Poston claims wire-to-wire win at John Deere Classic
Ante Jukic
July 4, 2022 01:04 MYT
July 4, 2022 01:04 MYT
J.T. Poston claimed his second PGA Tour win on Sunday, holding on to win the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.
The 29-year-old posted a two-under 69 in the fourth and final round to finish on 21-under for the tournament, three shots clear of Emiliano Grillo and the fast-finishing Christiaan Bezuidenhout, tied for second at 18-under.
As well as qualifying for The Open Championship, Poston becomes the first player since David Frost in 1992 to go wire-to-wire at the John Deere Classic and only the third in the tournament's history along with Scott Hoch, who achieved the feat in 1980.
Poston revealed it was not easy to remove the possibility of that achievement from his mind following his round, but with his last win coming at the 2019 Wyndham Championship, believes it is a boost for his confidence.
"It is hard," he told CBS. "I mean, wire-to-wire, having the lead for that long, it's just hard not to think about it and think about that finish line.
Just the 3rd wire-to-wire winner in the history of the @JDClassic pic.twitter.com/8SDT8PnOw7 — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 3, 2022
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"I tried to stick to the game plan. We got off to a great start and then, kind of started to try and give some back, but I hit a lot of good shots down the stretch.
"I was just trying to breathe. I think there were a lot of nerves, more than the first few days. I was just trying to battle through them and I think, after this week, knowing I can play with those nerves. I can still win, I can still shoot a solid score considering the pressure and trying to win out here."
Poston started strongly, opening the round with consecutive birdies on each of the first three holes, but his momentum was halted with bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes.
His round stabilised on the back nine, however, with a birdie on the par-five 17th effectively securing the tournament.
Poston was able to see off Grillo and Bezuidenhout, who claimed three birdies over the closing five holes, with Christopher Gotterup and Scott Stallings finishing a further stroke back on 17-under.