Lucas Glover, who attended Clemson University from 1998-2001, won the John Deere Classic by two strokes. He birdied five of his last seven holes for a 7-under 64. This was the fourth tournament he has won over his career. The last time was a decade ago at Quail Hallow.
Glover was among twenty four golfers that were within three shots of each other on a dampened course and then he pulled away from the field.
According to sources, it started with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th hole. He hit his approach into 4 feet and 7 feet on the next two holes, and then flushed a 7-iron to 3 feet on the 15th hole to take the lead.
Glover finished his run with a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 17th, and a 6-foot putt to save par from the bunker on the 18th that he figured would come in handy.
Two other players kept it close, but it was not enough. Kevin Na made three birdie shots in four holes, but he suffered a major setback with a bogey on the 15th hole and never could quite recover. He finished the day with a 68. Ryan Moore finished in second place in the tournament with a 68 as well.
“They went in and I kept the pedal down,” Glover said when he finished at 19-under 265. “There’s a lot of birdies out there, a lot of great players coming in.”
With today’s win, it positions Glover to return to the Masters, the PGA Championship and allows him a place in the Tournament of Champions, a feat he hasn’t obtained in ten years.
“It’s been a long 10 years. There’s been some struggles,” Glover said. “I knew it was in there. I had to clean up my brain a little bit and just hit some shots, just play golf. I never lost sight of believing I could do this and win again. It’s always nice to prove yourself right.”
Glover was already a participant in the British Open from having reached the Tour Championship in 2019. (The British Open had to be canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic outbreak). Sources say that it is unclear if Moore was going to accept the spot at Royal St. George’s.
