Michael Thorbjornsen earns top 20 finish at John Deere Classic

July 9, 2023 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Michael Thorbjornsen (USGA Photo)

Thorbjornsen made eagle on No. 17 to secure the top 20 finish, his second ever on the PGA Tour.

No. 2 ranked amateur Michael Thorbjornsen (Wellesley, Mass.) secured his second career top 20 finish on the PGA Tour after finishing T17 at the John Deere Classic this week.

Thorbjornsen had a roller coaster round, starting with birdies on No. 1 and 2 and then a bogey on No. 3. After birdies on No. 6 and No. 14 and bogeys on No. 9 and No. 12, Thorbjornsen put his second shot to four feet on the par-5 No. 17 to make eagle and finish 14 under and T17.

Thorbjornsen also finished in solo fourth place at the 2022 Travelers Championship.

No. 1 ranked amateur Gordon Sargent shot even par in his final round to finish T57. However, it was anything but a normal round.

Sargent made nine pars to start his day and then made a triple bogey snowman on No. 10 after putting his fourth shot into the water as he chipped the ball over the green.

He then birdied holes No. 11, No. 12 and No. 14 to get back to even par for the day, shooting a final round 71.

Sargent, Thorbjornsen and David Ford were recently named as the first three members of the USA Walker Cup team that will travel to St. Andrews Scotland, to compete against Great Britain and Ireland Sept 2-4.

ROUND THREE RECAP

Michael Thorbjornsen backed up a blistering 8 under 63 second round with a 5 under 66 third round to move sit T16 and just five shots back of leader Brendon Todd heading into the final round of the John Deere Classic.

Thorbjornsen finished bogey free in the third round and made five birdies to move up the leaderboard. He shot a 34 on the back nine (he started on hole 10) and a 32 on the front nine.

Gordon Sargent shot a 2 under 69 to sit T47 heading into the final round. Sargent was unable to fill up the scorecard with birdies like other golfers today, but he did eagle No. 17 in impressive fashion after putting his 235 yard approach shot to five feet.

ROUND TWO RECAP

Michael Thorbjornsen, the No. 2 ranked amateur in the world, shot an 8-under 63 during the second round at the John Deere Classic to propel 112 spots up the leaderboard.

The rising senior at Stanford and Wellesley, Mass. native shot a 30 on the front nine after starting on No. 10 with birdies on Hole Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8 to enter the top 25 after shooting 2-over 73 in the first round. He was bogey-free on the day.

Amazingly, after starting the day near the bottom of the pack at 2-over par, Thornbjornsen shot like a rocket up the leaderboard to not only make the cut but approach the top 20. With a 63 under his belt and a track record of playing well in Tour events like the 2022 Travelers (where he finished solo fourth) we expect a strong weekend from "Thor." But he isn't the only story at the John Deere.

73-63 for @MichaelT_1 📈

The 21-year-old is competing on a sponsor exemption and has vaulted 112 spots up the leaderboard @JDClassic. pic.twitter.com/Jxw9WSOu5P
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 7, 2023

Unranked amateur Anders Larson of Minnesota, who Monday qualified into the event with a 7 under par 65, vindicated himself quite well with a 1 over par 72 for the first round but struggled during his second round and posted 11 over par 82. Larson attends Tennessee Tech -- his coach drove a full 600 miles to watch him compete in the John Deere.

Vanderbilt rising junior and current No. 1 ranked amateur Gordon Sargent finishes at 5 under par total after a 4 under 67 second round and sits T45.

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