Men's Golf

July 15, 2012

SILVIS, Ill. - Former Michigan State men's golfer Randall Hutchison tied for 45th at PGA Tour's John Deere Classic on Sunday, after shooting an 8-under par 276 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. Hutchison entered the field as a Monday qualifier and was making his second career appearance on the PGA Tour.

Hutchison made the cut on Friday for the first time in his PGA career, becoming the first Spartan since 2009, by posting a 6-under par 136 with back-to-back 68s. However, he wasn't able to make a move over the weekend, carding an even par 71 on Saturday and a bogey-free 2-under 69 on Sunday.

In his first Sunday action on the PGA Tour, Hutchison had a mistake-free afternoon, tallying 16 pars and a pair of birdies on No. 8 and 10.

His third round began in impressive fashion, going 4-under over the first five holes, with an eagle at No. 2 and birdies at No. 4 and 5. However, Hutchison was not able to post a birdie the rest of the round, bogeying the eighth, ninth, 14th and 18th holes to move back to even par for the day.

Beginning on the 10th hole on Friday, he birdied three of his first five holes (10th, 12th and 14th) to move to 6-under for the tournament. However a pair of bogeys surrounded a birdie on the par-3, 16th to move him down a shot. A par on the 18th finished off his first nine holes. He would go on to birdie the first and second holes, before finishing the day with pars on six of his last seven holes, with his only blemish coming on a bogey at the fifth hole.

On Thursday, he began his day with a bogey on the first hole, but bounced back with birdies on the next two holes. Hutchison then ran off 11-straight pars before posting a bogey on the par-4 15th. He finished strong however with three consecutive birdies on the final three holes to carry momentum into Friday.

Hutchison joined the field for the John Deere Classic as one of four Monday qualifiers, after shooting a 8-under par 63 to finish first among the over 100 golfers looking to play this week. It is the second career PGA Tour event for Hutchison, who also participated in the 2009 Buick Classic, where he missed the cut.

Hutchison has mainly played on the NGA Professional Tour so far this summer, currently ranked 11th on the money list. He has seven top-20 finishes in 11 NGA events this year, including a second place showing at the Golden Hills Golf & Turf Club in early March.

The Traverse City native, was a four-time letterwinner at Michigan State from 2005-09. A first-team All-Big Ten and PING All-Midwest Region selection as a junior, Hutchison finished his Spartan career ranked seventh on the career scoring list at 74.94.

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