Troy Matteson finishes second at the John Deere Classic
Troy Matteson led the opening three rounds at the John Deere Classic, remained on top for the first 14 holes during the final day prior to losing it on the 15th, and shared it once again at the end, on Sunday.
Yet, he failed to take the trophy home, as Zach Johnson bagged the title with a birdie on the second extra hole against Matteson’s par putt.
Matteson started off his final round campaign with a three-stroke margin over the defending champion Steve Stricker and remained on top until he suffered a double bogey on the 15th hole.
In the meantime, Johnson made a charge and reached 20-under par for the tournament. Yet, Matteson managed to make a strong comeback with an eagle on the 17th hole and shared the lead once again.
However, he failed to record the third PGA victory of his career and went back home with a second place finish in hand.
While talking to the PGA Tour website, he told that he was not disappointed with his performance during the final moments of the tournament, especially when he had one of the greatest weeks of his career.
“For how I played this year, this has been a really good finish for me. I'm not disappointed at all really,” he said.
“I'm kind of shocked I got into a playoff because I just didn't play my best today, but kind of hung in there. Luckily that putt went in on 17. Figured I just better make a run at it. When I got on 18 in regulation I figured the worst I could do is second
at that point, so I decide take a run at it too and make it interesting”.
He also praised Johnson’s performance on the final day as how he made a charge and challenged him on the top. It was Johnson’s biggest come-from-back victory of the career.
He also talked about the Johnson’s chip from the fairway bunker on the second extra hole that landed within one foot of the hole.
“My hat's off to Zach. He drove it in the bunker twice and figured out a way to win,” he said. “It's a great story, you know, hometown kid. It was really good”.
Tags: