Zach Johnson opened the John Deere Classic with a 7-under 64 on Thursday at TPC Deere Run, putting him one shot behind Lucas Glover and Zac Blair after the first round. In oppressive heat and humidity, with a stiff breeze cutting across the course, Johnson still found his way into the chase.
That mattered because Johnson was not supposed to be forcing much of anything. He said he looked at the forecast and expected only to go “left foot, right foot, stay cool, and let's see if we can get better this week for next week.” Instead, he made the kind of start that has long kept him near the top at this event.
The 64 was his sixth at TPC Deere Run, but the number only tells part of the story. Johnson has now played the course in a composite 240 strokes under par across his first 23 John Deere appearances, a stretch that includes seven top-five finishes and a win in 2012. He also ran off 29 straight rounds of 69 or better here from 2009 through 2016, a level of consistency that explains why this place keeps rewarding him when the weather and the scoreboard get difficult.
He finished the round with two shots that fit the day. Johnson eagled the 17th with a 45-foot, 9-inch putt, then made his sixth birdie after a 194-yard shot at 18 left him inside 11 feet. That late burst turned a good round into a serious one and left him in position to keep pressing without having to catch the field from too far back.
The relationship between Johnson and this event runs deeper than one leaderboard. He said he has been a player ambassador for the John Deere Classic since getting exemptions in 2002 and 2003, and he has been a player representative on the John Deere Classic Board of Directors nearly as long. He called the partnership special and said his affection for the tournament starts and ends with the people, adding that he is honored to have a small part working for John Deere.
There is still a wrinkle in the story. Johnson made just his second PGA TOUR start since taking the PGA TOUR Champions mulligan after his 50th birthday in February, and his next confirmed stop is next week's Kaulig Companies Championship in Akron, Ohio. That means Thursday's round was not just another familiar day at TPC Deere Run; it was a reminder that Johnson can still score with the best of them, even when he says the plan is simply to stay upright, stay calm and get to next week.
