SILVIS, IL. – Could this be the week that Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim notches his first victory on the PGA Tour? It’s certainly possible.
Ghim’s 62 gave him the first round lead in the 54th John Deere Classic on Thursday and he maintained a one-stroke lead after adding a 68 on Friday. Both rounds featured hole-outs from the fairway, Friday’s coming at the par-4 15th.
“That’s not the easiest hole out there, so it was unexpected, and it was huge!’’ said Ghim. “It’s been a couple years since I holed out from the fairway. To get two in back-to-back days is great.’’
Ghim, at 12-under-par 130, is in a dogfight, though. Just one stroke back are defending champion Davis Thompson, veteran Max Homa, Illinois alum Michael Campbell, Northwestern alum David Lipsky and Emilio Grillo.
“It’s just the halfway point — so early in the tournament,’’ said Ghim. “The leaderboard is so bunched. I’m still chasing because 20-something under par is probably going to win.’’
Thompson was a record 28-under in his victory last year.
The JDC is known for its abundance of first-time winners on the PGA Tour. There’s been 24 of them in 53 years and Ghim could certainly become the 25th after Sunday’s final round at TPC Deere Run.
In his eighth professional season the 28-year old Ghim has been in position to win before. He played in the last group on Sunday in the 2021 Players Championship but eventual champion Justin Thomas took charge then. Ghim notched his only runner-up finish on the circuit in Las Vegas last year, losing by one stroke to J.T. Poston – the JDC champion in 2022.
“I played well there and was patient all week,’’ said Ghim. “I didn’t try to knock all the grass off the course the entire week and almost won.’’
“Almost’’ is good if you’re playing horseshoes, but not in golf.
“Sometimes you see guys shooting 8 or 9 under (par) every day and you try to keep up,’’ said Ghim. “You should just try to stay in your own bubble. Every year I’ve gotten a little better at that.’’
This would be a great time and place for Ghim to crack the winner’s circle. He’s one of only two Chicago area regulars on the PGA Tour and the JDC is the only annual PGA Tour stop in Illinois.
Preferring to focus on national junior tournaments, Ghim played only one year of high school golf at Buffalo Grove. He was a college star at Texas and now lives in Las Vegas. Still, he’s found a comfort level playing in the Midwest.
“In general it’s the style I’m used to,’’ he said. “I grew up playing tree-lined courses with bentgrass rough and greens. I always look forward to coming back to the Midwest.’’
He tied for 19th last week in Detroit, and that was his third top-25 finish in 17 starts in what has been a mediocre season so far. He started the year by revamping his support team and changed caddies at the Canadian Open last month.
His best finish this year was a tie for 11th in Florida in March. Along the way he missed six cuts. This is a new week, though, and his play at TPC Deere Run has been steady in three of the last four years – a tie for 18th in 2021, then a tie for 26th in 2023 and a tie for 34th last year.
The challenge will be a little different in Saturday’s third round. Potential thunderstorms resulted in starting times being moved up to 7:45 a.m. off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Play will again be in threesomes and the Dierks Bentley concert, planned for the conclusion of play, is scheduled to begin at 3:45 p.m., weather permitting.