Spieth wins John Deere Classic in playoff

Jordan Spieth rallied after a slow start to capture the title at the John Deere Classic for the second straight year.

“What he is doing is unbelievable”, Gillis said. “It was kind of neat”.

Both players parred the 18th on the first playoff hole – Spieth lipped out a 35-foot birdie putt. Jordan Spieth won another golf tournament, his fourth this season, and now he heads to the British Open, where he hopes to continue his bid for a sweep of the four majors.

“I’ve got plenty in the tank”, Spieth said.

In the process, he silenced the critics who questioned his strategy of playing in the John Deere instead of getting to Scotland early and spending time learning the nuances of the Old Course.

Gillis said he never really aspired to be a professional until 100 members of his Detroit area club pitched in to sponsor him along with GM Goodwrench, the company for which his father worked for 32 years.

For Tiger Woods, the last golfer prior to Spieth to win the Masters and the US Open in the same year in 2002, the challenge of St Andrews is on an altogether different plane.

Lee is Spieth’s nearest challenger going into the fourth round after he shot a 62 on Saturday with nine birdies and no dropped shots.

Johnson’s round was delayed when, while standing over a possible birdie putt on No. 16, a loud booming sound that apparently came from a boat on the nearby Rock River startled him.

Despite the win, Paul McGinley believes Spieth has stacked the odds of winning the Open Championship against himself by not being ruthless enough.

Yang, who shared the lead after 54 holes previous year, opened a four-stroke lead at the 13th before Lewis capitalized on a two-stroke swing at the 14th, closing within two.

“It sounded like a gunshot, obviously”, Johnson said later. With one hole left for Lee and Spieth, the pair had tied it up with Gillis. I truly love being here.

“I think more than anything he’s a nice kid. What did I just do?”

The American took a drink of water and settled himself down but missed the birdie putt, before leaving a 15-footer at the last to earn a place in the play-off just short. Still, he left the Quad Cities feeling good about his game. Spieth was at 16 under with six holes to play. Clearly it proved costly but that he was able to push on and so almost claim a place in the playoff highlights just how much he has benefited from his maiden win last week. They returned to 18 again.

The 21-year-old Spieth had gotten the round off to an inauspicious start when he bogeyed the first and third holes before recovering to make the turn at even par.

“It’s really cool”, he said. Gillis is 643rd in the Official World Golf Rankings.

I know this is going to shock you, but Zach Johnson had another top-five finish at the John Deere Classic.