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ROUND RECAPS
Michael Kim wins by eight strokes at John Deere
Zach Johnson, the 2012 champion and Iowa native who also sits on the JDC’s board of directors, is set to tee it up for the 18th time at TPC Deere Run. Johnson is 138th in the FedExCup and trying to avoid missing the Playoffs for the first time in the 12-year history of the FedExCup. At the opposite end, four high-profile young stars make their first visit to the Quad Cities.
FIELD NOTES: Donald is 181st in the FedExCup and needs a big week to avoid missing the Playoffs for a second consecutive year. … The lineup features four of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings. … Korean pro Ho Sung Choi, whose whirlybird swing has made thousands of Internet fans, makes his second PGA TOUR start on a sponsor invitation. He missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. … Viktor Hovland, who last month broke Jack Nicklaus’ U.S. Open scoring mark for an amateur, tees it up for the fourth straight week as a pro following that performance. … The invite list also includes three other newly minted pros coming off stellar college and amateur careers – Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawa and Justin Suh.
FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
STORYLINES: Johnson, who owns seven top-5 finishes in his past 10 visits to TPC Deere Run, seeks to rev up his season at a place where he’s carded even-par or better in 45 of his past 46 rounds. He hasn’t posted a top-10 finish since The RSM Classic this past November. … Kim has a chance to become the JDC’s first back-to-back winner since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009-11. Former PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman also went back-to-back in the Quad Cities, winning the first two editions of this event. He shot a final-round 67 to beat Tom Watson by a shot in 1972. … Four of the past eight champions at TPC Deere Run have made it their first PGA TOUR victory, including Kim and 2017 winner Bryson DeChambeau. Going back further, the count is nine first-timers of the past 19. … The final berth at Royal Portrush awaits the highest top-5 finisher who hasn’t already punched his ticket to Northern Ireland. … Former Open champions Johnson and Stewart Cink are among 13 entrants at Deere Run already in next week’s lineup for Royal Portrush. A charter flight awaits them Sunday night, provided by JDC officials each year to fly them across the Atlantic.
COURSE: TPC Deere Run, 7,268 yards, par 71. Built on the site of a former Arabian horse farm overlooking the Rock River, D.A. Weibring’s 1999 design offers dramatic elevation changes and scenic views. Weibring emphasized risk/reward challenge in his design, most prominently at the downhill 14th that measures 361 yards but can be set up as a drivable par-4. Typically a place that yields birdies in bunches, Deere Run was the locale in 2010 when Paul Goydos carded what was then just the fourth 59 recorded on the PGA TOUR. Eventual winner Steve Stricker shot 60 that day. Long before the Arabian horse operation, the site housed a long-ago tribal village.
For those visiting the Quad Cities, must-play courses include TPC Deere Run (Silvis, Ill.), Blue Top Ridge GC (Riverside, Iowa) and Spirit Hollow GC (Burlington, Iowa). Book your reservations via TeeOff.com.
72-HOLE RECORD: 257, Michael Kim (2018).
18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Paul Goydos (1st round, 2010).
LAST YEAR: Kim’s first PGA TOUR victory was a record-setting runaway, shooting nothing worse than 66 all week on the way to an eight-shot romp over a quartet of pursuers. Kim fired rounds of 63-64-64 over the first three days, opening up a five-shot advantage that he continued to build with birdies on the first three holes of his final round. He came home in 66, reaching the finish line at 27-under 257 that broke Steve Stricker’s 2010 scoring record by a stroke. The former Cal star had come to Deere Run with just one top-10 finish in 84 previous TOUR starts. Francesco Molinari earned a share of second with a closing 64, staying hot after winning two weeks earlier at the Quicken Loans National. One week later, he’d capture the Open Championship at Carnoustie. Joel Dahmen (65), Sam Ryder (66) and Bronson Burgoon (69) also shared runner-up honors.
HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. ET (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:00 to 23:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 13:30 to 22:00.
RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
We head to Illinois for one of my favorite non major tournaments.
@Bill From Tampa keeps rolling as we are making final turn towards end of year.
Good Luck to everyone this week
