Golf Betting
His once-comfortable lead having disappeared, Steve Stricker stood over a near-impossible fairway bunker shot on the 72nd hole of the John Deere Classic, needing par to make a playoff with Kyle Stanley.
Stricker not only delivered a sensational approach, he topped it by holing a 25-foot putt from the fringe to claim the title – his third in succession at the John Deere. America’s top-ranked player at No. 4 in the world, Stricker became just the 10th golfer since World War II to win the same tourney three straight times. (Tiger Woods has done so on six occasions.)
It looked like a cinch through nine holes Sunday, when Stricker held a five-shot lead. But Stanley, a rookie, rallied with five back-nine birdies, taking a two-shot lead when Stricker bogeyed 15 and 16.
Playing a group ahead of Stricker, Stanley bogeyed 18 when his par putt lipped out. That set the stage for Stricker’s heroics.
Stricker finished on 22-under, a shot clear of Stanley and five better than Matt McQuillan and Zach Johnson.
The victory was Stricker’s second in three events – he won the Memorial in June – and the 11th of his career. Amazingly, nine of those titles have come since Stricker turned 40.
“It was an unbelievable week and an unbelievable finish,” said an emotional Stricker after the round. “But I’m happy to come out on top. I made a couple of putts when I had to.”
Stricker now heads to the Open Championship as, perhaps, America’s best hope. He’s finished no better than a tie for seventh in previous appearances.
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