SILVIS, Ill. — It was a historic day out at TPC Deere Run Thursday, with the 2024 John Deere Classic Tournament officially underway.
Players teed off at 6:45 a.m. on the Fourth of July. Many eyes were on one group of former JDC champions: J.T. Poston, Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson.
Here's where they currently stand after Round One:
- Zach Johnson: T15 at 6 under par
- J.T. Poston: T27 at 5 under par
- Jordan Spieth: T90 at 2 under par
The trio will tee off together again on Friday at 12:49 p.m.
Moving into Round Two, the focus is now on 27-year-old American golfer Hayden Springer. Springer shot a historic 12-under 59 during Round One. It was just the 14th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history. It's also the course record at TPC Deere Run, set back in 2010 by Paul Goydos.
Springer shot 27 on the front nine and tried to block out thoughts of a 59 or better. Then he made five straight pars and figured the chance had passed until he holed a 55-yard shot for eagle on the par-5 17th.
Needing a birdie for golf's magic number, his approach caught the slope and left him 12 feet short, and the putt was true all the way.
“Kind of at loss for words in terms of being able to do that,” Springer said. “I feel like that's one of the rare things in golf, so to have that opportunity and pull it off, it feels pretty special.”
Coming in second after Springer is Finnish pro-golfer Sami Valimaki. He is just two points behind at 10 under par. Defending JDC Champion Sepp Straka sits at 5 under par.
Who is in the lead after Round One of the John Deere Classic?
- Hayden Springer (-12)
- Sami Valimaki (10)
- Eric Cole (-9)
Harry Hall, Davis Thomspon, Luke Clanton and Chan Kim are all tied for fourth at 8 under par. Kevin Chappell, Hayden Buckley, Chandler Phillips, Adam Svensson, Denny McCarthy, Lucas Glover and Seamus Power are tied for eighth at 7 under par.
Players tee off for Round Two on Friday, July 5 at 6:45 a.m.
Find more John Deere Classic highlights on News 8's YouTube channel