It was quite a golf anniversary for Brian Campbell.
Ten years to the week since he made his PGA Tour debut, he won the John Deere Classic.
Campbell’s par on the first playoff hole gave him his second career victory on the tour, winning on Sunday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.
“It all started here as an amateur, my first invite here,” Campbell said. “I’ve loved it ever since.”
He loves it even more now.
Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo scrambled on the extra hole, the par-4 18th, and Campbell’s steady approach was enough.
Campbell, who also won the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld in a February playoff, and Grillo, bidding for his third PGA Tour triumph, both posted 4-under-par 67s to finish regulation at
18-under 266.
Campbell is the sixth multiple-winner on the tour this year.
“To be let alone in a playoff and to finish it off this way, it’s just been amazing,” he said.
His double bogey on No 15 nearly cost him, but he rolled in a birdie two holes later.
As he waited to see if there would be a playoff, he opted for rest instead of going through another warm-up.
He figured he had hit enough shots during the tournament.
“It’s gruelling out here. We’re sweating. It’s just hot,” he said.
“I think we really needed to take a break, get some water, rather than go out and beat balls and putt for who knows how many minutes.”
Grillo’s tee shot on the playoff hole went into the right rough and he never fully recovered from that.
“I think I hit every fairway today, except for that first in the playoff,” he said.
David Lipsky, who was in the final pairing, hit his tee shot into the rough on No 18 and missed a par-saving putt from 15 feet away, dropping out of a would-be spot in the playoff with his 68.
He tied for third place with Kevin Roy (65).
“I’m just really happy how I had a really good mindset, kept plugging away and ground it out,” Lipsky said.
His bogey on No 15 put his title chances in jeopardy, but an eagle 3 on No 17 — coming on a putt of less than eight feet — pushed him into a share for the lead.
“I’m going to look at the positives and take that from this week,” he said.
Carson Young (64), Lucas Glover (64), Jacob Bridgeman (64), Matt Kuchar (66), Kurt Kitayama (67) and Max Homa (69) all ended at 16 under in a tie for fifth place.
Again, the leader board was full of contenders.
“The first scoreboard I saw, everybody was going bananas, and you kind of knew that would happen,” Glover said.
“No wind, soft conditions, the rain [on Saturday] softened everything up.”
Seventeen golfers, including amateur Jackson Koivun, ended up within three shots of the lead.
Koivun (67), a 20-year-old, was among seven golfers at 15 under.
Homa was three under for the day through four holes and held the lead at 16 under before an uneven finish.
Beau Hossler and Michael Thorbjornsen set the early pace with torrid 63s for the day’s best rounds.
Third-round leader Davis Thompson shot 72 and tied for 18th place at 14 under. His fourth bogey of the day came on the final hole.
First-round and 36-hole leader Doug Ghim dropped to a tie for 31st place at 11 under after his Sunday score of 69.
SA’s Aldrich Potgieter, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in a playoff a week earlier for his first tour victory, withdrew before the final round.
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