JT Poston Player Profile And What's In The Bag

JT POSTON became the first wire-to-wire winner of the John Deere Classic in 30 years winning by three shots at Deere Run in Illinois.

The 29-year-old also claimed a place in The Open at St Andrews, along with Emiliano Grillo and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who finished tied second, three shots behind Poston.

Poston said: “It’s hard winning wire to wire. I got off to a great start and just tried to focus on the job. My caddie was a huge help. I was just trying to breathe. There were a lot of nerves and I was just trying to battle through it. But now I know I can play through those nerves. I am getting married soon. Life is good.

“I can’t wait to get to St Andrews. I have always wanted to get over there and play in The Open and for my first one to come at the Old Course is just a dream come true.” He started the week with a 62 and follow dit with rounds of 65, 67 and 69 and was never seriously threatened after beginning his final round with three successive birdies. It’s the sort of stuff dreams are made of.

Poston dropped shots at the fifth and sixth holes but then steadied the ship and reeled off 10 pars before a birdie at the 17th that all but secured the title. He then parred the final hole and the celebrations could begin.

Bezuidenhout birdied three of his last five holes to close a bogey-free 66 and secure a first top-10 of the year on the PGA Tour, with Grillo mixed four birdies with two bogeys on the final day to also finish on 18 under and tied-second.

Christopher Gotterup finished a place outside The Open spots in a share of fourth, despite finishing a five-under 66 with three consecutive birdies, with Scott Stallings also one spot short having missed a seven-foot birdie opportunity on his penultimate hole.

England's Callum Tarren ended the week in tied-sixth after a one-under 70, while Matthias Schwab slipped down the leaderboard with a final-round 72.

Who is JT Poston?

James Tyree Poston was born in June 1993 in the aptly-named Hickory, North Carolina. He began the 2022 John Deere Classic in 66th place in the FedEx Cup standngs and 99th place in the world rankings. He is now 22nd in the FedEx Cup. He started the season by missing his first six cuts. He had missed a total of 14 cuts in 23 starts. But he tied for second place at the Travelers Championship, tied third at the RBC Heritage and tied ninth at the Wells Fargo. He won the Wyndham Championship in 2019 without dropping a shot in 72 holes - the first player to do so since 1974. He lost the Barbasol Championship in a playoff to Seamus Power in 2021. 

His victory at the John Deere Classic earned him qualification for the 150th Open Championship along with Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Emiliano Grillo.

After starting 2016 with no status on any tour, Poston was a Monday qualifier for the United Leasing Championship on the Web.com Tour and finished T23. His finish earned him entry into the Rex Hospital Open where a tie for third earned him Special Temporary Member status for the season. Five more top 15s, including two second-place finishes, resulted in Poston finishing 10th on the regular-season money list and earning his 2017 PGA Tour card

He averages 296.2 yards from the tee and hits 61.16% of fairways. Poston hits 65.23% of greens in regulations, averages 3.56 birdies per round and gets up and down from the sand 47.75% of the time. He averages 29.06 putts per round.

What's In JT Poston's Bag?

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana BF 60 TX

3-wood: Titleist TS2 (15 degrees)

Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 7 X

Hybrid: Titleist TS2 (19 degrees)

Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI Hybrid 95 X

Irons: Titleist T100s (3), Titleist T100 (5-9)

Shafts: Project X 6.5

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 50-12F, 56-10S, 60-04L)

Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron GoLo 5 Black Tour Prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet