Howell, Schniederjans shoot 63 to share John Deere lead

SILVIS, Ill. - Charles Howell III and Ollie Schniederjans each shot 8-under 63 on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the John Deere Classic.

Playing alongside local favorite Zach Johnson, Howell birdied seven his first nine holes and added a birdie on No. 7 in his morning round at rain-softened TPC Deere Run. The two-time PGA Tour winner lost a playoff to Kyle Stanley two weeks ago in the Quicken Loans National.

“This morning without traffic, they were rolling like carpet,” Howell said. “This morning was absolutely the best scoring we’ll see all week, which would also lead me to believe that tomorrow morning you’re going to see some low scores as well. Here, it’s about minimizing bogeys as much as you can and take advantage of the holes that you need to.”

Schniederjans birdied five of his last eight holes in his lowest round of the PGA Tour. The 24-year-old former Georgia Tech star earned a PGA Tour card last year through the Web.com Tour.

“I haven’t had a great start really all year on the first round,” Schniederjans said. “I have had some decent first rounds and good Fridays, but this is the first really goof round I’ve had on Thursday. It’s nice to get off to a good start and hopefully keep it going.”

Johnson was two strokes back at 65 along with Rory Sabbatini, Patrick Rodgers and Chad Campbell. Johnson, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, won the 2012 tournament.

U.S. Women’s Open

BEDMINSTER, N.J. - Shanshan Feng had her best round in the U.S. Women’s Open, shooting a 6-under 66 for the first-round lead.

Afternoon rain and lightning forced officials to suspend play for more than two hours Thursday in the biggest event in women’s golf, and play was stopped because of darkness with 39 players still on the course. They will return early Friday to complete the round at Trump National Golf Course.

The weather was the only hitch for the players and the USGA, which took a lot of criticism for failing to move the $5 million event to another course after comments by President Donald Trump about women. Despite fears of protests, Day 1 was uneventful. Amy Yang of South Korea, who has had two seconds, a third and a fourth in this event in the last five years, was a shot behind.

Champions Tour

OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Larry Mize birdied half the holes and shot an 8-under 64 for a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Senior Players Championship.

Three-time defending champion Bernhard Langer, Corey Pavin and Steve Flesch were one shot back. Langer enjoyed a bogey-free round on the 7,196-yard Caves Valley Golf Course.