With the John Deere Classic winding down, there was a four-way tie.
Kevin Roy was in the clubhouse at 17 under, but Brian Campbell, Emiliano Grillo and David Lipsky were tied with him while Matt Kuchar, Kirt Kitayama and Max Homa were looming.
And the pack of contenders would yield another playoff on the PGA Tour.
This time, it was between Campbell and Grillo.
And in the end, Campbell was the one hoisting the trophy in the Quad Cities, at the same event Campbell made his non-major PGA Tour debut as an amateur 10 years ago to the day.
“Right now, it’s surreal,” Campbell said on the 18th grade, “I don’t know what’s going on. But, yeah, it all started here as an amateur, my first invite here. I’ve loved it ever since.”
Campbell, who once held a three-stroke lead, doubled the par-4 15th with a wayward tee shot. On the par-5 17th, though, the world No. 115 (coming into the week) striped a 3-wood from the fairway to 21 feet and took the lead at 18 under with a birdie.
Two playoffs, two wins for Brian Campbell 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/VSDZeW2aYA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 6, 2025
Grillo, ranked No. 144 in the world, also overcame a similar misfortune. He three-putted for bogey on No. 15, but, like Campbell, birdied No. 17 to match the lead before parring the last.
Lipsky nearly joined them. He pulled his approach on No. 15 and couldn’t get up and down for par. However, he eagled TPC Deere Run’s penultimate hole with a 7-footer to jump two strokes on the leaderboard. But then came a perplexing tee shot on the last in which he pulled his swing 264 yards. Despite that, he faced a 15-foot par putt, but his effort kissed the left end of the cup without dropping.
“Honestly, I didn’t have my best stuff today,” Lipsky said. “My putter really kept me in it. The shot on 17 was unbelievable to give myself a chance to force a playoff or even win. Overall, disappointed the putt didn’t drop on the last or the tee shot on the last; pretty happy with the week.”
So, to the third playoff in the last five weeks we went.
Campbell, who is last on Tour in driving distance, placed his drive 286 yards in the fairway before hitting his approach to 16 feet. Grillo, meanwhile, sliced his tee shot into the gallery and a marshal picked it up; therefore, the 32-year-old from Argentina had to drop it closest to the spot it landed, likely improving his lie. But he then flew the green with a pitching wedge, the ball settling in the rough 63 feet from the hole.
Grillo failed to reach the green with his chip and didn’t hole his par attempt. That left the door wide open for Campbell—and he safely two-putted for the victory.
“It is what it is,” Grillo said. “I got myself there. I gave myself a chance. You know, I made some good putts. Hit a good putt on the 72nd and that’s all I can do.”
It’s Campbell’s second win in a Cinderella season. He edged long-hitting Aldrich Potgieter in a playoff at the Mexico Open.
After his rookie season in 2017, Campbell lost his Tour card and didn’t regain it until this season.
Now, the former University of Illinois product notched his second victory nearly 180 miles from where he played collegiately.
When he teed it up a decade ago at TPC Deere Run, this is surely what he dreamed up.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brian Campbell Continues Cinderella Year With Full-Circle John Deere Classic Win in Playoff.
