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Jordan Spieth is the 2013 John Deere Classic champion, beating out Zach Johnson and David Hearn in an epic five-hole playoff. It's his first championship on the PGA Tour, and at 19 years old, he's the youngest PGA winner since 1931.
On the first playoff hole, Johnson and Spieth had solid drives, but Hearn's tee shot went into the right rough. His second shot wasn't much better, sailing past the green and into another rough patch. Spieth's approach shot landed about 25 feet from the hole, while Johnson's made it to the edge of the green.
Johnson nearly got a birdie on a beautiful chip-in, but the ball looped out, giving Spieth the chance to win. Spieth's 25-foot birdie putt came up just two feet short, however, and all three golfers made par to play another playoff hole.
On the second playoff hole, Hearn struggled with his tee shot again, finding the rough for the second hole in a row, though his approach shot was much cleaner this time around. Hearn and Johnson both set themselves up for birdie putts, but Spieth found himself at the edge of the rough. Once again, the trio made par and moved to the 16th for the third playoff hole.
On the par-three 16th hole, Spieth's drive came up short of the green, while Johnson and Hearn both had solid birdie lies. However, they both missed their putts by inches, and the three went on to yet another playoff.
At the par-five 17th hole, Spieth had a rough drive and failed to make the green until his fourth shot, while Hearn had a brilliant approach on his third shot, finishing about four feet short of the hole. Unfortunately, his birdie putt looped out, forcing yet another playoff hole.
The fifth playoff hole went back to the 18th, where all three golfers' drives went into the crowd. Johnson's shot landed right behind an oak tree, setting up a nightmare lie. His next shot ricocheted off the tree and went straight into the pond, effectively taking him out of the running. Hearn also struggled to find the green and got a bogey. Meanwhile, Spieth's second shot landed right next to the green. He two-putted a par to clinch the victory.
Johnson stormed out to the lead early in regulation, getting four birdies on the first nine holes. He slowed down at the turn, however, settling for eight straight pars from holes 9 to 16. Meanwhile, the top of the leaderboard became crowded down the stretch, led by the likes of Hearn, Spieth and Daniel Summerhays.
Summerhays, the leader after three rounds, had a nightmare start to the final round, getting four straight bogeys. He recovered from that start with three birdies in four holes to tie Johnson at 19-under after 14 holes. Summerhays fell one stroke back with a hole 15 bogey, but Johnson had been unable to make any of his birdie putts on the back nine. Elsewhere, Hearn nailed a 25-foot birdie on hole 16 to claim the co-lead with Johnson.
But it was Spieth who may have had the shot of the day. Trailing Johnson and Hearn by one stroke, the 19-year-old chipped in a birdie from the bunker on hole 18 to take part of the lead. He was on fire on Sunday, sinking six birdies on the final nine holes to finish at 6-under 65 and taking part in the playoff.
Hearn struggled on the 17th hole, hooking his drive shot into the trees and settling for a par to stay at 19-under. On the same hole, Johnson finally broke his par streak, two-putting a birdie on the par-five hole to move to 20-under and sole possession of first place.
On the 18th hole, Johnson drove his tee shot into the bunker and wasn't able to recover, recording a crucial bogey to finish at 19-under for the weekend and a 68 in the final round. Summerhays also found the bunker and limped to a bogey to close out the tournament at 18-under. It was a disappointing finish to his weekend after shooting a 62 on Saturday. Hearn made his par to join Johnson and Spieth on the three-way playoff.
Martin Flores had the best round of the day, shooting an 8-under 63 and finishing in a tie for fourth place.
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