Lee among three to lead Women's Western Am pack

Writing from Elmhurst, Illinois

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Rachel Lee of Australia was 1-over after two holes of her second qualifying round in the 126th Women’s Western Amateur after a ho-hum even par round on Tuesday. Staying there would make qualifying for match play, limited to the low 32 players, dicey.

She didn’t stay there. She moved, and vigorously.

Lee birdied seven of her next 14 holes and raced back to the clubhouse at leafy and steamy River Forest Country Club with a 6-under-par 66, good for a 36-hole aggregate of 6-under 138 and a share of medalist honors in this oldest continuously-played championship in golf. To say the least, she felt comfortable.

“This course is very similar to my Sydney course,” said Lee, who won the Sydney Amateur late last year. “It felt more like home. I was a little worried, but not too worried, because yesterday I started with two bogeys. I knew I could get it back.”

Her 66, which she thought was highlighted by a deuce on the par-3 seventh via a 13-foot putt, her 16th hole, matched the best round of qualifying. Thailand’s Pimchompoo Chaisilprungruang, affectionately known to one and all as “Pinky,” fired a 66 on Tuesday, and remained in the lead until squandering four strokes to par across the first five holes of her final nine on Tuesday. Her total of 4-under 140 after Wednesday’s 2-over 74 still qualified her easily.

Lee was matched at 138 by Oregon State senior Raya Nakao of Kaheohe, Hawaii and Pepperdine sophomore Kylee Choi of Murrieta, Calif. They shot 70 and 68, respectively, in the second round to grab a share of medalist honors.

“It’s pretty tough conditions out there,” Nakao said. “You’ve got to keep it in the fairways here. The rough is pretty high. Playing in the short stuff makes it easier. And the greens can be tricky to read. But my putting has saved me.”

Grace Lee of Bellevue, Wash., and Jaclyn LaHa of Pleasanton, Calif., tied for fourth at 5-under 139. The lone area qualifier is Alabama-bound Alli Wiertel of west suburban Oswego, who added 1-over 73 to Tuesday’s opening 70 for a 1-under 143 total.

The playoff at even par 144 encompassed nine players chasing the last seven match play spots.

– Tim Cronin

Gotterup wins a major Deere

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Sunday, July 5, 2026

Those who believe the John Deere Classic is the runt of the PGA Tour haven’t been around Chris Gotterup. Earlier this year, at no less than the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Gotterup said the Deere was his personal fifth major.

Sunday at TPC Deere Run, Gotterup showed why. Starting the day five strokes behind the leaders, right on the edge of being considered in contention, Gotterup fired a 9-under-par 62 to first jump into the fight and then into a tie for the lead, and finally the outright lead.

There he stayed. Finishing an hour ahead of overnight leaders Lucas Glover and Lee Hodges, with no less than perennial contender Zach Johnson and the likes of Rickie Fowler to jump over, Gotterup won the 55th Deere by a stroke over fast-closing Max Homa and by two over Glover, Hodges and Ben Kohles, who was tied with Gotterup on the 18th fairway and splashed his approach at the last, leading to a double-bogey.

Gotterup was on the range at that moment, alternating between hitting warmup shots and watching on his phone. When Kohles finished, Gotterup and his caddie, younger brother Patrick, had a long embrace, and Gotterup had tears in his eyes during his first interview.

“They’ve been super nice to me,” Gotterup said. “Clair (Peterson, then the tournament director) gave me an exemption four years ago. That kick-started my career.”

Gotterup finished fourth in the 2022 Deere and was on his way. The 26-year-old has now won five times on the PGA Tour, and four times in the last 52 weeks. After his triumph, he was one of 33 players to board the Deere-supplied charter to the Scottish Open, where he’s the defending champion. Given his position entering the round and the need to hop over some notables, this might have been his least likely victory.

“I really felt like I grinded it out this week,” Gotterup said. “Today it kind of all came together, but the first three days I didn’t have my best stuff.”

He noted his “not so good” stuff is now better than it was. Sunday, his best stuff was golden. He one-putted 13 greens, needed only 23 putts, and was 4-for-4 scrambling in a round that was bogey free.

His best shot was the chip shot from 44 feet to 32 inches on the par-5 17th to set up a birdie putt and the 20-under status that earned him the title.

“My short game has been kind of iffy over the last couple of weeks, which is why I wanted to keep playing and getting good reps,” Gotterup said. “It’s a mix of hitting it in the right spots, and I did a great job of that today. It’s not going to happen very day, but when it happens, usually good things happen.” 

He was hardly playing slovenly golf earlier in the week. He made only three bogeys in his first 54 holes.

Kohles would have paid good money for a par on the 18th and instead spent it with the hook that caromed off the sloped rough to the left of the green, bounding off the stone and into the pond. He needed a miracle chip-in to force a playoff, and even after a drop from a sprinkler head that gave him a 45-foot putt, managed only a double-bogey 6.

“I was a little in between (clubs),” Kohles said. “I hit an 8-iron and thought 9 was going to be too short. I was trying to hit a three-quarter punch shot. Tugged it a little.

“Obviously sucks to just have that happen on the final hole, but hey, I learned a lot about myself."

If not for Gotterup’s 62, Homa would be holding the trophy. His 7-under 64 matched the second-low round of the day.

“I had a good chance to catch him; he just played better,” Homa said. “He’s a phenomenal golfer. I tip my cap but that’s not exactly how I felt out there. I just needed to be a little sharper.”

Around the Deere

Arlington Heights native Doug Ghim finished tied for sixth after a 3-under 68 for 17-under 267, good for a $297,000 check. … Amateur Preston Stout used a final round 69 to finish tied for 15th at 14-under 270. … Fan favorite Zach Johnson posted a final round 68 for 16-under 268, tying for ninth. … Gotterup’s haul was $1,584,000, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and 500 points in the playoff race, where he’s now sixth. … Deere Run averaged 68.684 strokes Sunday, just off the record fourth-round low of 68.660 two years ago. For the week, Deere Run took 69.330 strokes to negotiate, 1.670 strokes under par, fourth lowest in Deere history and second-lowest at TPC Deere Run (69.190 in 2010 was the low).

– Tim Cronin

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

Glover leads, Cole survives at the Deere

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Friday, July 3, 2026

There wasn’t a huge amount of movement atop the John Deere Classic leaderboard in the second round. Lucas Glover went from co-leader to sole leader by adding a 6-under 65 to his opening 63, Zac Blair went from co-leader to third place with a decent 68, Lee Hodges’ 66 moved him into second, and Jackson Suber, thanks to a 7-under 64, vaulted 33 places into a tie for fourth.

The real excitement came deeper in the field as players whose opening rounds were less than sterling maneuvered to make the cut. Foremost among the movers was Eric Cole, a 38-year-old who as been tilting at the pro golf windmill since graduating college, something that runs in the family. His father is Bobby Cole and is mother is Laura Baugh Cole. He’s still searching for his first victory on the big circuit, but when he teed off was just searching for a tee time this weekend.

The prospect looked bleak thanks to Thursday’s opening 76, an unspirited round. But opening Friday birdie-eagle – the latter via a brilliant approach to inside eight feet on the par-5 second – triggered a splendid round of 8-under 63, the best of the day. It was capped by a second eagle on the par-5 17th where he rolled in a 28-foot putt for the 3. The total of 3-under 139 was precisely the number needed to play on the weekend, and 80 players will.

This climb from solo 140th, his position at daybreak, was accomplished with a new set of irons, overnighted by PXG when he discovered his 8-iron shaft was bent.

“They were just kind of a little bit beat up,” Cole said. “I figured this was a nice opportunity to switch them all out.”

The move paid off. So did adding a 2-iron and dropping a 5-wood, mainly to get used to it in advance of next week’s Scottish Open. But guys in 140th don’t come back to earn a check. Now, Cole will.

“Maybe I was a little more aggressive just being in that spot, but yeah, no change in game plan,” Cole said. “I just played better. Getting off to that (birdie-eagle) start is almost what you need to shoot a low round here.”

Well, magic happens here, goes the saying.

Glover, who won at TPC Deere Run in 2021, isn’t saying that yet, but he might be feeling it after 36 holes, most of them in the lead.

“I hit some good shots and didn’t convert and hit some bad shots but got them up-and-down,” Glover said. “It’s just golf, so rest up and get ready for tomorrow. A lot of hungry kids out there (are) wanting to play well, so we’ll do our best.”

Glover was one of those guys when he was given a sponsor’s exemption in 2002. He tied for 40th, won $10,800. He grinds on.

“The pedal as to be down,” Glover said. “Stay aggressive. There’s not going to be any hanging on. There’s going to be birdies and eagles. It’s going to be fun.”

Around Deere Run

Among those besides Cole making the cut on the number: Jordan Spieth, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Nick Dunlap and former Illinois notable Adrian Dumont de Chassart. Missing by a stroke at 2-under 140: Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, Webb Simpson and Daniel Berger. Streelman bogeyed his last hole, No. 9, to fall out of weekend play. … Former Deere winner J.T. Poston had the day’s strangest adventure, a pushed tee shot deep into the poison ivy-infested woods on the 18th. He found his ball and somehow managed to chop it out into sunlight and managed a double-bogey to cap his 2-under 69. … The field averaged 69.363 strokes, the ninth-lowest second round in Deere history. … With the 79-player field, the first tee time was set for 6:31 a.m., and threesomes after a pair of twosomes through the final group at 11:35 a.m. to ensure a 5 p.m. finish for our television peers at CBS.

– Tim Cronin

Deere fits like a Glover for Lucas

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Thursday afternoon, July 2, 2026

Sometimes the old salts know best.

Example One: Lucas Glover. He’s been around the block a few times. Knows what works, was doesn’t, and knows it can go away in the blink of an eye.

Glover’s been on top as a U.S. Open winner and on the bottom, searching for his swing. He’s also done well at the John Deere Classic, winning at TPC Deere Run in 2021 and cobbling together six other top 25 finishes, including a tie for fifth last year.

With that resume, one would expect Glover could waltz into the clubhouse with a 67 in his pocket.

Uh-uh. He rolled up the driveway wondering about his swing. He’d been wondering for a while, and experimenting.

“My backswing, I was getting a little ‘lifty,’ stopping my turn, club going up, two-way miss. Not a good combo. I hit some shots at Hartford last week like that. When you’re in last place on Sunday morning, you can try some things you might not usually do.”

This things confirmed trouble. Monday on the Deere range, Glover and coach Jason Baile went to work. The result in Thursday’s first round, an 8-under par 63, his best opening effort in 17 starts and a share of the first round lead with Zac Blair.

“It was basically just turning a little bit lower, flatter,” Glover said.

That turned his whole game around.

“Been having just a lot of those days where my ball seemed to just roll away from the hole; today it kind of rolled toward it, so maybe it’s turning,” Glover said. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know that one swing, one round, one week can change a lot.”

Glover, 46, came back from the golf dead by winning the Deere in 2021, and has been among the best of the 40-plus set since.

“I’ve always liked it here,” Glover said. “They gave me a start here right out of college in 2002 (he finished tied for 40th and earned $10,800). I’ve always been fond of the course, the town, the community, the people. Even struggling like I have this year, you pull down the driveway where you’ve had success, it gives you a good feeling.”

Blair’s feeling good as well after his best individual round of the year, one keyed by an eagle 3 on the second hole, where he sank a 17-footer after an approach from the right rough.

“I hit it pretty good and made a few putts and didn’t do anything stupid,” Blair said. “I got pretty lucky with the lie (on No. 2) and hit a 9-wood out of the rough. It just kind of ran forever.”

Blair was out with an injury – designing a golf course while on the mend – and is bouncing between the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry circuit at the moment. He also made the U.S. Open and finished 32nd at Shinnecock Hills, so the recovery is going well. But, never fixing better than second on the big tour, he yearns to take the next step.

“I’ve always been right in that 125 to 150 (ranking) spot my whole career,” Blair said. “So every start is important.”

Example Two: Zach Johnson, the Cedar Rapids legend. Masters winner, British Open winner, John Deere Classic winner and board member. Now 50 and a senior tourist, he’s playing without the pressure to keep his status and brilliantly so. Four-under through 16 holes, he ran in a 46-footer for eagle on the par-5 17th and, after an accidental pull hook put him 11 feet from the cup at the last, sank that for a birdie and 7-under 64 – and his 64th round in the 60s at Deere Run – to join Lee Hodges and Stephan Jaeger a stroke back.

“This is as strong as I’ve seen this golf course in a while,” said Johnson, 247-under in his career at Deere Run. “I was just trying to hit solid shots and let the scorecard reveal itself.”

This is something of a victory lap for Johnson, who is skipping the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto to participate here for the 24th straight tournament, matching the record of Jay Delsing.

“The outcome of my week from a golf standpoint, professionally speaking, is irrelevant almost,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if everything’s icing on the cake, but you could maybe say it’s kind of that way. My scorecard is an ingredient this week but it’s not everything.”

But if he’s within shouting distance on Sunday, look out.

Davis “Twin Eagles” Riley, Ben Kohler and Patrick Fishburn are two back at 6-under 65, and a twelvesome at 5-under 66 that includes amateur Preston Stout of Richardson, Tex., and Oklahoma State, in on a sponsor exemption and based on a round featuring six birdies offset by a single bogey, deservedly so. All the above-named except Johnson played in the morning, before the greens dried out to match fast-running fairways and the south-south-southwest wind kicked up to confuse players.

Stout’s circuit overshadowed the professional debut of Jackson Koivun, who scored 2-over 73 and sits in a tie for 123rd entering the second round. Only the top 65 players and ties move on to the weekend, so Koivun will have to step on it to make a check this week.

“I never really got settled into the round,” Koivun said. “The golf swing was a little off.”

Memo to Mr. Koivun: See Mr. Glover’s experience above.

Around Deere Run

Davis Riley aced the 16th hole, negotiating the 151 yards with a 9-iron. It was the first ace at the Deere in four years (Kevin Streelman on No. 12) and the first on No. 16 in five (Maverick McNealy). Riley then eagled the par-5 17th for back-to-back eagles, the first such instance in memory in the Deere, and the third time this year on the Tour. … The course played to 7,277 yards, the field averaging 69.800 strokes. … High man was Danny Walker, whose untidy 10-over 81 included a quadruple-bogey 8 on the ninth, the day’s most difficult hole. … Seamus Power was humming along in the morning, 2-under at the turn. Then golf happened. He bogeyed Nos. 10 and 11, then double-bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 17th. Par at the last gave him an inward 44 and total of 6-over 77, prompting his withdrawal. A back injury was the stated reason. … While tournament executives don’t announce attendance, the morning gallery at Deere Run looked larger than normal. Perhaps people were trying to beat the heat. It was 91 degrees at Quad Cities International Airport at 2 p.m. and most members of the gallery were using trees for shade by then. Some 17,000 were probably on hand.

– Tim Cronin