John Deere Classic Round 1: Lucas Glover and Zac Blair Share the Lead With Bogey-Free 63s

A 46-year-old with a balky season and a 35-year-old still hunting his first PGA TOUR win walked off TPC Deere Run on Thursday with the same number on their cards. Welcome back to the John Deere Classic, where nobody's resume matters once the birdies start falling.

Lucas Glover and Zac Blair each signed for bogey-free 8-under 63s in the morning wave to share the first-round lead in Silvis, Illinois. One shot back at 7-under 64 sit Zach Johnson, Lee Hodges and Stephan Jaeger. Ben Kohles, Patrick Fishburn and Davis Riley are tied for sixth at 6 under, and 20 players went 66 or better on a hot, humid day built for going low.

Glover Finds the Hole Again

Glover has not had much to smile about in 2026. He came into the week No. 119 in the FedExCup, coming back from surgery on the labrum in his left shoulder, and the three-year exemption he earned with back-to-back wins in 2023 runs out after this season. Before Thursday, he had not broken 67 on TOUR all year.

Then he got to a golf course that has always been kind to him. Glover won this event in 2021, and he played Thursday like a man who remembered every read. He birdied seven of his first 11 holes, cooled off over the closing stretch and still finished four shots better than his previous low round of the year. Three of his six TOUR wins have come this decade, so the 2009 U.S. Open champion is not some nostalgia act.

Glover told Field Level Media that he had been having a lot of days where his ball seemed to roll away from the hole. "Today it kind of rolled towards it, so maybe it's turning," he said.

Blair's Calm Approach

Blair's 63 was a different flavor. He started on the back nine, then made a birdie and an eagle on Nos. 1 and 2 to turn a solid round into a leading one. He also led the field in strokes gained: approach, which is the stat that tends to matter most at a course where the fairways are generous and the scoring comes down to wedges.

He has spent much of his career bouncing around the edge of status, No. 160 in the FedExCup this season and taking starts where he can find them, including on the Korn Ferry Tour. He was candid about it afterward. "Playing golf professionally is pretty stressful, especially for me," Blair said, per the PGA TOUR.

His plan Thursday was simple: stop chasing every flag, avoid the dumb mistakes and give himself a pile of looks. It worked about as well as a plan can.

Zach Johnson, Right on Schedule

Nobody in the field has a relationship with this place like Johnson. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native won here in 2012, has played every edition since 2002, and skipped the U.S. Senior Open this week to keep that streak alive. He turned 50 in February and now plays mostly on PGA TOUR Champions, where he already has two wins.

His 64 had a finish worth the trip. He rolled in an eagle putt of about 45 feet on the par-5 17th, then hit his approach on 18 to around 11 feet and made that for birdie. It was his sixth career 64 at TPC Deere Run. According to the PGA TOUR, he hit 15 of 18 greens and led the field in scrambling despite giving up plenty of yardage off the tee in the upper-90s heat.

Hodges and Jaeger matched him at 7 under. Jaeger, No. 60 in the FedExCup, is trying to lock up a spot in the postseason over the next six weeks, so a fast start here carries real weight.

Riley's Two-Hole Heater

The best two-hole stretch of the day belonged to Riley. He was 2 under and drifting when he stepped onto the 150-yard par-3 16th and holed a 9-iron for his first ace on TOUR. On the very next hole, the par-5 17th, he poured in an eagle putt of about 18 feet. Four shots in two holes turned a forgettable day into a 65.

Kohles and Fishburn joined him at 6 under. Kohles, a Korn Ferry Tour winner this season, is still looking for his first TOUR title.

The Names Further Down

A big cluster at 5-under 66 includes Chris Gotterup, who already has two wins this year after taking the Sony Open and the WM Phoenix Open. NCAA champion Preston Stout, now the top-ranked amateur in the world, also opened with 66, alongside Hayden Springer, Tyler Duncan and Troy Merritt. Max Homa shot 67.

Not everybody got off clean. Defending champion Brian Campbell, who won here in a playoff last July, shot 1-under 70, as did two-time winner Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler. Jackson Koivun, the former top-ranked amateur, made his pro debut with a 73 and has work to do Friday just to stick around.

What Friday Brings

At a tournament where the winning score usually lands somewhere in the high teens or beyond, 8 under after one day is a great start and nothing more. The forecast called for heat with thunderstorms possible over the coming days, and the cut line will sharpen everyone's focus by Friday evening.

The question for the two leaders is the same one this place always asks. Can you keep making birdies when everyone behind you is too?

Full scoring is 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, Zach Johnson feature and leaderboard), AP scores, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.