golf tournament out there as it is out here, I presume,'' Bryan said. ''Just knowing that I've been there and been able to hit the shots under pressure, I think should help me out moving forward.''

In his bogey-free second round that began on No. 10, Bryan birdied five of the last seven holes in the on his opening nine, and added birdies on the par-5 second and par-3 seventh.

''The second round I was able to fire at a lot more flags just because we had ball in hand,'' Bryan said. ''The course is not really that long, so got a lot of short and mid-irons into these greens, and the ball is just hitting and stopping, you don't really have to worry about it spinning back too much.

''They're soft enough to where they're just kind of hitting and reacting, really, really soft. So was able to fire at a few more flags that maybe I wouldn't have normally gone after.''

Steve Marino was a stroke back after rounds of 66 and 65.

''I'm happy to be done,'' Marino said. ''Can't wait to get out of this shirt. It's just so humid out there. ... I played really well today. I played really well yesterday. Finally, feel like I'm starting to come around. It's been a struggle all year. It's nice to kind of see things coming together.''

Tom Gillis shot 64-68 to reach 10 under. Kyle Stanley was 9 under after rounds of 67 and 66.

Johnson opened with a 65 on Thursday. The 2012 tournament winner and two-time major champion is from nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Playing partner Steve Stricker had a 70 on Thursday. The 49-year-old Stricker, a former University of Illinois player from Wisconsin, won the event in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

NCAA champion Aaron Wise was 3 under overall with three holes left. Making his PGA Tour debut as a pro, the former Oregon player won a PGA Tour Canada event two weeks ago in Edmonton, Alberta.

Jordan Spieth chose not to defend his title because he didn't think it would be appropriate in light of his decision to skip the Rio Olympics.

Round 1 - Zach Johnson in contention again

August 12, 2016

Zach Johnson made himself right at home in the John Deere Classic - again.

From just up the road in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the two-time major champion shot a 6-under 65 on Thursday, leaving him two strokes behind leader Andrew Loupe in the suspended first round.

''I don't know what it is, but I love the golf course,'' said Johnson, the 2012 winner at TPC Deere Run. ''I love the putting surfaces. I do know the moment I feel like I can take this place down is the moment it can bite me, so I've still got to stay focused and keep the pedal down.''

Loupe topped the leaderboard at 8 under when play was suspended because of darkness. The tournament was delayed for 3 1/2 hours by a storm that dropped just over an inch of rain. The round resumed at 3:08 p.m., with none of the afternoon starters able to finish.

Loupe will resume play Friday with a 6-foot par putt on the par-4 15th hole. The 27-year-old former LSU player had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the front nine and added birdies on 11, 13 and 14.

Patrick Rodgers and Ryan Moore were in at 65 with Johnson, and Tom Gillis also was 6 under with two holes left.

Johnson had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch in the bogey-free round that he started on the 10th tee. The 12-time PGA Tour winner capped the run on the par-5 second and also birdied the par-4 sixth.

''As far as the start and stop, we're used to that,'' Johnson said. ''That's not any secret. It happens all the time. There's days where there's a 30-minute delay, there's days where, shoot, it takes 30-some odd hours to play 18 holes. I'm used to it. Relaxed a little bit, ate something, worked out a little bit, that kind of thing, just to stay loose, and then went back at it.''

Rodgers birdied the final hole for a back-nine 31.

''Today was a really solid day for me,'' said Rodgers, the former Stanford star from Indiana. ''I felt like I was very consistent tee to green and gave myself a lot of opportunities to make birdies. My only bogey was a three-putt. My only missed green was in the fringe, so I played really solid golf. There wasn't a whole lot of opportunities to make mistakes.''

Moore eagled the par-5 17th in his opening nine, and finished with a 30-foot par save on No. 9.

''I was playing well and you hate to drop a shot on the last hole,'' the four-time tour winner said. ''I didn't play the hole well by any means. I didn't hit any good golf shots. But a good putt can save just about anything, and that's what happened.''

Jordan Spieth chose not to defend his title because he didn't think it would be appropriate in light of his decision to skip the Rio Olympics.

Scott Pinckney and Scott Brown shot 66, and Geoff Ogilvy and Morgan Hoffman also were 5 under. Ogilvy completed 12 holes, and Hoffman 14.

Pinckney made five straight birdies and six in a seven-hole stretch on his final nine.

''Honestly, I played good on both sides, but the putts started to drop, and I put it a little bit closer on the back side,'' Pinckney said. ''So, it wasn't like all of a sudden I'm hitting it good.''

Three-time champion Steve Stricker had a 70. The 49-year-old Stricker, a former University of Illinois player from Wisconsin, won the event in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

''Even after the rain, the inch of rain we got, the conditions were pretty good,'' Stricker said. ''I just didn't play that sharply.''

Wesley Bryan has 2 under with eight holes left. He won his third Web.com Tour title of the season last week in Kansas to earn an immediate PGA Tour promotion.

NCAA champion Aaron Wise was 1 under after seven holes in his PGA Tour debut as a pro. The former Oregon player won a Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event two weeks ago in Edmonton, Alberta.

Scores

 

About Ben Brett