Wheatcroft fires 62 for John Deere Classic lead
SILVIS, Ill. — Steve Wheatcroft shot a career-best 9-underpar 62 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the John Deere Classic.
Wheatcroft birdied seven of the last nine holes to finish a stroke 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.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Kenny Perry and Mike Small shot 7-under 65s to share a one-stroke lead in the first round of the Senior Players Championship in Highland Park, Illinois. 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 Champions Tour 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. Perry, 57, made eight birdies and one bogey to put himself in contention for his fifth senior major. Small is the longtime golf coach at Illinois and has never won on the PGA Tour Champions.
LPGA TOUR: Thidapa Suwannapura shot a 6-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio. Suwannapura, who has three top-10 finishes in 117 career LPGA Tour events, birdied five of the Steve Wheatcroft tees off on the 16th hole in the John Deere Classic. He birdied seven of the last nine holes to finish the first round with a one-stroke lead. 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 Tourrecord 31-under 257 to win last week’s event in Wisconsin, was four strokes back.
U.S. SENIOR WOMEN’S OPEN: Elaine Crosby shot a 3-under-par 70 Thursday at Chicago Golf Club for the lead after one round of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open in Wheaton, Illinois. A winner of two tournaments in 17 LPGA seasons, Crosby, 60, owns a one-shot advantage over Trish Johnson, Laura Davies and Liselotte Neumann. Crosby started on the back nine with a 3-under-par 34 and made just one bogey on the day at one of the oldest 18-hole courses in the U.S. Johnson, who won the first Senior LPGA Championship in 2017, birdied four of the five par-5 holes. Helen Alfredsson shot a 72, while Juli Inkster, Jean Bartholomew, Marilyn Lovander and Alicia Dibos matched par.
EUROPEAN TOUR: American Luke List equaled the Gullane course record with a 7-under 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 levelpar 70.