Writing from Silvis, Illinois
Saturday, July 5, 2025
Davis Thompson just won’t go away.
He’s greedy, this silent birdie-maker from St. Simons Island, Ga. He won the John Deere Classic last year, when the course was soft and yielded birdies unreluctantly, and he leads the 54th edition this year with a round to go.
Thompson assumed the position Saturday afternoon with a 4-under-par 67 for a 54-hole aggregate of 15-under 198. That’s the highest leading score though three rounds at the Deere since a trio was tied at 199 in 2009. In this case, Thompson leads the quartet of Max Homa, David Lipsky, Emiliano Grillo and Brian Campbell by a stroke, with a foursome including Camilo Villegas at 12-under 201 and five more players, including standout amateur Jackson Koivun, stationed at 11-under 202.
That adds up to 13 players within four strokes of Thompson, so while he may sleep late on Sunday morning, it likely won’t be a deep sleep. There’s a lot of firepower looming.
“Just got to stick to my game plan tomorrow,” Thompson said. “I feel your focus sharpens a little more – I find it easier to commit to every shot when I’m in the lead as opposed to the back of the pack.”
With about 22,500 watching, with the wind up and with many greens adding a shade of purple, scores were comparatively high. The field averaged 68.894 strokes, the highest in a third round since 2015. There were only 254 birdies, the fewest on a Saturday since a mere 206 found the sanctuary in 2003. The paucity of circled numbers may impact the tournament’s vaunted Birdies for Charity fund-raising program.
Thompson’s concerned with Sunday, when expected overnight rains soften the course and make birdies more likely.
“Deep breaths, one step at a time, make sure I’m sticking to my routines, eating something, staying hydrated,” Thompson said.
If that doesn’t sound exciting, he doesn’t want to be exciting. He wants to be efficient.
That may make Thompson hard to root for, but it certainly helps his bottom line. But will efficiency be enough to hold off the charge of the birdie brigade?
“I think it’s going to be another birdiefest,” Illinois grad Campbell said. “Guys coming from deep behind, especially playing in twosomes. I think I’ve got to be aggressive tomorrow. I love the wind. Going to school (in Champaign) that’s all we played in. I like to get creative with it.
“If it’s a birdiefest, go out and make a lot of birdies.”
Campbell won in Mexico earlier this season, so is not a stranger to the winner’s circle. But complacency is not his forte.
“You can’t get lazy out here,” Campbell said. “Nothing is given to you.”
Campbell fashioned his 3-under 68 with a quartet of birdies offset by a solitary bogey. Sinking a 37-footer for birdie at the last allowed him to finish with a flourish.
“I was right into the wind with a 6-iron in the fairway and gave myself a look,” Campbell said. “My caddie said I was due for a long one.
“Hopefully, going to have one of those tomorrow for something bigger.”
Homa, whose 68 featured four birdies in the first 11 holes but ended with a bogey, is the most experienced of the contenders, with six wins on the PGA Tour – five by coming from behind in the final round – but has hit a dry patch of late. He’s eager to change that.
“Golf has been very boring for me this year,” Homa said. “I haven’t had a whole lot of stress, and you want to be stressed out. I look forward to the butterflies in the morning. It’s been a while.”
He, Thompson and all the other leaders will feel it to some extent. At the other end of the scale, there’s Doug Ghim, who paced the field for 36 holes and played the role of human pace car as the field raced by on Saturday.
Ghim’s 3-over 74 for 9-under 204 dropped him into a tie for 21st. It’s only six strokes behind Thompson, and deficits as large and larger than that have been made up at the Deere before – then-teenager Jordan Spieth was six back in 2013, and young Roger Maltbie was seven in arrears at Oakwood Country Club in 1975 – but the pride of Arlington Heights has a pile of people to surpass to – how do they say it here? – make magic happen.
He’ll need a magic putter to rally. He’s last among the 65 who made the cut in stokes gained putting, and the average length of his made putts is just under 2.5 feet, which indicates a lot of long misses.
Around Deere Run
Aldrich Potgieter, winner in Detroit last week, withdrew after a Saturday 76 that included six bogeys and a double-bogey. He’s slated to play in next week’s Scottish Open and is first alternate for the British Open. He’ll be on Sunday night’s Deere-arranged charter flight to Scotland. … The course average after three rounds is 69.619. … Chris Kirk is the caboose through 54 holes at 1-over 214 after his 8-over 79, and gets the honor of starting first Sunday as a single at 7:10 a.m. Leader Davis Thompson goes off with David Lipsky in the final pairing.
– Tim Cronin