Youth serving up birdies at John Deere Classic

SILVIS, Ill. — Sunday's final pairing at the John Deere Classic is a mere two years older than Jennifer Lopez, Phil Mickelson, and the JDC itself.

Patrick Rodgers and Daniel Berger — they might have been called Pat and Danny a generation ago — are 25 and 24, respectively. Rodgers leads Berger and Scott Stallings by two shots heading into the final 18 holes of the 47th JDC.

Youth was served here when Jordan Spieth won in 2013 and 2015, and it may be again Sunday afternoon.

Rodgers has an impeccable amateur pedigree, having won 11 tournament titles at Stanford. For four months, he was the No. 1-ranked men's amateur player in the world.

But he has yet to earn win No. 1 on the PGA Tour and the spoils that come with it. A win Sunday would get him a two-year exemption on the Tour, entries into this week's British Open and next spring's Masters, and a million bucks.

Berger has spent the last three seasons on the Tour. He already has a pair of wins. But Rodgers came to the Tour as a well-known entity, and Berger did not.

'I've been more under the radar than only some of the other guys like Justin (Thomas) and Patrick Rodgers who have played in tour events when they were younger,' Berger said here Wednesday. 'They started playing golf when they were 3 years old and that's all they've ever done. I didn't start playing golf until I was 11 or 12.'

Berger has entered the radar he mentioned. Multiple betting sites made him the pre-tourney favorite to win the JDC at 12-1 though he had never before played here.

The odds on Rodgers winning was 100-1. Until you've won on this Tour, there is always some question if you can. Perhaps not in Rodgers' mind, though.

''Fortunately for me,' Rodgers said, 'I've been in this position a lot in my career, both as an amateur and a pro. So I feel like I've had every situation in a golf tournament. I don't discount anything college, amateur and junior golf. I think they're all just experiences winning golf tournaments.

'So I feel very, very comfortable in this position.'

Rodgers looked comfortable Saturday. He began the day with a two-shot lead, peeled off a 3-under-par 68, and would head back to bed Saturday night with a two-shot advantage.

Now we'll see if the JDC is the place where he closes his first PGA Tour deal.

Berger had a 63 Saturday. That certainly worked.

'I honestly didn't feel like I played that great today,' Berger said. 'I just looked at the scoreboard and I was a bunch under par, so I just need to try to do the same thing (Sunday).'

As for Cedar Rapids' Zach Johnson, he lost ground with a 70. He is at 11-under, in a 10-way tie for eighth, five shots behind Rodgers.

This was Johnson's day: He chipped in from 59 feet out for an eagle on No. 14, then double-bogeyed the next hole.

'Taketh and giveth, right?' he said.

'It was a grind.'

Johnson's tee time Sunday is 11:28 a.m.

'A lot of work,' he said, 'but anything is possible. I'm going to try to birdie them all tomorrow. See how that goes.'