Horsfield seals maiden victory in English Open

SILVAS, Ill. – Steven Bowditch was a teenager when he landed a one-off chance to caddie for John Senden at the Jack Newton Classic in Coolum, Australia. It was a formative experience, so when Bowditch learned he’d gotten into this week’s John Deere Classic, he paid it forward. After opening up the job on Twitter, and getting more applicants than he anticipated, Bowditch hired 16-year-old Elias Francque, a kid from the suburbs of Chicago whose uncles work for John Deere and whose grandparents run a farm near TPC Deere Run. “It was something I’ve always wanted to do,� said Bowditch, “and I had a late entry, I got called Monday afternoon. I was struggling to find a caddie, and I thought about it, thought this was probably a good opportunity to make a kid smile for the week, and that’s all it was.� That may have been all it was, but fans have had fun following the late-developing arranged marriage. Bowditch, who won the 2015 AT&T Byron Nelson, lit up Twitter with his job posting: Replied Francque: I visit my grandparents farm nearby. Ive played the course and loved it. Two of my uncles work for John Deere. I’m a caddy at my local country club and on the golf team. I turn 17 on Friday and helping you make the cut would be a great birthday present! I love Australia With that, he was hired. In a sense, this goes back to Ian Baker-Finch, who hired a teenage Senden to be his caddie. Senden paid it forward when he hired Bowditch years later, and now Bowditch, 35, has kept it going. He is perhaps just being realistic when he gives himself little chance to make the cut; he is 0-for-5 this season, and coming off a brutal year in which he made just two cuts in 27 chances.  Still, the job seekers poured in on Twitter. Some of the 150-plus responders were jokesters, a few zinged him for his promised payment of gloves and balls, but most were serious. “I didn’t think it would get the response it did,� Bowditch said. “It was neat.� He played 18 holes with his new man Tuesday, and gave Francque the day off Wednesday, as the Aussie golfer did not play and instead hunkered down at the end of the driving range.  “He’s a good caddie,� Bowditch said. “He does it in the summertime.� It’s tempting to conclude Francque has his work cut out for him, and easy to be pessimistic, but fortunes change. Bryson DeChambeau missed eight straight cuts last season before breaking out with his first PGA TOUR win at the Deere. And before the streaky Bowditch won the AT&T Byron Nelson, he endured a run of seven missed cuts in eight starts in 2015.   What if he doesn’t just make the cut at the Deere. What if he wins? What kind of cinema-ready Cinderella story would it be for Bowditch, and for Francque?  “I hope so,� Bowditch said. “I hope so for him, too.�

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Jerry Kelly won the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship for the second time in three years Sunday, breaking away with two late birdies to beat defending champion Steve Stricker by two strokes in Akron, Ohio.

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Check out the entire field and how they qualified for the 2018 John Deere Classic. HOW THEY QUALIFIED Winner – The Players Championship Si Woo Kim Winner – British Open Zach Johnson Winners of the Arnold Palmer Inv. & the Memorial Matt Every Bryson DeChambeau David Lingmerth William McGirt Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Aaron Baddeley Wesley Bryan Austin Cook Brice Garnett FabiaÌ�n GoÌ�mez Cody Gribble Mackenzie Hughes Billy Hurley III Chris Kirk Patton Kizzire Andrew Landry Peter Malnati Francesco Molinari Ryan Moore Scott Piercy D.A. Points Brandt Snedeker Kyle Stanley Chris Stroud Brian Stuard Hudson Swafford Vaughn Taylor Aaron Wise Sponsors Exemptions – Web.com Tour Finals Dru Love Dylan Meyer Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Jason Bohn Carl Pettersson Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Broc Everett Doug Ghim Nick Hardy Norman Xiong PGA Club Professional Champion Omar Uresti PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Chad Proehl Life Member Davis Love III Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedEx Cup Points List Bill Haas Chez Reavie Scott Brown Sung Kang Sean O’Hair Robert Streb Kevin Tway Danny Lee Kelly Kraft Patrick Rodgers Chad Campbell Kevin Streelman Cheng Tsung Pan Whee Kim Harold Varner III Nick Taylor Michael Kim Scott Stallings Martin Flores Richy Werenski Ryan Blaum Robert Garrigus Brian Gay Steve Stricker Derek Fathauer Tyrone Van Aswegen Harris English Dominic Bozzelli Nick Watney John Huh Blayne Barber Rory Sabbatini J.J. Henry Major Medical Extension Ryan Palmer Michael Thompson John Senden Jon Curran Chris Couch Steve Marino Leading Money Winner from Web.com Tour & Web.com Tour Finals Chesson Hadley Top Finishers from Web.com Tour Prior Season Andrew Putnam Keith Mitchell Brandon Harkins Alex Cejka Martin Piller Abraham Ancer Corey Conners Tyler Duncan Seamus Power Talor Gooch Nicholas Lindheim Troy Merritt Sam Saunders Joel Dahmen Ben Silverman Denny McCarthy Tom Lovelady Adam Schenk Shawn Stefani Xinjun Zhang Sam Ryder Bronson Burgoon Jonathan Randolph Matt Jones Rob Oppenheim Stephan Jaeger Ethan Tracy Roberto DiÌ�az Jonathan Byrd Lanto Griffin Cameron Tringale Brett Stegmaier Conrad Shindler Matt Atkins Steve Wheatcroft Zecheng Dou Andrew Yun Kyle Thompson Kris Blanks Will Claxton Will MacKenzie David Berganio, Jr. 126 – 150 Prior Season’s FEC Points List Trey Mullinax J.T. Poston Ben Crane Johnson Wagner David Hearn Zac Blair Cameron Percy Ricky Barnes Daniel Summerhays Rick Lamb Reorder Category – Cat. 34 thru 38 Joaquin Niemann Hunter Mahan Tim Herron Stuart Appleby Brendon de Jonge Parker McLachlin George McNeill Eric Axley Troy Matteson Tommy Gainey Ken Duke John Merrick Brian Davis Dicky Pride Daniel Chopra Mark Wilson Robert Allenby D.J. Trahan Charlie Beljan John Rollins

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