SILVIS, Unwell. — Doug Ghim holed out from the green for eagle for the second straight day, sending him to a 3-under 68 and a one-shot lead Friday within the John Deere Basic, his first 36-hole lead in his six years on the PGA Tour.
Defending champion Davis Thompson (63) and Max Homa (68) had been among the many 5 gamers inside one shot of the lead going into the weekend. The beginning occasions have been moved up Saturday due to rain within the forecast.
Ghim holed out on the brief par-4 sixth within the opening spherical. This time it was from 179 yards away on the par-4 fifteenth.
“I assume holing out two days in a row is at all times good,” Ghim stated. “It has been a pair years since I holed out from the green. To get two back-to-back days is nice.”
Ghim had a two-shot lead going into his last gap. He hit left into the timber and down a cart path, punched out by way of the inexperienced, chipped to 18 ft and missed the putt to make his second bogey of the spherical. He was at 12-under 130.
Mexico Open winner Brian Campbell (66), David Lipsky (67) and Emiliano Grillo (66) had been tied for second.
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Ghim nonetheless believes he’s a good distance off from an opportunity to win for the primary time at a match that has produced extra first-time winners than any PGA Tour occasion since 1970.
“The individual that’s going to win this match will likely be within the 20-under-par space, so final time I checked I am not there but,” Ghim stated. “I do not really feel like I am within the lead, and I am simply blissful that I get to be teeing off late tomorrow in competition.”
Homa was tied with Ghim late within the afternoon, when the greens had been getting dry and crusty. However on the 18th gap, Homa pulled his tee shot right into a bunker, missed the inexperienced to the fitting and wound up lacking a 12-foot par putt to fall one again.
He’s nonetheless in fine condition going into the weekend as he tries to get his recreation rotated. Placing 4 rounds collectively, and even three, has been the problem, and Homa didn’t sound like he was prepared to get too far forward of himself.
“I do not assume actually a lot modifications. I imply, simply play the golf course,” Homa stated. “You are going to must shoot actually low. When you went on the market and tried to do one thing particular, I am not so certain that’s going to work. Any individual can go on the market and shoot 11 underneath on the market and bounce all people. So simply go do what we did at present and play one other spherical of golf.
“Simply preserve ready till the again 9 on Sunday, mainly.”
Thompson performed within the morning and was the primary to achieve 11-under 131 as he tries to change into the primary repeat winner of the John Deere Basic since Steve Stricker gained three in a row from 2009 by way of 2011.
There was excessive drama late within the day that wound up setting the lower at 5-under 137.
Rikuya Hoshino and Jesper Svensson every made birdie on their final gap to maneuver the lower line to five underneath, just for Paul Peterson to take bogey on his final gap to maneuver it again to 4 underneath.
However within the last group, Brendan Valdes drilled his tee shot on the par-4 18th, hit his strategy to about 8 ft and holed the birdie putt for a 66. That moved the reduce to five underneath, eliminating 14 gamers from the weekend.
Rickie Fowler and Jake Knapp wound up making the lower on the quantity.
In the meantime, 12 gamers had been separated by two pictures going into the third spherical, a gaggle that features Camilo Villegas, Sam Stevens and Si Woo Kim. Stevens and Kim try to complete excessive sufficient to maneuver up the world rating that will likely be used subsequent week to set the alternate checklist for The Open.
