Clemson great Lucas Glover just won his first PGA Tour event in 10 years
Greenville native and former Clemson great Lucas Glover pocketed his first PGA event victory in 10 years, winning the John Deere Classic on Sunday in Silvis, Illinois.
The 41-year-old, who played for the Tigers from 1998 to 2001 and was a three-time All American, shot 19-under for a four-round score of 265 for his fourth-ever tour win. The others came in 2005, 2009 and 2011.
“It’s been a long 10 years,” he said in a post-tournament interview with CBS. “It’s been some struggles. I’ve had a couple good years, but nothing like this. Nothing like where I had a real chance to win. It’s great.”
What made it even more special was getting to share the moment with his family. Neither of his two children, an eight-year old daughter and five-year-old son, had been born when he won any of his three other titles.
“Hopefully she’s as excited as she was a second ago when she thought it was official,” Glover said of his daughter. “She just told me good job and that’s all I need to hear, so that’s great.”
Glover capped his performance by scoring 7-under 64 in the final round, a second-best mark after shooting 63 in the second round. His success comes with a $1.116 million payday from a $6.2 million overall purse and moves him to 32nd in the FedEx Cup standings with 500 points. He’s also now qualified for a spot in the 2022 Players, Masters and PGA Championships.
“I knew it was in there,” Glover said. “I just had to clean up my brain a little bit, I think, and just hit some shots. Just play golf. … I never lost sight of, and believing I could do this and win again. Probably the most gratifying thing is I proved myself right.”
Glover came into the event after having three top 10 finishes in 24 events played this season.
He’ll take part this coming week in the British Open at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Kent, England.
Lucas Glover career PGA Tour wins
2021: John Deere Classic
2011: Wells Fargo Championship
2009: U.S. Open Championship
2005: FUNAI Classic at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort
This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 5:44 PM.
