John Deere Classic: Davis Thompson knows it’s time to complete unfinished business

Thompson fired off an impressive 62 Saturday at the John Deere Classic to hold a two shot lead headed into Sunday.

It seems Davis Thompson has some unfinished business to complete as he heads into the final day of the John Deere Classic.

He is the 54-hole leader at TPC Deere Run after he carded a bogey-free 9-under 62 to sit at 21-under total. Thompson built off his impressive 63-67 start with a phenomenal performance.

After settling for T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and T9 at the U.S. Open, Thompson is in contention for the third straight tournament.

“Last week, I was four back going into Sunday. I didn’t know what it would take to win that golf tournament,” Thompson said after his round on Saturday.

“I played really solid Sunday. Just came up one shot short. I feel like I’ve been playing well. Just tried to keep it going. Yeah, hopefully I got one more good one in me tomorrow.”

The former Georgia Bulldog may have recorded a bogey-free score, but he had to work for it. Even when he struggled, the Peach State native still made birdies.

He was 4-under after six holes and added a final birdie at 8 to make the turn in 30.

“Was in a little trouble on 5, but, yeah, to make that bunker shot and keep it going, that was great,” he said. “On 6, I hit a tree. It kicked back out on the fairway and made birdie.”

“It could have gone the other way. I guess it was just my day today. Hit a lot of good shots on the back nine and finished the round off well. Yeah, it was good.”

Thompson added four more birdies on the back nine to come home in 32 strokes and keep a clean scorecard. On the par-5 17th, he had to work for it after he went left off the tee. Miraculously, Thompson made a birdie to keep his momentum.

Through three rounds of play, he leads the field with 22 birdies and in strokes gained total (+14.733), as he is almost picking up 15 shots on the field. On Saturday alone, Thompson led the field in Strokes gained around the green (+2.780) and strokes gained total (+6.740).

His disposition did not change throughout the day. Thompson stayed calm and played his game.

The field has made 1,681 birdies through 54 holes. It is a birdie marathon at TPC Deere Run. There are 10 players within six shots of Thompson.

“Everybody is hungry. That’s what makes it difficult,” Thompson said. “There are a lot of losers every week. You can have great weeks and finish top 10. Your goal is to win the golf tournament. It’s frustrating at times, but this is what you work for, to put yourself in these positions.”

With bad weather coming into town, the PGA Tour opted to play off split tees to get in the tournament and avoid any delays. He, Eric Cole, and Aaron Rai are the final group as they tee off Sunday at 12:37 p.m. ET.

Eighteen holes stand in the way of Thompson and his first PGA Tour victory and become the latest player to earn their first win at the John Deere Classic.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.