Davis Thompson would extend ‘Trophy House’ streak at John Deere Classic

For 51 weeks a year, it’s just a house.

But for John Deere Classic, the house Denny McCarthy, J.T. Poston and friends rent in the Quad Cities is the veteran move, the place to be, the precise latitude and longitude of positive mojo. That’s because their rental has produced the tournament winner two years running, first Poston, then Sepp Straka. Talk about Airbnb experiences.

And don’t look now, but the John Deere Classic’s most coveted address is presently home base for not just Poston, McCarthy, Ben Kohles, Greyson Sigg and Patton Kizzire, but also Davis Thompson, whose third-round 62 staked him to a two-shot lead going into the final round.

“Hopefully maybe make it three years in a row,” said Thompson, whose closest pursuers are last year’s Rookie of the Year, Eric Cole (64), and Aaron Rai (66). “That would be pretty cool. Seems like everybody is going to want to be staying in that house next year.”

Even more bizarre: Thompson would be the second straight John Deere winner to come out of the same bedroom of the same house.

“I'm not actually staying there this year, unfortunately,” Straka said Wednesday. “My family is coming into town tomorrow. But until they come into town, I've been hanging out over there with the guys and playing some cards. Yeah, I guess Davis snuck into my room.

“Maybe it can work well for him,” he added.

In large part to fight loneliness, Chris Kirk and friends have become usual housemates on the road, and were interviewed earlier this year for a story on PGATOUR.COM.

“The tradition is when somebody wins that week then they pay for the entire house,” Kirk said, “and we've had, gosh, probably six of those or something like that in the last – a lot of wins the last few years. So, yeah, I think the results just right there kind of speak for themselves.”

Can strength in numbers correlate to better golf? Well, yes.

“I’ve had two great years since we started,” said Poston, who shot a third-round 67 and is 11-under total, 10 back. “The one that sticks out to me is the John Deere, the last couple years. We get a big house, there’s like six of us in there, and it’s fun because you come back and you’re playing cards or throwing football in the backyard.”

It’s a nice way to forget about whatever is happening between the ropes, he added.

“It's pretty laid back,” said Thompson, who will be going for his first victory on the PGA TOUR on Sunday. “Been going – eating dinner every night and hanging out, watching TV.

“Been really laid back and all the guys in the house are great,” he added. “Been a really easy week.”

One bright side of not staying at Trophy House, Straka said, is he won’t get stuck with the bill again if he wins, but there’s no danger of that. He is 7-under par, 14 shots off the lead. Maybe he shouldn’t have left Trophy House. As they say, real estate is everything.