ZACH JOHNSON FINISHES SHOT BEHIND IN SECOND PLACE
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BRIAN HARMAN SCORES FIRST US PGA
TOUR VICTORY IN JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE - By Craig DeVrieze, PGATOUR.COM
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Brian Harman put forth a stellar performance to hold off Zach Johnson for his first TOUR title. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
SILVIS, Illinois. -- In the Takes-One-to-Know-One department, Brian Harman is in very good company.
“He has always been known as just kind of a gritty player who plays pretty simple golf,” Zach Johnson said in describing his St. Simons Island, Georgia, neighbour and the freshly crowned John Deere Classic champion Harman.
Sound like anyone Johnson might know?
“Jim Furyk?” quipped Johnson, the 11-time TOUR winner whose own brand of gritty, simple golf fell a shot short of Harman’s 22-under 262 winning total at TPC Deere Run on Sunday. “Yeah. That’s kind of what I try to model off of.
“He’s fierce,’’ Johnson added of his young neighbour. “There’s not a whole lot of fear there. Might be a small guy, stature-wise. But there is nothing small about him in his golf game.”
Indeed, at 5ft 7in, 180lbs, Harman looks up to the bulk of his Tour peers, including the 5ft 11in Johnson.
But Harman stood tallest this week, finally collecting the victory for which he has been itching over 88 US PGA Tour starts, spanning 2-and-a-half seasons. That includes his maiden appearance here at the Deere in 2012, when he played in the penultimate Sunday pairing alongside eventual winner Johnson, while fading to a share of 19th place.
“That was the first time that I was anywhere close to the lead, and having to deal with all of the distractions of playing in the last couple of groups,’’ remembered Harman.
“I actually talked to Zach about it. He felt like I was trying to get out of his way a little bit and I needed to kind of stake my ground. I definitely learned a lot from that situation.”
It showed on Sunday, when Harman went out with a one-shot lead on three-time JDC winner Steve Stricker, and promptly staked his claim to the top of the leaderboard with a 223yd second shot to inside 5 feet at the par-5 second.
Harman rolled in the eagle putt and never wavered thereafter, offsetting a bogey at the fifth with a steely birdie at the difficult par-4 9th and three birdies coming in.
He led by two on the 18th tee and a tap-in bogey for a closing round of 5-under 66 made him the 20th first-time winner at the Deere and the seventh former Georgia Bulldog to win on TOUR this year.
The latter was a significant accomplishment in Harman’s mind, because the Savannah-bred lad is a Bulldog – and a bulldog – through and through.
“We had some good teams, man,” he said of squads that included recent TOUR winners like Harris English, Chris Kirk, Russell Henley, Patrick Reed and Brendan Todd, as well as an alum named Bubba Watson. “We’re always pushing each other, still buddies, most of us. I’m so excited that now we’ve got something else to talk about.”
“He has always been known as just kind of a gritty player who plays pretty simple golf,” Zach Johnson said in describing his St. Simons Island, Georgia, neighbour and the freshly crowned John Deere Classic champion Harman.
Sound like anyone Johnson might know?
“Jim Furyk?” quipped Johnson, the 11-time TOUR winner whose own brand of gritty, simple golf fell a shot short of Harman’s 22-under 262 winning total at TPC Deere Run on Sunday. “Yeah. That’s kind of what I try to model off of.
“He’s fierce,’’ Johnson added of his young neighbour. “There’s not a whole lot of fear there. Might be a small guy, stature-wise. But there is nothing small about him in his golf game.”
Indeed, at 5ft 7in, 180lbs, Harman looks up to the bulk of his Tour peers, including the 5ft 11in Johnson.
But Harman stood tallest this week, finally collecting the victory for which he has been itching over 88 US PGA Tour starts, spanning 2-and-a-half seasons. That includes his maiden appearance here at the Deere in 2012, when he played in the penultimate Sunday pairing alongside eventual winner Johnson, while fading to a share of 19th place.
“That was the first time that I was anywhere close to the lead, and having to deal with all of the distractions of playing in the last couple of groups,’’ remembered Harman.
“I actually talked to Zach about it. He felt like I was trying to get out of his way a little bit and I needed to kind of stake my ground. I definitely learned a lot from that situation.”
It showed on Sunday, when Harman went out with a one-shot lead on three-time JDC winner Steve Stricker, and promptly staked his claim to the top of the leaderboard with a 223yd second shot to inside 5 feet at the par-5 second.
Harman rolled in the eagle putt and never wavered thereafter, offsetting a bogey at the fifth with a steely birdie at the difficult par-4 9th and three birdies coming in.
He led by two on the 18th tee and a tap-in bogey for a closing round of 5-under 66 made him the 20th first-time winner at the Deere and the seventh former Georgia Bulldog to win on TOUR this year.
The latter was a significant accomplishment in Harman’s mind, because the Savannah-bred lad is a Bulldog – and a bulldog – through and through.
“We had some good teams, man,” he said of squads that included recent TOUR winners like Harris English, Chris Kirk, Russell Henley, Patrick Reed and Brendan Todd, as well as an alum named Bubba Watson. “We’re always pushing each other, still buddies, most of us. I’m so excited that now we’ve got something else to talk about.”
Harman had plenty of time to talk with several of those UGA chums on a
Deere-sponsored charter flight to London Sunday night en route to Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
In addition to the 500 FedExCup points that lifted him to 14th in the season-long race and the $846,000 winner’s share, the recently engaged 27-year-old’s victory earned him the final berth in next week’s Open Championship. In addition, he'll make his debut in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and Masters Tournament next year.
Sporting a wide grin with the JDC trophy in front of him in his victory’s aftermath, Harman admitted all those perks crossed his mind during Sunday’s round.
“I think anybody who says they block all that out, they’re being a little facetious,” said Harman, whose previous best finishes on TOUR were a pair of thirds.
But his answer to those distractions was to ask: "What’s the best way to get those things you want? I’ve got eight holes to play, and I have got to play these holes like I play all the time.”
Harman played them like a champion, which, of course, is what he now is, standing shoulder- to- shoulder with all those former Bulldog teammates and the worthy list of recent Deere winners like Stricker, Jordan Spieth and his gritty St. Simons Island neighbour.
“I appreciate the way Zach plays the game,” Harman said of Johnson, who he said often bikes past Harman’s home with his children in tow. “He does it the right way. He does what he does extremely well.”
Still, Harman’s breakthrough victory also is a result of committing to stand on his own.
“At the beginning of this year, I kind of caught myself trying to imitate too many guys at once,” he said. “And I just kind of made the decision to try and be a little bit better version of myself. To do the things that I know how to do and to see where that took me.”
His immediate destination is Hoylake. And, from there, who knows where?
“I think the future looks pretty good,” said the gritty new champion.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71) Players from USA unless stated
262 Brian Harman 63 68 65 66
263 Zach Johnson 63 67 6964
265 Jhonattan Vegas 69 68 63 65, Jerry Kelly 66 68 65 66
266 Scott Brown 67 70 68 68, Tim Clark (South Africa) 72 63 64 67
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
In addition to the 500 FedExCup points that lifted him to 14th in the season-long race and the $846,000 winner’s share, the recently engaged 27-year-old’s victory earned him the final berth in next week’s Open Championship. In addition, he'll make his debut in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and Masters Tournament next year.
Sporting a wide grin with the JDC trophy in front of him in his victory’s aftermath, Harman admitted all those perks crossed his mind during Sunday’s round.
“I think anybody who says they block all that out, they’re being a little facetious,” said Harman, whose previous best finishes on TOUR were a pair of thirds.
But his answer to those distractions was to ask: "What’s the best way to get those things you want? I’ve got eight holes to play, and I have got to play these holes like I play all the time.”
Harman played them like a champion, which, of course, is what he now is, standing shoulder- to- shoulder with all those former Bulldog teammates and the worthy list of recent Deere winners like Stricker, Jordan Spieth and his gritty St. Simons Island neighbour.
“I appreciate the way Zach plays the game,” Harman said of Johnson, who he said often bikes past Harman’s home with his children in tow. “He does it the right way. He does what he does extremely well.”
Still, Harman’s breakthrough victory also is a result of committing to stand on his own.
“At the beginning of this year, I kind of caught myself trying to imitate too many guys at once,” he said. “And I just kind of made the decision to try and be a little bit better version of myself. To do the things that I know how to do and to see where that took me.”
His immediate destination is Hoylake. And, from there, who knows where?
“I think the future looks pretty good,” said the gritty new champion.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71) Players from USA unless stated
262 Brian Harman 63 68 65 66
263 Zach Johnson 63 67 6964
265 Jhonattan Vegas 69 68 63 65, Jerry Kelly 66 68 65 66
266 Scott Brown 67 70 68 68, Tim Clark (South Africa) 72 63 64 67
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Labels: US PGA TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Monday, July 14, 2014
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