American Kris Blanks grabs first round lead at John Deere Classic on PGA Tour
Kris Blanks, the 38-year-old American golfer, pulled in a whopping ten birdies and dropped just two shots to grab an early lead in the first round of John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis.
Blanks, who managed to be a part of the field through the qualifying round, posted a first round score of eight-under, 63, to stay in contention for the $4.5-million title on the PGA Tour.
"The way I was stepping into the ball was creating my shoulders to be open, so I just changed my routine where I don't go with it the same way," Blanks said. "It was more awkward, but at this point, I kind of needed some awkwardness. If it felt comfortable,
I was back to my older tendencies."
The awkwardness was just what the American was looking for after having a sloppy season so far, missing 11 cuts in his 20 appearances on the tour. Starting from back nine, Blanks pulled in a 25-foot birdie at fifth hole and another 11-foot before making
the turn with three-under, leading the first round. He dropped just one shot in the back nine.
Blanks opened up his front nine with a birdie but dropped a shot at par-four, 4th but quickly recovered to bag five consecutive birdies to stay clear of the field with one shot.
Matt McQuillan, the Ontario resident, also displayed amazing form to stay in contention for the second spot with his seven-under, 64. McQuillan is facing a serious dearth of form for the past several years and has already missed ten cuts in the current season.
He carded seven birdies and a glorious eagle at par-five, 2nd, dropping just two shots in his opening round. He is now tied for the second spot alongside Davis Love lll and Steve Marino.
"Well, I figured I got my great stuff and bad stuff out early and then just tried to make some good swings," he said.
Paul Goydos, who pulled-in a jaw-dropping 59 in the opening round last year, posted a five-under, 66 to finish for a joint seventh alongside the defending champion Steve Stricker and another ten players. Stricker is defending the title for the third consecutive
time at his favourite Deere Run.
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