Hlas column: A tournament that was Deere to the fans' hearts

SILVIS, Ill. - This was perhaps the best finish of any of the 41 John Deere Classics, and probably the most-popular with fans.

The crowd at TPC Deere Run went wild when Steve Stricker finished off his Tractor Triple by sinking a 25-foot birdie hole on the final hole. It came after a spectacular shot over water from a tricky spot in a fairway bunker.

Wisconsin's Stricker and Iowa's Zach Johnson were easily the two favorites all weekend here on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities. Johnson, a member of the tourney's board of directors, is a perennial crowd-pleaser here. Stricker has grown large in the hearts of Deere spectators not only by winning the previous two JDCs, but by doing it with warmth and humility.

Stricker joined Tiger Woods and Stuart Appleby as the only players since 2000 to win the same event three consecutive times. The list of players who have done that on the PGA Tour since World War II is short, but packed with greatness.

Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Woods. Stricker is just the 10th player to do it in the last 70 years.

It didn't seem as if anyone was rooting for Kyle Stanley, 21 years younger than 44-year-old Stricker, other than his caddie. The Stricker storyline was embraced by the gallery.

Stanley's strong showing was a feather in the cap of the Aug. 1 Zach Johnson Foundation Classic at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids, since he's among the pros committed to the event.

Along with Davis Love III, Rickie Fowler and others to be named soon, Stanley is coming to Cedar Rapids. But first, he'll play the British Open.

By virtue of being the highest player in the top five at the Deere who weren't already qualified for the British, Stanley joined Stricker, Johnson, and the 18 other pros headed for Royal St. George's Sunday night on the Deere's chartered jet to Kent, England.

And what about Johnson? He fired a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 Sunday to climb to a tie for third place, five strokes behind Stricker. It was Johnson's best finish of the year. It got him $261,000 and nice momentum to take across the Atlantic.

“If you're going to weigh positives and negatives, there's extremely more positives,” Johnson said.

He made just one bogey in four days. Stricker made two bogeys and a double-bogey Sunday, but finished five shots ahead of Johnson. That's what taking just 100 putts in 72 holes can do, including a 75-footer for birdie on the first hole Saturday, a 50-footer at No. 9 Sunday, and a 15-footer for birdie on No. 17 Sunday that gave him a chance to win the tourney in regulation.

Stanley had 111 putts, Johnson 112.

“You all witnessed it,” said Johnson. “If I would have made some putts earlier on in the week, it could have been a much different story.”

He putted like his vintage self Sunday, though, rolling in a pair of 17-footers and others from 11 and 10 feet.

“I'm striking it fine, putting it fine,” the seven-time Tour winner said. “I feel like my time's coming. It's just a matter of putting everything together for one week.”

Stricker is the highest-ranked U.S. player in the World Golf Rankings at No. 5. Eight of his wins have come since he turned 40 in 2007.

Stanley, meanwhile, seemed dazed in the JDC interview room. He turned a 5-hole deficit with nine holes left into a 2-shot lead with two to play, but his 9-foot lip-out on the final hole gave him a bogey. Then Stricker deprived him of a chance at a sudden-death playoff.

But, the 2009 Ben Hogan Award as the nation's top collegiate player while at Clemson had his highest finish as a pro. He also realized he was going to the British Open this week instead of the Tour's Viking Classic in Madison, Miss. By being the top player in the top five not already qualified for the British, Stanley got the final spot in the major.

“I don't know,” Stanley said. “I mean, it's great. I'm very excited to go over there and play. But I'm still trying to calm down from that round.”

Stanley and Johnson share the same agent, Brad Buffoni, and have the same corporate sponsor in Transamerica. Those who come to Elmcrest three weeks from today should enjoy watching Stanley play. He had a 390-yard tee shot on No. 10 today that led to a tap-in birdie, and smacked four other drives of 355-plus in the tourney.

“He's a great talent,” Johnson said.

Johnson's not too shabby himself. One bogey in four days, and a 17-under total.

“All in all,” he said, “a good week.” The same can easily be said for this tournament.