Steve Stricker performed well despite failing to complete the PGA Tour slam
Steve Stricker failed to win the John Deere Classic for the fourth time in a row, yet, he gave a tough competition to his rivals till the last moments at the TPC Deere Run on Sunday and tied for the fifth position in the end.
Stricker started off his final round with three strokes behind the overnight leader Troy Matteson with a sole second position on the leaderboard.
Through 11 holes, he was 3-under for the round and 16-under for the tournament. In the meantime, Matteson surged to 20-under par score for the tournament.
The defending champion still had a chance to catch Matteson on top of the leaderboard. However, it did not happen, as he suffered two consecutive bogeys starting from the 14th hole followed by a birdie and another bogey.
“It was a lot of fun. A little disappointing on the back nine, but I put myself in the position on the front and was striking the ball nicely,” he said.
“Really struck it nicely all day except for those three drives at 14, 15, and 17. But other than that, my iron play was good and really couple little miss-putts there. Missed a little putt at 10 for birdie”.
“But all in all it was a good week. A lot of fun,” added Stricker, who won the last year’s edition with a birdie on the final hole. “It was fun trying to do it. I gave it a rip and came up a few short, but it was fun trying”.
Stricker will now head for the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club to participate in The Open Championship, the third major event of the year. His best finish in the Open came in 2008, when he tied for the seventh position.
Zach Johnson, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the John Deere Classic, made a strong charge on the leaderboard and shared the top spot with Troy Matteson at the end of 72 holes.
Therefore, both the players entered the sudden death playoffs where Johnson defeated Matteson with a birdie on the second extra hole.
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