Ghim chases his dream again

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Saturday, July 4, 2026

News you can use: Lucas Glover and Lee Hodges share the lead in the 55th John Deere Classic with 18 holes remaining.

News that’s more newsy: Arlington Heights native Doug Ghim is within striking distance of winning his first tournament on the PGA Tour.

Ghim, who started well at TPC Deere Run the last two years and fizzled on the weekend, has reversed things so far this year. His second straight 6-under 65 on Saturday moved him to 14-under 199 through 54 holes and within two strokes of Glover and Hodges, who scored 69 and 67 respectively to stand at 16-under 197.

Glover’s won here before and has a U.S. Open in his pocket. Hodges has won before – the 3M Open in 2022 – but hasn’t come close here. Ghim, solo sixth, is winless in 186 starts.

“Especially one close to home, it’s nice to be in the mix,” Ghim said. “I was in the thick of it last year and am in the thick of it again.”

He opened the 2025 Deere with a 62 and led through 36 holes, but dropped to a tie for 24th after a third-round 74. Saturday, he knocked in a 7 footer for eagle on the par-5 second and went bogey-free, adding in four birdies along the trail.

“Game was solid,” Ghim said. “I don’t think I did anything overwhelmingly great, or badly either. I wish I’d gotten a couple more putts to the hole, but it was relatively stress free today, and I’m sure tomorrow won’t be.”

Ghim admitted that overanalyzing what happens and trying to attach a reason to it can be counterproductive.

“We do a good job of thinking about it too much,” Ghim said. “It’s one of those things where I can do everything right tomorrow and it might not go my way. Or I might not deserve it and might win. I’m just excited to be in the mix.”

Ghim’s been close elsewhere, notably at the 2022 Players Championship, where he tied for sixth. But the gap between almost and success can be as wide as the Pacific. Some of his peers, notably fellow Texas class of 2018 graduate Scottie Scheffler, have already won majors. Whereas Ghim was once the world’s top-ranked amateur, Scheffler is the world’s top-ranked player.

“It gets frustrating,” Ghim admitted. “You see guys you grew up with winning a lot and doing everything you hope to do at this point, but at the end of the day everybody’s got their own path and if I keep putting myself in position, eventually it will happen to me.”

Ghim hit every fairway and green in regulation Saturday, the first time that’s happened at the Deere since Tim Clark did so in 2014, but made only one long putt, a 22-footer for birdie on No. 5. His next-longest made putt was 7 feet 5 inches. In other words, it could have been a really good day if more putts fell.

“When I step on the tee tomorrow, you can think about target score, you can think about everybody that’s near the lead, when they’re teeing off, yada, yada, yada,” Ghim said. “At the end of the day, if I perform the way I know I can, I know I’ll have a chance.

“If things don’t go my way, I’ll learn from it and figure out were it went wrong. I’ll keep preparing for the next one.”

Between the Glover-Hodges duo and Ghim are Ben Kohles, Jackson Suber (both with 5-under 66 for 15-under 198) who also seeks his first PGA Tour triumph, and Zac Blair (67 for 198).

The day’s best round was that of Rickie Fowler, whose 9-under 63 catapulted him from a tie for 60th – he made the cut on the number – into a tie for 12th. A 40-footer for eagle after driving the green on the short par-4 boosted his chances. 

“The hole right before 14 I had about a 30-footer and hit a perfect putt,” Fowler said. “It just didn’t break at the end. Fourteen, that was a nice bonus.”

Ghim hopes for a bigger bonus on Sunday.

Around the Deere

Said Glover of his circuit, “I didn't hit it in the fairway enough to make a bunch of birdies, and then when I did, I didn't hit it close. Then the few times I did hit it close, I didn't make it. I just had kind of an off day.” … Hodges finished in 4-under 32, and said of it, “I played beautifully on the back nine to give myself a chance tomorrow. It definitely could have got away from me today, but I played myself right back in there, so I'm really proud of that.” … An overnight downpour and another gullywasher at dawn put about six-tenths of an inch of rain on the course, necessitating a delay in the start of the third round and the decision by the PGA Tour to play “lift, clean and place.” The combination of ball in hand and soft conditions didn’t lower scores to any degree. The field average of 69.063 was lower than last year’s third round, but from 2022 through 2024, the field averaged under 69 in the third round. … The day’s 326 birdies ran the four-day (including pro-am) total to 1,715. That’s 103 behind last year’s pace, important for the Birdies for Charity recipients. …A miniature thunderstorm delayed play late in the third round and also pushed back the Carrie Underwood concert, which drew a throng of fans, some of whom might have heard of golf.

– Tim Cronin