Heading into the final day of the John Deere Classic, Davis Thompson appears to have some unfinished business.
He shot a bogey-free 9-under 62 at TPC Deere Run to take the 54-hole lead at 21 under par. Thompson followed up a strong start of 63-67 with a phenomenal performance.
After finishing tied for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and tied for ninth at the U.S. Open, Thompson is looking to win his third consecutive tournament.
“I was in fourth place going into Sunday last week and I didn’t know what it would take to win that golf tournament,” Thompson said after Saturday’s round.
“I played really well on Sunday. I was just one stroke short. I feel like I’m playing well. I just tried to keep it going. Hopefully I can play one more stroke better tomorrow.”
The former Georgia Bulldog may have recorded a bogey-free score, but it took work to get there, and even when he struggled, the Peach State native still made birdies.
He was four under after six holes and added a final birdie on the eighth to turn in 30.
“I struggled a little bit on No. 5, but it was awesome to hit that bunker shot and keep going,” he said. “On No. 6, I hit it off a tree and it bounced up the fairway for a birdie.”
“It could have gone the other way. I think today was my day. I hit a lot of good shots on the back nine and finished the round on a good note. Oh, yeah.”
Thompson added four more birdies on the back nine to finish in 32 to maintain a clean scorecard. He struggled on the par-5 17th hole after hitting his tee shot wide left. Miraculously, Thompson got a birdie and kept the momentum going.
After three rounds of play, Thompson leads the field in 22 birdies and total strokes gained (+14.733) and is 15 shots ahead of the field. On Saturday alone, Thompson led the field in strokes gained around the greens (+2.780) and total strokes gained (+6.740).
His attitude remained the same throughout the day. Thompson played with composure.
The field recorded 1,681 birdies after 54 holes. A birdie marathon is underway at TPC Deere Run, with 10 players within six strokes of Thompson.
“Everybody has a hungry mentality, that’s what makes it hard,” Thompson said. “Every week there are a lot of guys you lose to. You can have a great week and finish in the top 10. The goal is to win golf tournaments. It can be frustrating at times, but you’re working to get into this position.”
With the weather approaching, the PGA Tour opted to play the tournament with split teeing to avoid delays. He, Eric Cole and Aaron Lai are in the final group, teeing off at 12:37 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Eighteen holes stand between Thompson and his first PGA Tour victory, as he becomes the latest player to win the John Deere Classic for the first time.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Instagram: @savannah_leigh_sports
