Stricker wins 2nd straight John Deere Classic, Johnson ties for 21st

SILVIS, Ill. - After a devil of a finish Sunday, Zach Johnson is off to St. Andrews.

Johnson's double-bogey on the final hole took the sails out of had been a good final round, and left him with a 3-under-par 68 at TPC Deere Run.

Johnson finished at 11-under 273, in a tie for 21st place. The finish earned him $36,418.

He began the round with three straight birdies, and made a 27-foot birdie putt on No. 9 for a 5-under 30 on the front nine. The back nine, usually easier to score on, wasn't as kind.

“It was very frustrating,” Johnson said. “I felt I played well enough to move up the board today, and obviously today I had some mishaps.”

His tee shot on the par-4 14th could generously be described as wayward. He pitched from miniature-forest to a bunker, and ended up with a bogey. On 18, he went from the rough to the pond near the 18th green for the second-straight day.

But there was a lot of good stuff before that as he scored in the 60s for the fourth-straight day.

“I felt like I was in control, and a couple of poor tee shots really cost me,” Johnson said. “Got a little ahead of myself.”

Now comes this week's British Open at St. Andrews.

“It's my favorite tournament to play, so I'm really looking forward to it,” said Johnson.

“You have to have all aspects of your game on, your trajectory control, your short game's got to be on. You've got to hit it left, you've got to hit it right, you've got to hit it high, you've got to hit it low.

“It's just pure golf.”

This will be Johnson's seventh British Open. He missed the 36-hole cut in the first three, including the 2005 tourney at St. Andrews, but has made the cut in the next three. His best finish is a tie for 20th in 2007.

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