Ricky Barnes get into contention at the John Deere Classic
Ricky Barnes fired a seven-under par 64 early Thursday morning, and the round was good enough for him to take the second position after the opening round of the John Deere Classic, at TPC Deere Run.
Barnes carded four birdies against a lone bogey to go three-under for the round on his front nine.
“It was nice solid round. Eight birdies, one bogey. Bogeyed No. 9, but got off to a great start. Birdie three of the first five and four of the first eight,” Barnes said.
His back-nine performance was even better, as he managed to remain bogey-free while sinking another four birdies.
“I made a bogey on 9, but came back and birdied 10 and 12 right away and birdied 17 to finish,” he said. “It was a good start to tournament that usually you know you have to go low”.
He is currently three strokes behind the leader Troy Matteson, who registered a record 10-under par 61 score.
The 31-year-old American is searching for the maiden PGA Tour victory of his career and is in a perfect position to achieve the milestone in Illinois this year.
Last week, he participated in the Greenbrier Classic and tied for the 38th position after carding a five-under par tournament score.
According to him, he did not putt well at The Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs, which was the main reason behind his lower position on the leaderboard.
Yet, he was happy with his overall performance that allowed him to break the par in the first three rounds.
“I played well last week. You know, just didn't make many putts last week,” he said. “It was kind of nice to get back in that frame of mind shooting in the 60s every round”.
He now aims to add another good round to his scorecard on Friday, in order to secure a strong position while entering the weekend.
The defending champion, Steve Stricker, who looks forward to winning the title for the fourth time in a row, shared the third spot on the leaderboard, along with six other players after carding a six-under par 65.
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