John Deere Classic: Max Homa holds share of second as Doug Ghim leads PGA Tour event after low-scoring first round
Former John Deere Classic winner Max Homa is one behind leader Doug Ghim after first day; watch The Open, the final men's major of the year, live from July 17-20 on Sky Sports Golf
Friday 4 July 2025 08:06, UK
Max Homa made a strong start to the John Deere Classic to sit in a share of second place, one shot off the first-round lead held by Doug Ghim.
Homa ran off four straight birdies early and was tied with Ghim for the lead until he missed his final green on the ninth hole into a bunker and failed to get up-and-down, his only bogey in an eight-under round of 63.
Ghim holed out for eagle on the par-four sixth hole and kept bogeys off his card on a day of low scoring Thursday, opening with a nine-under 62 in a bid to become the latest first-time PGA Tour winner at the John Deere Classic.
- Leaderboard: John Deere Classic (external site)
- When are the majors? Key golf dates in 2025 📅
- Stream PGA Tour and more with no contract 📺📱
- Listen to the latest Sky Sports Golf Podcast ⛳🎧🎙️
Austin Eckroat is alongside Homa a shot back after a round featuring a pair of eagles, one on the par-five second with a shot to 12 feet, the other when he holed out with a gap wedge from 137 yards on the par-four fifth hole.
Aldrich Potgieter of South Africa, the 20-year-old coming off his first PGA Tour win last week in Detroit, was challenging for the lead until he stalled at the end of his round, took bogey on the par-5 17th and had to settle for a 67.
At TPC Deere Run the winning score has been 20-under par or lower in 12 of the last 15 years and on Thursday scoring was so low that 18 players were at 65 or better, and more than half of the 156-man field broke 70.
The conditions were so ideal Ghim wasn't even sure his 62 would hold up as the lead by the end of the day.
With a little more wind in the afternoon, the best anyone could do was 65 by four players, including Cameron Champ and Mexico Open winner Brian Campbell.
"Honestly, any time you can get to 20 under or better you're going to have a chance," Ghim said.
"It's still golf. It's still a challenge. You have to hit fairways. I hit a lot of them today. So just trying to shoot forwards of six under every day and see where that puts me."
Michael Kim and Sam Stevens were part of the group at 64. They are among players who could use a good tournament to improve their world ranking, which will be used next week as the alternate list for The Open.
Kim is at No. 55 in the world and would appear to be in reasonable shape. It would be Kim's first time playing all four majors in the same year.
