SILVIS, Ill. – Davis Thompson‘s second year on the PGA Tour had been building up to a breakthrough. The former Georgia All-American and 2021 SEC Player of the Year was playing well in 2024, and playing himself into contention in numerous events, including a pair of runner-up finishes and a top 10 at last month’s U.S. Open. Then came last week at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
Not only did Thompson win the John Deere Classic — which earned him more than $1.4 million and guaranteed him a spot in next week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon and next year’s Masters — he also won with a tournament-record score of 28-under par, shooting 63-67-62-64.
“It feels great,” Thompson said in a phone interview Tuesday from Scotland, where he’s playing this week in the Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
“A lot of hard work went into it. Last year was a big learning curve, and I feel like I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable this past year. I feel like I’ve started to play some good golf this past month or so, and I was able to break through last week.”
In 2024, Thompson has played in 20 events, with one win, two runner-up finishes, four top 10s, 11 top 25s, and he’s made the cut 15 times. He tied for ninth at the U.S. Open in June, tied for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic the week before the John Deere, and then broke through in spectacular fashion last week.
Thompson led by two strokes going into the final round, and he never let the gravity of the situation get the best of him. Last Sunday, he birdied six of his first nine holes en route to a final-round score of 64 (7-under), winning by four strokes.
While his overall game has improved since he turned pro, Thompson said his putting has made a big leap in 2024.
“I feel like I’ve become a much better putter than I was in college,” he said. “I was good in college but I feel like I’ve taken that next step, especially this last six months or so. I’ve been working really hard at it.”
Georgia coach Chris Haack said it’s a special experience watching one of your former players achieve something momentous the way Thompson did last Sunday.
“To be able to see them realize those dreams makes you not only happy but proud for them. You just love seeing it,” said Haack, Georgia’s coach since 1996.
Thompson, a former No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, played in numerous PGA Tour events during college. At the 2020 U.S. Open, Thompson, playing with former Bulldogs Harris English and Brendon Todd, held the lead at 4-under at one point in the first round before ultimately missing the cut the next day.
As a senior in 2020-21, Thompson was the SEC Player of the Year, a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, the winner of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, and he helped the U.S. retain the Walker Cup. He also set the program record for lowest scoring average in a season: 69.65.
Thompson spent the 2021-22 season on the Korn Ferry Tour, earning a win and six top-15 finishes in his first 16 starts. He went on to earn his spot on the PGA Tour with a 16th-place finish on the tour points list. In 2022-23, his first season as a full-time PGA Tour player, Thompson made the cut in 21 of 30 tournaments, made the top 25 seven times, the top 10 twice, and was the runner-up in The American Express.
It was an up-and-down year, as many first go-rounds on the PGA Tour are, but Haack and Thompson said it was a similar situation when he arrived at Georgia as a freshman in the fall of 2017.
“Some guys just kind of go with the flow and get out there on tour and play really well. For me, I felt like I was ready, but with everything in my life, it’s always taken me a while to get acclimated and get adjusted,” Thompson said. “Once I get adjusted and comfortable, the good results follow. That’s kind of what you’re seeing right now. I’ve just gotten more and more comfortable this year.”
Thompson joins a long list of former Bulldogs that have won on the PGA Tour. A total of 17 Georgia players have won on tour, including 12 that played for Haack, and the top 25 of the current FedEx Cup points standings features five Bulldogs: No. 16 Sepp Straka; No. 19 Russell Henley; No. 21 Brian Harman, the 2023 British Open champion; Thompson at No. 22; and Chris Kirk at No. 23.
In the latest Official World Golf Ranking, Harman is No. 12, Henley No. 18, Straka No. 24, Kirk No. 35, and Thompson jumped from No. 70 to 38 with his victory. Haack said Georgia’s program is set up to not only help the players be successful in college but also to get them ready for life on tour.
“I think it’s all part of the design,” he said. “What we try to do is make them very self-sufficient. We basically outline how we want to do things, and then it’s up to them. It’s, here’s what you’ve got to do to be successful. There’s nothing given to you; you’ve got to qualify to play in tournaments and earn your spot.”
Thompson had already earned his spot on the PGA Tour, and last week he went out and fired four rounds of 67 or better to earn his first win and all of the money and opportunities that come with it. What will he earn next?
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