Brian Campbell defeated Emiliano Grillo on the first playoff hole to win the 2025 John Deere Classic. This is his second win this season and second playoff win.
Last year’s champion Davis Thompson held a one-stroke lead after a 4-under round of 67 on Saturday. Four golfers sat in second at 14-under. The 36-hole leader, Doug Ghim, struggled on Saturday, shooting a 74 (+3) to fall six shots behind the leader.
Campbell led the way most of the afternoon, making five birdies in his first 13 holes to stay atop the leaderboard. But a double bogey on the 15th hole made him drop. He birdied the par 5 17th hole to get to 18-under and into the clubhouse as a co-leader with Grillo.
David Lipsky also made a play for the shared lead, making an eagle on the 17th hole to tie the lead with one hole remaining. An errant tee shot on the 18th hole led to a bogey that kept him out of the playoff.
Campbell and Grillo went to a two-man playoff after each player shot 4-under in the final round. Both are competent playoff competitors—Grillo’s first two PGA Tour wins came from playoffs and Campbell won his first tournament in a playoff earlier this season at the Mexico Open.
The 18th hole served as the first playoff hole, and both players hit the green in regulation. Grillo had 63 feet for birdie while Campbell had 16 feet. Grillo’s first putt left him with 23 feet for par. His par putt came up two feet short, giving Campbell a cushion of two putts from 16 feet for the win. Campbell two-putted to become the sixth multiple-time winner this season.
The PGA Tour has two events next week. The Genesis Scottish Open and the ISCO Championship will be contested one week before The Open. The defending champions of these events, Robert MacIntyre (Scottish Open) and Harry Hall (ISCO Championship), will both be playing the Genesis Scottish Open. The Genesis Scottish Open’s purse is more than twice that of the ISCO Championship and offers more Fedex Cup points.
