SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Zach Johnson won the John Deere Classic on Sunday with a birdie on the second hole of a suddendeath playoff. His 193-yard 6- iron approach from the bunker left of the 18th fairway ran up to less than a foot from the cup for an easy birdie, enabling him to knock off Troy Matteson, whose approach landed 43 feet from the pin.
The kick-in birdie had seemed unlikely minutes earlier after Johnson followed Matteson into the water from the same bunker on the first playoff hole. Each settled for doublebogey 6, then went back to the 18th tee for another try.
Johnson’s bunkered his tee shot again, but this time, he played one of the better shots of a career that includes a 2007 Masters victory and eight other PGA Tour titles.
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