J.T. Poston wins the John Deere Classic
‘The Postman’ won the 2022 John Deere Classic by going wire-to-wire and earning a spot at the 150th British Open at St. Andrews.
Wire-to-wire
Poston finished on Sunday the same way as he started on Thursday; in the lead. His 9-under 62 on Thursday catapulted him into the stop spot, which he didn’t let go of during the rest of the tournament. He started the final round on Sunday with a three-shot lead and made birdie on the first three opening holes to widen the margin.
On Sunday ‘The Postman’, his Twitter account handle, managed to deliver and hold off Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa and Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who pulled to within one shot after making birdie on number 10. The Argentinian bogeyed 12 and 14 and couldn’t catch up with Poston, who sealed the deal on his second PGA Tour victory, which he won at the Wyndham Championship in 2019. “They don’t come easy out here, and I really wanted to get that second win to sort of validate Wyndham,” Poston said. “So, it feels good to get it out of the way.”
“There were a lot of nerves, a lot more than the first few days. I was just trying to battle through them. I think after today, after this week, I feel like knowing I can play with those nerves and I can still win, I can still shoot a solid score considering the pressure out here,” Poston said.
Three tickets to St. Andrews
The top three finishers were competing at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois for a lot more than the prize money of nearly $1.3 million. Poston, Grillo and Bezuidenhout also gained spots to participate in the 150th British Open, which will be played at St. Andrews from July 14-17. Grillo and Bezuidenhout tied for second place and will both receive paychecks for the amount of $631,900.
The 2022 John Deere Classic winner was thrilled with the win and with the chance to play in Scotland. “I can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to play in one of those at any venue, but first one to be in St. Andrews and the 150th, I can’t wait to get there and see what it’s like,” he said.
Grillo will be looking to improve his 2021 British Open T-12 position at St. Andrews, although his objective in Illinois was to keep his playing status intact for next year. “I just knew I needed a solid week. I just needed to play well and go up the rankings and have a job for next year. That was more important for me than going to The Open. Now I get both, so that’s pretty special,” he said.