Glover with a 64 at John Deere ends 10 years without a win
SILVIS, Ill. — Lucas Glover made his third straight birdie and knew winning the John Deere Classic was in reach with a one-shot lead and four holes to go.
But this was not the time to be thinking about ending 10 years without a PGA Tour trophy. Conditions were too soft and pure. There were too many birdies to be made, and too many players behind him.
“Push, push, push,” Glover said. “And I think that kept me from getting complacent, kept me from getting too nervy, because I knew it was going to take a bunch more under par.”
He finished with five birdies over his last seven holes for a 7-under 64 and a two-shot victory Sunday, ending 244 consecutive starts since he last won at Quail Hollow in May 2011.
“I felt good golf coming,” Glover said. “I didn’t know how good.”
It had to be to win at TPC Deere Run, where the greens were soft from rain but still smooth as can be, the perfect recipe for birdies.
Glover was in log jam that at one pointed featured 25 players separated by three shots. Someone had to emerge, and it turned out to be him.
It started with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th hole. He hit his approach into 4 feet and 7 feet on the next two holes, and then flushed a 7-iron to 3 feet on the 15th hole to take the lead.
Glover finished his run with a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 17th, and a 6-foot putt to save par from the bunker on the 18th that he figured would come in handy.
It never got to that. No one could catch him. He finished at 19-under 265 for his fourth career PGA Tour victory.
Kevin Na tried to make a run with three birdies in four holes until he was slowed by a bogey on the 15th and couldn’t make up enough ground. He shot a 68. Ryan Moore also closed with a 68 for a runner-up finish.
Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, hit a shank from an awkward stance with the ball above his feet on the first hole. He made bogey and it was a sign of struggles to come. He closed with a 71 and tied for fourth, three shots back.
“Took me three holes to readjust from that, and then did a good job from there,” Munoz said.
Also finishing three shots behind were Adam Schenk (67), Luke List (68) and Scott Brown (69).
Kurt Busch holds off his brother
Kyle at Atlanta Motor Speedway
HAMPTON, Ga. — Kurt Busch asked for a final favor from Atlanta Motor Speedway’s old, battered track.
Busch’s wish came true on the track’s farewell race.
Busch passed brother Kyle with 24 laps left and won the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday to complete a sibling weekend Atlanta sweep.
It was the final race for the current track surface. It was installed in 1997 and is the oldest on the NASCAR circuit. Construction on a repaving and reprofile project is expected to begin immediately.
“What a genuine, awesome, old-school race track,” Kurt Busch said. “I just asked the track today for the last time on your old asphalt can I have an old guy win, and she answered.”
Kurt Busch, 42, raced to his first victory of the season, 33rd overall and the fourth of his career at Atlanta. He locked up a spot in the playoffs and possibly improved his chances of securing a new ride next season.
“Hell yeah, we beat Kyle!” he said.
Kyle Busch reclaimed the lead with 47 laps remaining, but couldn’t hold off his older brother on Lap 236. Kurt Busch took advantage of lapped traffic, especially teammate Ross Chastain, to pass his brother. Chastain helped Kurt Busch choose the lane needed to make the crucial pass.
“The 42 did his job as a teammate,” Kurt Busch said. “Ross is going to get a little flak for it, but that’s what it takes to be a good teammate at the right moment. I couldn’t be more proud of Ross Chastain.”
Said Chastain, who finished 21st: “Kurt asked for the lane and I gave it to him. … One team, one goal and that’s to win.”
American Sepp Kuss wins Tour
de France’s grueling 15th stage
ANDORRA LA VELLA, Andorra — Sepp Kuss couldn’t suppress a wide grin as he raced toward the finish line to become the first American in 10 years to win a stage at the Tour de France.
Just before winning Sunday’s grueling 15th stage, Kuss threw his sunglasses into the crowd and put his arms in the air before covering his face, succumbing to emotion and exhaustion.
Tyler Farrar had been the last American to win a stage at cycling’s biggest race in 2011.
“It’s incredible, I’m lost for words,” Kuss said.
The 26-year-old Colorado native left it late to make his move in the punishing 191-kilometer (118-mile) ride from Ceret at the foothills of the Pyrenees to the tiny mountain-bound nation of Andorra.
“This was Sepp’s day,” said Jumbo-Visma teammate Wout van Aert, who helped put Kuss in a position to break. “He lives in Andorra and he was looking forward to this stage.”
The American attacked going up the 1,796-meter Col de Beixalis and maintained his hard-fought advantage over Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde, who finished 23 seconds behind.
“To be honest, I was suffering a lot in this Tour de France. I didn’t feel like I had the spice in the legs. Today I knew it was finishing where I live, so I was motivated for the stage,” Kuss said.
By wire sources
