Stricker hangs on to repeat at John Deere Classic

Even with a big lead, Steve Stricker knew he could be in for a rough final round at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill.

And that's exactly what he got.

Stricker led by 7 strokes with 17 holes to play. With five holes to go, the lead was down to just 2. But he maintained that margin the rest of the way Sunday and won the tournament for the second straight year, closing with a 1-under par 70 that was just enough to beat Paul Goydos.

"It's a position you want to be in, with a big lead, but you know you have everything to lose," Stricker said. "This is the exactly the same way I felt at Northern Trust. It was difficult. It's a hard round to play."

Stricker had a 6-shot lead in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera in February and had to scramble to win by 2. On Sunday, he found himself doing the same thing.

He played it safe and his putting wasn't sharp. The shot-making that had allowed him to record the lowest 54-hole total in PGA Tour history wasn't there. But he came through with a critical birdie after driving into the trees on No. 17 and finished with a 258 - 26 under and a record for the tournament.

"You don't want to give shots away and then you end up playing a little safer than you normally do and it leads to tougher birdie putts," Stricker said. "Then they creep in closer because they were playing some good golf."

Goydos, who dazzled the golf world with his 59 in the opening round, shot a solid 66 but still fell short of dethroning Stricker, who won for the ninth time in his career.

Jeff Maggert shot a 70 to finish 6 strokes back.

Stricker started this final day with a 6-shot lead and quickly bumped it to seven with a 7-foot birdie putt on the first hole. But he had to battle through the rest of the round before essentially sealing his victory at 17.

After driving into the trees right of the fairway for the second straight day, Stricker punched out to 91 yards, right in front of the green, then knocked a sand wedge to six feet. Measuring the putt carefully, Stricker tapped the ball and as fans yelled "Get in the hole," it dropped.

"I told myself you can make this and you need to make this," he said. "I look back at some of the big putts that I've made and there's nothing to be scared of and I rolled it in. So that was a big putt. To go into the last hole with 2 shots instead of one was huge."

Goydos also birdied 17 to stay 2 behind, but his last hope ended when he hit into the water on 18. Stricker bogeyed the hole after laying up and hitting into the left rough, but it didn't matter - he was a champion again.

"Strick was hard to catch," Goydos said. "I tried and kept pushing and chipping and grinding and biting at him and doing what I could. But in the end, the putt he made on 17 was a world-class putt. That's what top five players do, that's what Ryder Cup players do."

With the championship sown up, Stricker hit a safe shot to the green on 18 and happily took his bogey. The world's fourth-ranked golfer doffed his cap and hugged his caddie and Goydos after tapping in his final shot.

Goydos, who had been trying for his first win since 2007, qualified for the British Open with his second-place finish. Deere officials arranged for two charter jets to fly the players direct to Scotland on Sunday night.

"I competed reasonably well today," Goydos said. "There are dozens of things I'm excited about and the perk is I get to go over and play at St. Andrews."

Scottish Open: Edoardo Molinari of Italy claimed his first European Tour victory at the Scottish Open in Luss, Scotland, shooting a 3-over 74 to beat Darren Clarke by 3 shots.