2024 John Deere Classic leaderboard, grades: Davis Thompson breaks tournament record in first PGA Tour win

Thompson separated himself from a competitive pack over the final 18 holes at TPC Deere Run

A shootout turned into a one-man show at the 2024 John Deere Classic, where Davis Thompson ran away from the field for his first career victory on the PGA Tour. Firing rounds of 62-64 over the weekend, the former Georgia standout reached 28 under for the tournament to claim a four-stroke victory over C.T Pan, Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur Luke Clanton. 

Thompson's 28-under total represents a new John Deere Classic tournament scoring record, surpassing the previous record of 27 under held by Michael Kim. Thompson also represents the 24th first-time winner at the John Deere Classic since 1970 — the most of any tournament on the PGA Tour.

"I've been working hard this year," Thompson said. "It was OK for a while, but then I kind of got going this past month, played well last week and just tried to keep it rolling this week and was able to get the win."

With the victory, Thompson has locked in his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for the next two years. He has also punched his ticket to The Open for the first time in his career and will be invited to another big tournament next April in Augusta, Georgia.

Not only will Thompson collect a winner's share of $1.44 million, but he is now on the inside track to qualify for the big-money events in 2025. Beginning the week at No. 51 in the FedEx Cup standings, the 25-year-old has risen to No. 22 in the season-long race and could be in line to qualify for the Tour Championship as well should he maintain his position the rest of the way.

"Qualifying for The Open was just an added incentive in this," Thompson said. "The goal was to win the golf tournament after getting here this week. I got off to a great start and was able to finish it off."

Beginning Sunday with a two-stroke lead, Thompson settled into his round immediately. Connecting from 44 feet for birdie on his opening hole, the overnight leader extended his margin and never looked back. Five birdies over the course of his first six holes saw Thompson's advantage stretch to as many as six as he put his playing partners Aaron Rai and Eric Cole in the dust.

Stuffing his approach from outside 240 yards to 6 feet on the par-4 9th, Thompson kicked in another birdie to turn in 6-under 29. Although another nine still had to be played, by then Thompson had all but secured the trophy and set his sights on the tournament scoring record.

A couple of back-nine birdies ensured Thompson's name would be attached to that record and allowed for a stress-free walk to the winner's circle. A champion at every level of his career – the amateur ranks, collegiate and the Korn Ferry Tour – Thompson can now call himself a PGA Tour winner on what could be just the first of many victorious Sundays. Grade: A+

Here are the grades for the rest of the notables on the leaderboard at the 2024 John Deere Classic: 

T2. Michael Thorbjornsen: In just his third start as an official PGA Tour member, Thorbjornsen thrived. After a so-so start to his professional career that included a top-40 finish at the last signature event of the season and a missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the 22-year-old showcased what to expect from him moving forward. Six straight birdies in the middle portion of his round catapulted his name near the top of the leaderboard. Not only did he miss out on the win, but he also misses out on qualifying for The Open since Pan grabbed the last spot due to his higher position in the Official World Golf Rankings. 

"It does a lot," Thorbjornsen said of his closing 63. "I knew I needed a big round. Again, you can't really force a big round. Can't try and make everything. It just comes to you. I set myself up the best way I probably could today. Even though the driver wasn't working great on some holes, when I did hit it well I took advantage of it. Stuck a lot of my shots close. Probably the best iron play that I had this week. So, yeah, it just clicks and things went my way today." Grade: A+

T2. Luke Clanton (a) (-24): What a run from the kid. After a top-10 finish last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Clanton was at it again with more stellar play. He becomes the first amateur since Billy Joe Patton in 1958 to claim back-to-back top 10s on the PGA Tour and has officially announced his name to the golf world. Making Clanton's performance even more impressive is the fact he closed with a back-nine 30 and ranked first in the field in terms of strokes gained tee to green. Grade: A+

T7. Denny McCarthy (-21): A Sunday sizzler featured a couple of eagles and more than his fair share of chip-ins resulting in a closing 64. McCarthy finishes inside the top 10 for the third straight year at the John Deere Classic, but he must be kicking himself over Saturday's performance, where he was lapped by the field. He has positioned himself nicely in the FedEx Cup to make a run at qualifying for the Tour Championship through the postseason. Grade: B

T12. Sungjae Im (-20): There were spurts of some high-quality play from Im this week namely his start on Sunday that included five straight birdies out the gate. The South Korean's momentum was halted by a couple squares on his scorecard before making the turn, but he ultimately settled for another nice finish. Im's play is continuing to improve with five straight top 15s in non-major events, but he has remained winless on the PGA Tour for nearly three years now. Grade: B-

T26. Jordan Spieth (-15): An 8-under 63 on Saturday grabbed the attention of many, but Spieth was unable to parlay his Moving Day momentum into more of the same on Sunday. While the result isn't memorable on paper, it could serve as a launch pad for Spieth's two weeks in Scotland. He continues to drive the ball well, got his iron play into a much better spot and finally made his fair share of putts. Grade: C-

[Jul 7, 2024 at 5:02 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Race to The Open heats up

It is a sprint to the finish line for that last Open spot. Carson Young is in solo second at 24 under with Michael Thorbjornsen and Luke Clanton one behind at 23 under and alongside him playing the 18th hole. C.T. Pan is at that number as well while Aaron Rai could sneak in as well after a birdie on No. 16 to get to 22 under.

[Jul 7, 2024 at 4:39 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

That should do it

A nifty up-and-down from Davis Thompson on No. 14 pushes his lead back out to four with four to play. A little game within in the game is who will finish second as the runner-up will receive a spot in The Open if not otherwise qualified. A bogey from Ben Griffin on No. 17 has left it open for Carson Young or Michael Thorbjornsen to walk through.

[Jul 7, 2024 at 4:16 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Thompson leads by four with five to go

A poor bogey from Michael Thorbjornsen on the short par-4 14th means Davis Thompson's lead is now four. It had tightened to as little as three but there is a little more breathing room now. Meanwhile, Ben Griffin is four behind as well and will need to rattle off three straight birdies to end to shoot 59.

[Jul 7, 2024 at 3:49 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Six straight from Thorbjornsen

Well, someone is making this a little interesting. Michael Thorbjornsen has rattled off six straight birdies to get to 24 under and is just four behind Davis Thompson who just missed the green on the par-3 12th. If he fails to get that up-and-down this lead could be down to three with six holes to play.