SILVIS, Ill. — Steve Wheatcroft shot a career-best 9-under 62 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead in the John Deere Classic.
Wheatcroft birdied seven of the last nine holes to finish a shot ahead of Michael Kim. Johnson Wagner, Nick Taylor, Andres Romero and Joel Dahmen shot opening-round 64s. Francesco Molinari, who won the Quicken Loans National two weeks ago, was among a group of players three strokes back.
Zach Johnson shot 69 and three-time John Deere winner Steve Stricker finished at 1-under 70.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, the highest-ranked player in the field, withdrew because of a right shoulder injury.
DeChambeau, who won the Memorial Tournament earlier this season, first tweaked his shoulder on a shot out of the rough on the second hole. He pulled out after an awkward tee shot on No. 16.
“Look, I’m 24. I’m not that old. But I’ve used my body quite a bit. I’ve hit a lot of golf balls,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve just got to take care of my body a little better.”
Wheatcroft hasn’t had a top-10 finish this season, and he’s 209th in the FedEx Cup standings. But Wheatcroft caught fire on the back nine, finishing with six straight birdies — including a 13-foot putt on the par-4 18th — for just his third round in the 60s this season.
Wheatcroft’s previous best scores on the PGA Tour were 64s at the 2012 Greenbrier Classic and the 2016 Canadian Open.
“I tried to keep the round going. I asked if we could just go to the first tee and start round two,” Wheatcroft said. “No, I don’t know if I’ve ever done that to finish a round. It was great. Yeah, I would just try to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Although he hasn’t done it on the PGA Tour, the 40-year-old Wheatcroft has a history of going low. He shot an 11-under 60 and set what was then the 72-hole Web.com Tour scoring record in his runaway 2011 victory at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open.
Kim, who like Wheatcroft is buried deep in the standings at 161st, notched six birdies on the back nine. The 24-year-old former Cal star is also seeking his first career win.
“Been struggling with the putter a little bit, but (I) got a good mental note from the morning warmup (Thursday) and rolled it great,” said Kim, who holed three putts of at least 20 feet, including a 41-footer on No. 18.
Johnson completed his 38th straight round of par or better at TPC Deere Run. But he knows he’ll need to do better than 2 under on Friday at a course known for low scores.
“I mean, I can’t take this course for granted. That’s the one thing I don’t ever want to do. Just because I’ve had success here or I’ve had low rounds here, doesn’t mean it’s just going to happen,” Johnson said.
Suwannapura on top after first round at LPGA Marathon Classic
SYLVANIA, Ohio — Thidapa Suwannapura shot a 6-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Marathon Classic.
Suwannapura, who has three top-10 finishes in 117 career LPGA Tour events, birdied five of the final six holes, including the par-5 18th at Highland Meadows. The Thai player had her last top-10 finish in 2014 at the Kingsmill Invitational. Her best performance this season was a tie for 18th three weeks ago in Arkansas.
Seven players, including defending champion I.K. Kim and former No. 1 Yani Tseng, were a stroke behind at 66.
Sei Young Kim, who shot an LPGA Tour record 31-under 257 to win last week’s event in Wisconsin, was four shots back.
Perry, Small share 1-stroke advantage at Senior Players
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Kenny Perry and Mike Small shot 7-under 65s to share a one-stroke lead in the first round of the Constellation Senior Players Championship.
Bart Bryant, Glen Day and 2015 U.S. Senior Open champion Jeff Maggert were one stroke back in the fourth of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions schedule.
Defending champion Scott McCarron was in a pack at 5 under, while three-time Senior Players winner Bernhard Langer and Vijay Singh were another shot back at Exmoor Country Club. David Toms, coming off a win at the U.S. Senior Open, shot 2 over.
The 57-year-old Perry and 52-year-old Small — the longtime Illinois golf coach — each made eight birdies and one bogey. Perry is in contention for his fifth senior major to go with two U.S. Senior Opens (2013, 2017), a Senior Players Championship (2013) and the Regions Tradition (2014).
List equals course record, ahead at Scottish Open by 1
GULLANE, Scotland — American golfer Luke List equaled the Gullane course record with a 7-under-par 63 to start the Scottish Open.
List moved into the lead with his ninth birdie on the 15th hole and held it to finish the round ahead by one stroke.
He was followed by five players in a tie for second; Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Robert Rock, Scott Fernandez of Spain, and Jens Dantorp of Sweden.
Masters champion Patrick Reed was part of an eight-strong group a shot further back following a 65, with Danny Willett continuing his resurgence with a 66, and Olympic champion Justin Rose returning a 67.
On a day when almost 100 players broke par, five-time major champion Phil Mickelson, who won the 2013 British Open at nearby Muirfield, could only manage a level-par 70.