Stricker wins PGA Deere again

Associated Press

SILVIS, Ill.

Even with a big lead, Steve Stricker knew he could be in for a rough final round at the John Deere Classic.

And that’s exactly what he got.

Stricker led by seven strokes with 17 holes to play. With five holes to go, the lead was down to just two. But he maintained that margin the rest of the way Sunday and won the tournament for the second straight year, closing with a 1-under par 70 that was just enough to beat Paul Goydos.

“It’s a position you want to be in, with a big lead, but you know you have everything to lose,” Stricker said. “This is the exactly the same way I felt at Northern Trust. It was difficult. It’s a hard round to play.”

Stricker had a six-shot lead in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera in February and had to scramble to win by two. On Sunday, he found himself doing the same thing.

He played it safe and his putting wasn’t sharp. The shot-making that had allowed him to record the lowest 54-hole total in PGA Tour history wasn’t there. But he came through with a critical birdie after driving into the trees on No. 17 and finished with a 258 — 26 under and a record for the tournament.

“You don’t want to give shots away and then you end up playing a little safer than you normally do and it leads to tougher birdie putts,” Stricker said. “Then they creep in closer because they were playing some good golf.”

Goydos, who dazzled the golf world with his 59 in the opening round, shot a solid 66 but still fell short of dethroning Stricker, who won for the ninth time in his career.

Jeff Maggert shot a 70 to finish six strokes back.