Lucas Glover watches his drive on the second hole Sunday during the final round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament in Silvis, Ill. Glover birdied five of his last seven holes to end a 10-year victory drought. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
SILVIS, Ill. — Lucas Glover ended 10 years without a victory Sunday when he birdied five of his last seven holes for a 7-under 64 to win the John Deere Classic by two shots.
Glover won for the fourth time in his career, the most recent in 2011 at Quail Hollow.
He was among two dozen players separated by three shots on the rain-softened TPC Deere Run when the former U.S. Open champion went on a tear.
It started with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th hole. He hit approaches 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.
It never got to that. No one could catch him.
Glover kept it simple, with his game and his observations, saying he “ironed” it well and made a bunch of putts. That’s the recipe on a course with smooth greens and soft conditions.
“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.”
Kevin Na tried to make a run with three birdies in four holes until he was slowed by a bogey on the 15th and couldn’t make up enough ground. He shot a 68. Ryan Moore also closed with a 68 for a runner-up finish.
Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, hit a shank from an awkward stance with the ball above his feet on the first hole. He made bogey, and it was a sign of struggles to come. He closed with a 71 and tied for fourth, three shots back.
BRITISH OPEN: Three more players withdrew from the British Open at Royal St. George’s, a growing list that includes Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who was concerned about practice time and travel.
Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and former British Open champion David Duval also withdrew Sunday. That brings to 13 the number of players who had been planning to play but withdrew.
Matsuyama tested positive for the coronavirus during the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week in Detroit and has been self-isolating. He remains symptom-free, though subsequent tests have come back positive.
“I’m feeling fine but haven’t been able to practice in preparation for the Open,” Matsuyama said in a statement released by the R&A. “Combining that with the difficult travel to the U.K., my team and I have decided it’s best to withdraw to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Watson had to withdraw after he said he was in close contact with someone who had a positive COVID-19 test.
“While I am vaccinated and have passed the required pre-travel COVID test, not enough time has passed for me to comfortably join the charter flight and risk exposure to the other players and personnel on board,” Watson said in a statement on Twitter.
The R&A did not say why Duval chose to withdraw. He won the British Open in 2001 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
Harold Varner III, Brendan Steele and John Catlin, a Californian who plays exclusively on the European Tour, have taken their spots in the field.
Seven players from the top 75 in the world ranking will not be Royal St. George’s, with Matsuyama (No. 18) the highest ranked.
U.S. SENIOR OPEN: Jim Furyk recovered from a rough start in the final round and held off Retief Goosen and Mike Weir by three strokes in Omaha, Nebraska.
Making his debut in the event, Furyk closed with a 1-over 71 to become the eighth player to win both the U.S. Open and Senior Open, joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Gary Player.
Furyk finished at 7-under 273 at Omaha Country Club.
SCOTTISH OPEN: Australia’s Min Woo Lee won a three-way playoff against Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry in North Berwick, Scotland, to clinch his second European Tour title.
Lee birdied the first extra hole after the trio had finished tied on 18-under par at The Renaissance Club following a 90-minute weather delay late in the final round.
Lee and Detry also secured places in the British Open at Royal St. George’s, with England’s Jack Senior claiming the final one on offer, thanks to a tie for 10th.
The 22-year-old Lee, whose sister, Minjee Lee, was runner-up in the Ladies Scottish Open at nearby Gullane in 2018, had earlier birdied six holes in a row from the third on his way to a flawless closing 7-under 64.
That set the clubhouse target at 18 under, and the final pair of Fitzpatrick and Detry were the only players capable of matching it after rounds of 67.
Ian Poulter, Ryan Palmer and last week’s Irish Open winner, Lucas Herbert, finished a shot behind, with U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm another stroke back in seventh – a result that means he loses his No. 1 ranking to Dustin Johnson.
LPGA: Nasa Hataoka of Japan was declared the winner of the Marathon LPGA Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, when the final round was washed out by relentless, heavy rain.
Hataoka had a six-shot lead over Elizabeth Szokol and Mina Harigae. She won for the fourth time on the LPGA Tour, and her first LPGA title in two years.
AMERICAN CENTURY CLASSIC: Vinny Del Negro became the first basketball player to win the celebrity tournament, birdieing the par-5 18th hole twice to beat Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz in a playoff at South Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Del Negro, the 54-year-old former NBA player and coach making his 20th appearance in the celebrity tournament, birdied the 18th in regulation to force a playoff and won with another birdie on the first extra hole.
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