Brian Campbell Wins the 2025 John Deere Classic in a Playoff for His Second Title of the Season

Both of Brian Campbell's PGA TOUR wins have now come in sudden death, and the second one came at the place where his TOUR story began.

Campbell shot a 4-under 67 on Sunday to finish at 18-under 266 at TPC Deere Run, then beat Emiliano Grillo on the first extra hole with a steady par at the 18th to win the 2025 John Deere Classic. Grillo also closed with 67 to force the playoff. David Lipsky (68) and Kevin Roy (65) tied for third at 17 under, one shot short, and six players, including Max Homa, finished tied for fifth at 16 under.

It is Campbell's second win of the season, after his playoff victory at the Mexico Open in February, which Undrafted covered here. The former University of Illinois player made his first TOUR start at this event as an amateur, and he had not forgotten. "It all started here as an amateur, my first invite here," Campbell said, per Field Level Media. "I've loved it ever since."

A Back Nine With Everything In It

For a while it looked like Campbell would simply take the trophy and leave. He opened the back nine with three birdies in a four-hole stretch to grab the lead and seemed to have the tournament under control.

Then came the par-4 15th. Campbell's drive went into the trees and the penalty area, and the result was a double bogey that handed the lead to Grillo. Campbell kept it simple afterward. "Just made a bad swing," he said, per the PGA TOUR.

The answer came two holes later. At the par-5 17th, Campbell ripped a 3-wood to 18 feet and two-putted for birdie, and a 25-foot birdie try at the 18th just missed. That left him at 18 under in the clubhouse with nothing to do but wait. With the heat on, he skipped the range and rested rather than hit more balls. "It's grueling out here. We're sweating. It's just hot," Campbell said.

Grillo's Chance, and Lipsky's Heartbreak

Grillo had his own rollercoaster. After taking the lead on Campbell's double, the Argentine three-putted the 16th for bogey, then answered with an 8-foot birdie at the 17th to get back to 18 under. On the 72nd hole, his drive settled in a divot, and he hit a wedge to just inside 40 feet. The birdie putt missed, but the par forced extra holes. "I got myself there. I gave myself a chance," Grillo said, per the AP.

Lipsky, playing in the final pairing and chasing a first TOUR title, came within a putt of making it a three-man playoff. After a bogey at the 15th, Lipsky punched a 3-wood to 8 feet at the par-5 17th and made the eagle to tie for the lead. At the 18th, though, the drive hooked into the rough, the approach could not reach the green, and a 15-foot par putt caught the left lip and spun away. Lipsky chose to see the bright side. "I'm going to look at the positives and take that from this week," he said, per Field Level Media.

One Hole Was Enough

The playoff lacked the drama of regulation. Back on the 18th tee, Campbell found the fairway and hit a trap draw to about 15 feet. Grillo's drive went right into trampled rough, the approach flew long, a flop shot came up short of the putting surface and the par putt from about 25 feet missed. Campbell tapped in for par, and that was that.

Grillo, a two-time TOUR winner who was chasing a third title, pointed to the one swing that cost him. "I think I hit every fairway today, except for that first in the playoff," Grillo said.

The Ones Who Faded

Max Homa gave the crowd a jolt. Homa ran off three straight birdies early to briefly take the lead, but played the final 14 holes in 1 over, missing several key putts. A 69 left him tied for fifth, his first top 10 on the PGA TOUR in nearly 15 months, per the AP. For a player who arrived 122nd in the FedExCup, that is progress, even if it stings.

Defending champion Davis Thompson, who led by one after 54 holes, never found his rhythm. Thompson made four bogeys, including one at the last, and shot 72 to tie for 18th at 14 under. The bid to become the first back-to-back champion here since Steve Stricker will have to wait.

Elsewhere, Beau Hossler and Michael Thorbjornsen shared the day's low round at 63. Lucas Glover shot 64 to tie for fifth, along with Carson Young, Jacob Bridgeman, Matt Kuchar and Kurt Kitayama. Amateur Jackson Koivun closed with 67 to finish at 15 under. Doug Ghim, who led after 18 and 36 holes, shot 69 to tie for 31st, and Aldrich Potgieter withdrew before the final round.

What It Means for Campbell

The numbers say this win is bigger than the trophy. Campbell climbed to 28th in the FedExCup standings and 55th in the world ranking, per the PGA TOUR, and collected $1,512,000 of the $8.4 million purse. He also joined Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Sepp Straka and Ryan Fox as the only players with multiple individual TOUR wins in 2025, per the AP. Depending on where he lands in Monday's world ranking, which sets the alternate list, the win could also put Campbell in The Open Championship.

The strangest part of the story is how quiet his season had been between the wins. Outside of Mexico and Silvis, Campbell had not finished inside the top 30 all year, per the AP. He does not bomb it, and he does not need to. Twice now he has hung around and outlasted everyone when it counted.

Campbell summed it up best. "Magic does happen at the John Deere," he said.

Relive the week in our Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 recaps. Final scores are on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR has the final-round recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round recap, winner's story and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.