Steve Stricker followed one of his best performances with 36 solid holes to win the John Deere Classic by three strokes yesterday in Silvis, Ill.
Stricker, who tied the course record Saturday, fired a 7-under 64 in the fourth round after starting the day with a third-round 68 to finish at 264 for the tournament. That was good enough to give him his second PGA Tour win this year and sixth in all, not to mention a heavy dose of momentum heading into the British Open to go with the $774,000 winner’s check.
Local favorite Zach Johnson (64, 66), Brandt Snedeker (68, 65) and Brett Quigley (62, 67) tied for second at 17 under. Quigley also qualified for the British Open.
Stricker’s biggest challenge, though, came from Tim Petrovic, who was in his group and was two strokes off the lead heading into the 36th and final hole of the day. But he hit the pond on No. 18 and double-bogeyed the hole, leaving him at 16 under along with Matt Jones (63, 69) and J.J. Henry (66, 68). Second-round leader Darron Stiles (70, 71) finished at 14 under.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
In Blaine, Minn., Bernhard Langer chipped in for eagle on the 18th hole to win the 3M Championship, his second straight win on the Champions Tour.
His 7-under 65 gave him a 16-under 200 for the tournament, one shot better than Andy Bean.
Standing about 3 feet off the back fringe, Langer put the ball on the edge of the green and watched it roll about 15 feet into the hole. Langer turned and pointed to the crowd with both arms raised when the ball dropped in the hole for his fourth win of the season.
Scott Hoch (66) finished two shots back. Tom Kite shot his second 67 at the TPC Twin Cities to finish fourth. Nick Price, the leader after Round 2, shot a 1-under 71 to finish five back.
EUROPEAN TOUR
In Luss, Scotland, Martin Kaymer won the Scottish Open, closing with a 2-under 69 in the rain and sunshine at Loch Lomond for his second straight European Tour victory.
Kaymer broke out of a three-way tie as he approached the turn, then stretched his lead to as many as three shots. He wound up two shots clear of Raphael Jacquelin and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
Fernandez-Castano, the 54-hole leader, didn’t make enough birdies and closed with a 72. Retief Goosen, who also had a share of the lead, made too many mistakes and shot 73.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
In Clarksburg, Ontario, Roger Tambellini shot a 2-under 69 to win the Nationwide Tour’s Wayne Gretzky Classic by four shots over Blake Adams. Tambellini finished 20 under at 265.
