The final round of the John Deere Classic will begin Sunday much
like Saturday’s third round. Troy Matteson’s name is
atop the leaderboard and Steve Stricker, in pursuit of a four-peat,
is three shots back. There are two key differences, however. One,
the pressure is greater on a PGA TOUR Sunday. And two, Matteson
will be paired with the three-time champion on Sunday. Six players
were between Matteson and Stricker on the leaderboard after 36
holes but the congestion cleared up on Saturday as the
aforementioned two were the only players in the final four pairings
to shoot better than 2 under. Matteson started quickly, with two
birdies in his first three holes, and added five more before the
end of his round that resulted in a 5-under 66. Stricker birdied
the first hole but couldn’t get much else going before making
four consecutive birdies late in his round of 66. Both players
bogeyed the 18th. Entering Sunday four shots back and playing in
the penultimate grouping will be Zach Johnson and Brian Harman.
Johnson, an eight-time PGA TOUR winner grew up in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, less than 100 miles from the course. Harman, a rookie ranked
No. 97 in the FedExCup standings, is in search of his first victory
-- and first top-10 finish -- on TOUR. In what promises to be an
interesting Sunday at TPC Deere Run, 22 other golfers will enter
Sunday’s final round at 10 under or better.