SILVIS, Ill. -- Steve Stricker shot a 20-under 264 to claim a three stroke win over Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker and Brett Quigley at the John Deere Classic.
Stricker picks up his second win of the season (Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial), and moves into second place in the FedExCup standings behind Tiger Woods. Coincidentally, Stricker finished second to Tiger Woods in the final FedExCup standings in 2007.
Stricker has now posted two wins in a season for just the second time in his career. He also had two wins in 1996 at the Kemper Open and the Western Open.
Stricker earns his sixth career victory in his 352nd start on the PGA TOUR. Sticker now has 68 career top-10 finishes on TOUR.
Stricker wins the John Deere Classic in his eighth attempt in the Quad Cities. His previous best finishes were ties for fourth in 2004 and seventh in 1997. He has two missed cuts at the John Deere Classic.
Sticker eagled the par-4 sixth in the final round after holing his approach shot from 98 yards. The sixth hole was playing 367 yards.
With his tie for second, Brett Quigley earned a spot in the British Open next week but declined to accept. Because Quigley declined the exemption, it does not go to the next player in the field (J.J. Henry). Following is an explanation of the exemption: The leading player, not otherwise exempt, among the top five finishers and ties at the John Deere Classic will be exempt for the British Open. Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson and Brandt Snedeker were all exempt prior to the John Deere Classic.
A first win on TOUR continues to elude Brett Quigley, who shot a 17-under 267 and tied for second, three strokes behind Stricker. Quigley has four career second-place finishes and two third-place finishes. Earlier this year, Quigley posted back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Puerto Rico Open and Transitions Championship. Below is a list of active players without a PGA TOUR victory in their career:
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Quigley played in the British Open in 2006 and 2007, missing the cut both times.
Snedeker, who struggled earlier in the year with nine missed cuts and six made cuts, has now put together back-to-back top-five finishes (tie for fifth at AT&T National and tie for second at John Deere Classic).
Tim Petrovic picks up his third top-10 finish of the season. His career best is four top-10 finishes in 2003. Petrovic's last runner-up finish came at the 2007 Wyndham Championship.
Before today, the last time there was a 36-hole final day on the PGA TOUR was The International in 2005, which Retief Goosen won.
The last time a player won an event when teeing off on No. 10 in the final round was in 1987 -- Keith Clearwater at the Colonial Invitational. Johnson and Quigley came close, both tying for second.
Prior to this year's John Deere Classic, the last time the cut was made nearest to 60 was also The International in 2005.
Zach Johnson records his sixth top-10 finish and 10th top-25 finish of the season.
There were 23 players who started the week at the John Deere Classic who will be also be playing in the British Open next week -- only 15 of them made the cut: Mark Calcavecchia, Chad Campbell, Ken Duke, Todd Hamilton, Charley Hoffman, Charles Howell III, Richard S. Johnson, Z. Johnson, Davis Love III, Bryce Molder, Kenny Perry, Carl Pettersson, Snedeker, Stricker and D.J. Trahan.
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| Stricker's weekly statistics | |||||||||||||||
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