2024 John Deere Classic leaderboard, grades: Davis Thompson breaks tournament record in first PGA Tour win

Thompson separated himself from a competitive pack over the final 18 holes at TPC Deere Run

By Patrick McDonald

Jul 7, 2024 • 1 min read

A shootout turned into a one-man show at the 2024 John Deere Classic, where Davis Thompson ran away from the field for his first career victory on the PGA Tour. Firing rounds of 62-64 over the weekend, the former Georgia standout reached 28 under for the tournament to claim a four-stroke victory over C.T Pan, Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur Luke Clanton.

Thompson's 28-under total represents a new John Deere Classic tournament scoring record, surpassing the previous record of 27 under held by Michael Kim. Thompson also represents the 24th first-time winner at the John Deere Classic since 1970 — the most of any tournament on the PGA Tour.

"I've been working hard this year," Thompson said. "It was OK for a while, but then I kind of got going this past month, played well last week and just tried to keep it rolling this week and was able to get the win."

With the victory, Thompson has locked in his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for the next two years. He has also punched his ticket to The Open for the first time in his career and will be invited to another big tournament next April in Augusta, Georgia.

Not only will Thompson collect a winner's share of $1.44 million, but he is now on the inside track to qualify for the big-money events in 2025. Beginning the week at No. 51 in the FedEx Cup standings, the 25-year-old has risen to No. 22 in the season-long race and could be in line to qualify for the Tour Championship as well should he maintain his position the rest of the way.

"Qualifying for The Open was just an added incentive in this," Thompson said. "The goal was to win the golf tournament after getting here this week. I got off to a great start and was able to finish it off."

Beginning Sunday with a two-stroke lead, Thompson settled into his round immediately. Connecting from 44 feet for birdie on his opening hole, the overnight leader extended his margin and never looked back. Five birdies over the course of his first six holes saw Thompson's advantage stretch to as many as six as he put his playing partners Aaron Rai and Eric Cole in the dust.

Stuffing his approach from outside 240 yards to 6 feet on the par-4 9th, Thompson kicked in another birdie to turn in 6-under 29. Although another nine still had to be played, by then Thompson had all but secured the trophy and set his sights on the tournament scoring record.

A couple of back-nine birdies ensured Thompson's name would be attached to that record and allowed for a stress-free walk to the winner's circle. A champion at every level of his career – the amateur ranks, collegiate and the Korn Ferry Tour – Thompson can now call himself a PGA Tour winner on what could be just the first of many victorious Sundays. Grade: A+

Here are the grades for the rest of the notables on the leaderboard at the 2024 John Deere Classic:

T2. Michael Thorbjornsen: In just his third start as an official PGA Tour member, Thorbjornsen thrived. After a so-so start to his professional career that included a top-40 finish at the last signature event of the season and a missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the 22-year-old showcased what to expect from him moving forward. Six straight birdies in the middle portion of his round catapulted his name near the top of the leaderboard. Not only did he miss out on the win, but he also misses out on qualifying for The Open since Pan grabbed the last spot due to his higher position in the Official World Golf Rankings.

"It does a lot," Thorbjornsen said of his closing 63. "I knew I needed a big round. Again, you can't really force a big round. Can't try and make everything. It just comes to you. I set myself up the best way I probably could today. Even though the driver wasn't working great on some holes, when I did hit it well I took advantage of it. Stuck a lot of my shots close. Probably the best iron play that I had this week. So, yeah, it just clicks and things went my way today." Grade: A+

T2. Luke Clanton (a) (-24): What a run from the kid. After a top-10 finish last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Clanton was at it again with more stellar play. He becomes the first amateur since Billy Joe Patton in 1958 to claim back-to-back top 10s on the PGA Tour and has officially announced his name to the golf world. Making Clanton's performance even more impressive is the fact he closed with a back-nine 30 and ranked first in the field in terms of strokes gained tee to green. Grade: A+

T7. Denny McCarthy (-21): A Sunday sizzler featured a couple of eagles and more than his fair share of chip-ins resulting in a closing 64. McCarthy finishes inside the top 10 for the third straight year at the John Deere Classic, but he must be kicking himself over Saturday's performance, where he was lapped by the field. He has positioned himself nicely in the FedEx Cup to make a run at qualifying for the Tour Championship through the postseason. Grade: B

T12. Sungjae Im (-20): There were spurts of some high-quality play from Im this week namely his start on Sunday that included five straight birdies out the gate. The South Korean's momentum was halted by a couple squares on his scorecard before making the turn, but he ultimately settled for another nice finish. Im's play is continuing to improve with five straight top 15s in non-major events, but he has remained winless on the PGA Tour for nearly three years now. Grade: B-

T26. Jordan Spieth (-15): An 8-under 63 on Saturday grabbed the attention of many, but Spieth was unable to parlay his Moving Day momentum into more of the same on Sunday. While the result isn't memorable on paper, it could serve as a launch pad for Spieth's two weeks in Scotland. He continues to drive the ball well, got his iron play into a much better spot and finally made his fair share of putts. Grade: C-

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Live updates

Scoring record should fall

Davis Thompson tacks on another birdie on the par-5 10th and is now 28 under for the week and 7 under on the day. The previous scoring record held by Michael Kim was 27 under, but Thompson looks well on his way to smashing this.

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Thompson turns in 29

This is laugh out loud funny. From 240 yards, Davis Thompson laces his approach to just outside 6 feet on the difficult par-4 9th. He converts his opportunity for his sixth birdie of the day and turns in 6-under 29. At 27 under, Thompson leads Ben Griffin and Denny McCarthy (who just holed out AGAIN) by six.

Thompson's lead trimmed to five

It's a nice up-and-down for par for our leader Davis Thompson on the par-4 8th. He remains at 26 under and five clear of Ben Griffin who is now 7 under through his first 10 holes. Thompson needed to make an 8-foot par putt on his latest hole to keep his edge at five.

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This is just funny at this point

HE'S DONE IT AGAIN. Davis Thompson is 5 under through his first six holes and officially has one (maybe two) hands on the trophy. He reaches 26 under and is now a half dozen clear of C.T. Pan, Ben Griffin and Carson Young. Denny McCarthy has made eagle on both par 5s is now seven back!

This thing might be over…

Welp, Davis Thompson has done it again. This time from 29 feet, Thompson knocks in his fourth birdie through his first five holes to regain his five-stroke lead over the field. He stands at 25 under and looks like he can do no wrong despite not hitting a fairway yet.

Thompson on a tear

Our overnight leader is threatening to run away from the field. He now has three birdies in his first four holes to get to 24 under and has opened up a five-stroke lead just one hour into his final round. There's not much else he could do better.

Ben Griffin gets within four

Ben Griffin's first five holes read: 3-3-3-3-3 as the UNC graduate is now 5 under on his round and only four strokes behind Davis Thompson. Thompson has looked ultra comfortable with a pair of birdies in his first two holes, but these pushes made by the pursuers could add some nerves as the day progresses.

Thompson takes three-stroke lead

From 44 feet, our leader connects on his opening hole for a birdie to reach 22 under. That puts him three clear of Eric Cole and Aaron Rai who are playing alongside him. That should settle the nerves, but it should be noted Thompson has missed his first two fairways as the final group takes on the par-5 2nd.

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We have a developing situation…

That's now five — count 'em — five birdies in a row for Sungjae Im. He climbs to 18 under and is only three behind Davis Thompson who has yet to tee off in this final round. The South Korean appears to be the man who will lead the sub-60 conversations with 13 holes remaining sort of like Spieth did yesterday. He'll hope for a better finish.

Sungjae keeps it rolling

The two-time PGA Tour winner is a perfect 4-for-4 out the gate after tacking on his fourth straight birdie on the par-4 4th. He reaches 17 under and is now only four behind Davis Thompson. Im — along with the entire chasing pack — will probably aim to get around 24 under to force Thompson to post another quality score.

Sungjae Im starts hot

I was pretty disappointed with Sungjae Im's 70 yesterday that left him well outside contention, but he has picked it up early on Sunday. He is now 2 under through his first two holes and looks to capture his fifth straight non-major top 12. Im hasn't won since the Fall of 2021 on the PGA Tour.

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