John Deere Classic Round 1: Doug Ghim's Bogey-Free 62 Sets the Pace at TPC Deere Run

Every year TPC Deere Run hands out birdies like free sweet corn, and every year somebody grabs a bigger armful than everyone else. On Thursday that was Doug Ghim, and the big blow came from the fairway.

Ghim, the Illinois native still hunting a first PGA TOUR win, opened the 2025 John Deere Classic with a bogey-free 9-under 62 to take a one-shot lead over Max Homa and Austin Eckroat, who both shot 63. Michael Kim, Sam Stevens, David Lipsky and Justin Lower sit two back after 64s, and a crowd at 6-under 65 includes Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo, Cameron Champ and Mexico Open winner Brian Campbell.

The Hole-Out That Lit the Fuse

Ghim's round was a clinic in doing the boring things well. Ghim hit 12 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens, according to CBS Sports, and the scorecard took off from the start when he holed a chip for birdie on his opening hole.

The signature moment came at the par-4 sixth. From 91 yards, Ghim's approach found the cup for an eagle two, the kind of shot that turns a good morning into a leaderboard-topping one. From there it was a steady drip of birdies, four of them on the inward nine, with nothing coming back the other way.

The wild part is that Ghim did not think the putter was doing much of the lifting. "Any time you can shoot 9 under and not really make a putt, it's always a good sign," Ghim said, per CBS Sports. He also kept the expectations in check, noting to the PGA TOUR that the number at this place usually lands somewhere north of 20 under. "Honestly, any time you can get to 20 under or better, you're going to have a chance," Ghim said.

Fair enough. The winning score here has been 20 under or lower in 12 of the last 15 years, per the PGA TOUR.

Homa Finds Something

If Ghim owned the leaderboard, Max Homa owned the storyline. The six-time TOUR winner has been grinding through a season he would rather forget, sitting 122nd in the FedExCup standings, and the driver has been the main culprit. On Thursday it behaved.

Homa hit 10 of 14 fairways while averaging 328.9 yards off the tee, made nine birdies, including four in a row early, and gained 3.144 strokes on the field with the putter, per the PGA TOUR. The only blemish came at the par-4 ninth, his final hole, where an approach found a greenside bunker and he could not get up and down. Without it, he signs for 62 too.

It was Homa's lowest round of 2025 and his best opening round since a 64 at the 2023 Genesis Invitational. "I just did everything really solid," Homa said. "I made a ton of putts, kept the driver in good spots and got to take advantage of my iron play and wedge play."

Eckroat's Two-Eagle Sprint

Austin Eckroat did his damage in a hurry. The two-time winner from 2024 eagled the par-5 second by rolling in a putt from about 11 feet, then holed a gap wedge from 137 yards at the par-4 fifth for another. Two eagles in his first five holes, and the rest of the round was about not giving it back.

The context makes it matter. Eckroat has slid to No. 75 in the world, missed the last two majors and had not posted a top 10 in 19 starts this year coming in. He sounded like someone determined not to get ahead of himself. "It was a little too early to go nuts," he said, per Reuters.

The Chasers

Michael Kim, the 2018 champion here and Homa's old teammate at Cal, matched the course's friendly mood with a 64, as did Sam Stevens, David Lipsky and Justin Lower. Kim and Stevens have extra motivation, with the world ranking published after next week setting the alternate list for The Open Championship.

Fowler's 65 came with some turbulence, including an early double bogey, but an eagle from 103 yards at the par-5 second did plenty to steady the card. Aldrich Potgieter, fresh off his first TOUR win in Detroit last week, produced the Shot of the Day with an eagle from the penalty area.

Not everybody got the memo on scoring. Defending champion Davis Thompson shot a solid but unspectacular 3-under 68, and Jason Day struggled to a 3-over 74.

Low Numbers Everywhere

The field made it look easy. Eighteen players shot 65 or better, and more than half of the 156-player field broke 70 on the par-71 layout. That is the Deere in a sentence: you can be 4 under and lose ground.

It is also why this event keeps producing breakthroughs. The John Deere Classic has crowned 24 first-time winners since 1970, the most of any event on the PGA TOUR, and the top of this leaderboard is full of players chasing a first title or trying to end a drought.

What Friday Asks

Ghim leads, but a one-shot cushion at TPC Deere Run is about as sturdy as a cornstalk in a windstorm. Homa has his swing pointed in the right direction, Eckroat has proven the scoring holes are there for the taking, and a deep pack sits within three. Friday brings the cut, and on this course the line will be low. The question for Ghim is simple: can he keep stacking birdies while the field does the same?

Full scores are on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap, Max Homa feature and leaderboard), Reuters, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.