From start to finish, JT Poston was the clear class of the field in the 2022 John Deere Classic as he secured his second victory on the PGA Tour on Sunday. Poston, becoming the third player in tournament history to successfully connect, was able to lead last week’s momentum from TPC River Highlands to TPC Deere Run.
Finishing runner-up in the Passenger Championship, Poston ideally opened his John Deere Classic with 9-under 62. Without ever looking back, the 29-year-old signed for the 65-67-69 rounds to finish. 21 less and three times from his closest pursuers Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Emiliano Grillo.
Despite having a three-time lead on reaching the final round and winning by that margin, there were a few hairy moments in their top nine. After shooting through the doors with three birds in a row, Poston began to grab water as he made bogeys attached to the fifth and sixth holes.
It was a difficult par-3 stop in the seventh inning that stabilized the boat as it made nine consecutive pars, forcing other players to attack the pines as he advanced. Poston added another bird to the par-5 17 to measure himself safely and extended his lead to where the day began.
Poston was calm, quiet and collected, never blinking at adversity. Seeing how his leadership was reduced to just once in the new interior, he stood firm and as a reward for his hard work will appear on the PGA Tour for years to come. Not only will he win entry to tournaments like the Masters and Players Championship, but also the 150th Open in just two weeks. Poston, ranked 112th in the FedEx Cup just 14 days ago, is now ranked 22nd in the race of the season and among the game’s titans. Grade: A +
Here is a breakdown of the rest of the John Deere Classic 2022 classification
T2. Emiliano Grillo (-18): It has been a difficult season for the Argentine, as he has lost 12 cuts in 23 headlines. However, if you look more closely, Grillo has now made six of his last seven cuts and splashed out some quality screenings at the Canadian Open and the RBC Memorial Tournament. He was able to cut Poston’s lead with a hit in the last nine, but his inexplicable bogey at par-4 short 14 will be seen as the cause of his shortcomings. As a consolation prize, Grillo climbs 62 places in the FedEx Cup standings to No. 85 and secured his ticket to the 150th Open in St. Louis. Andrews. Grade: A
T4. Chris Gotterup (-17): The winner of the Haskins Award was fantastic in his debut in the John Deere Classic. Entering the tournament by exempting sponsors, Gotterup wrote a letter to the tournament committee and was granted his application. This result takes him to the finals of the Korn Ferry Tour and he did almost the same for the open championship, as the top three finishers in the top 10 booked their trips to St. Petersburg. Andrews. While Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau began their careers with victories at TPC Deere Run, Gotterup has done the same though without the hardware to prove it.
“Yeah, just one more validation that I belong here,” Gotterup said. “And honestly, I haven’t had my best stuff this week. It was amazing, but I got pretty bad all the way down the stretch. So, yeah, you’re taking things along the way. Yeah, I’m based on my experiences such as Puerto Rico, and the last couple “. Grade: A
T 6. Denny McCarthy (-16): It seemed like the perfect storm for McCarthy at the arrival of the week, but in the end it didn’t have to be. A member of Sunday’s penultimate group, the University of Virginia product went in the wrong direction at the start of its round and will likely break down to do so. Despite the recent disappointment, McCarthy is still in the best season of his career and recovered very well from a cut lost in the Travelers Championship. He often describes himself as a “miller,” so while he has proven to be able to compete at these bird festivals, his top 10 results at the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open may suggest that his first victory will come on a more difficult golf course. Grade: B +
T16. Sahith Theegala (-12): He almost missed the cut, but showed some determination after opening his John Deere Classic with a 3 out of 74. With consecutive rounds of 65 cards and culminating his week with a 68, Theegala he climbed his way into the top 20. at the end of the tournament. With that effort, the debutant candidate of the year has now made 11 consecutive cuts on his own with his omission from last weekend at the March Player Championship. While it can occasionally be volatile, these peaks and valleys have a way of smoothing out throughout a tournament. Twice podium in 2022, including a sub-championship in the Passenger Championship, it is only a matter of time before Theegala gets its first victory in the PGA Tour. Grade: B
Rick Gehman, Greg DuCharme and Kyle Porter collect the John Deere Classic and discuss the main findings of the Portland Golf LIV. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.