Stricker’s strong rounds lead to Deere Classic title

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — All around him, players were making runs at the lead. Steve Stricker didn’t flinch. He simply outlasted them.

Stricker followed the lowest round of his career with 36 solid holes Sunday to win the John Deere Classic by three strokes.

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 winnner’s check.

“I’ve just given myself a lot of chances to win,” said Stricker, now second behind Tiger Woods in the FedEx Cup standings. “Some didn’t go my way and some have.”

This one did because he showed the poise and buried enough shots to hold off a tight field.

Local favorite Zach Johnson (64, 66), Brandt Snedeker (68, 65) and Brett Quigley (62, 67) all tied for second at 17 under. Quigley also qualified for the British Open, but he won’t be making the trip to Turnberry.

Instead, he’s going to Milwaukee and will also attend a memorial in Indiana for golfer Chris Smith’s wife Beth, who was killed last month in an auto crash that critically injured their two children.

“My heart’s not into playing the British,” said Quigley, who did not bring his passport.

He was, however, locked in Sunday.

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.

“Some of those scores, those guys had started on the back,” Stricker said. “And we kind of felt all week that you could maybe shoot a little lower on the back side. We just were trying to be patient, knowing that those guys were playing the back first and were going to have to come to the front and finish on some tougher holes.”