7 players who could become the next first-time PGA Tour winner at the John Deere Classic
A total of 24 players have secured their first victory at TPC Deere Run, including the likes of Roger Maltbie (1975), David Toms (1997) and a 19-year-old Jordan Spieth (2013). Even one of the designers of TPC Deere Run, D.A. Weibring, is a first-timer at the John Deere (he actually won the JDC three times, all at Oakwood Country Club).
It's become a haven for young, talented golfers to break into the winner's circle and stamp their name as a future star. So could we see it again this year?
There's certainly a good chance.
With 36 holes in the books, let's take a look at who could join the first-time winners club at the 2025 John Deere Classic.
Doug Ghim
Position after second round: Leader (12 under)
The 29-year-old PGA Tour veteran is seeking his first victory in 162 starts. Ghim shot 9-under 62 on Thursday and followed it up with a 68 on Friday. The Illinois native is feeling right at home, just a few hours-drive away from his hometown in the Chicago area. Ghim has two top 5 finishes and four top 10s in his seven-year career on Tour.
David Lipsky
Position after second round: T2 (11 under)
Lipsky has quietly put together a really solid career since turning pro in 2011, but he's still looking for that elusive first win. He has 12 top 10s and four top 5s to his name – his best finish coming at the Procore Championship in September 2024 where he was runner-up. Lipsky shot 7-under 64 Thursday and stayed in contention with a 67 in the second round.
Taylor Montgomery
Position after second round: T7 (10 under)
Montgomery missed every cut in five starts between March 30 and May 11 before finishing T36 at the RBC Canadian Open in early June. Now, he finds himself with a chance to nab his first win. The 30-year-old from Las Vegas shot 4-under 67 Thursday and followed it with a 65 Friday, which included eight birdies. Montgomery has flirted with victory before. He has five top 10s and three top 5s in his eight season on Tour.
Sam Stevens
Position after second round: T7 (10 under)
Stevens is another player who has been knocking on the door of the winner's circle for quite some time now. In 88 starts on Tour, he's amassed two runner-up finishes, five top 5s and nine top 10s. That includes a solo runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open and a solo third place finish at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Could this be the week the 28-year-old Texan finishes the job?
Kevin Roy
Position after second round: T7 (10 under)
Roy set the course record at Detroit Golf Club with a 62 in the first round of the Rocket Classic last week. That stood for less than 24 hours, but he seems to have carried that form into the John Deere Classic, where he shot 4-under 67 Thursday and followed it with a 65 Friday. Roy is 36 years old and has just three top 10 finishes in 49 starts on the PGA Tour.
Jackson Koivun (a)
Position after second round: T16 (8 under)
Wouldn't this be something? Jackson Koivun could become just the fourth amateur to win on the PGA Tour since 1957. Nick Dunlap did it at the American Express in 2024, becoming the first amateur winner since Phil Mickelson won the Northern Telecom Open in 1991 to win a PGA Tour event when he came out victorious at the American Express in 2024. Koivun, the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world who plans to return to Auburn University this fall for his junior season, shot bogey-free 64 Friday to enter the weekend just four shots back of the lead at the John Deere Classic.
Denny McCarthy
Position after second round: T16 (8 under)
Of all the players on this list, McCarthy is the most accomplished. He has 29 top 10 finishes, nine top 5s and a runner-up. But he still hasn't won. That could change at TPC Deere Run, where McCarthy shot 66 and 68 in the first and second round, respectively. And if you're the superstitious type, it's important to note that McCarthy is staying in the "Trophy House" — an Airbnb near the golf course where the last three John Deere Classic champions have stayed: Davis Thompson (2024), Sepp Straka (2023) and J.T. Poston (2022).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
2025 ISCO Championship Start Time Thursday, Tee Times, Pairings & ESPN+ Live Streaming Coverage
A $4M purse is on the line at the 2025 ISCO Championship as Harry Hall defends his title at Hurstbourne Country Club. It all starts Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky. Brian Campbell shot -18 at TPC Deere Run, picking up a win at the John Deere Classic. Emiliano Grillo finished second. Including tee times for the first round of the 2025 ISCO Championship, plus TV and streaming info, we've got everything you need to know. Watch the PGA Tour all season long without cable! Start watching now on Fubo. And catch PGA Tour Live streaming, plus tons of other live sports and programming, with ESPN+. Tee times and pairings Round 1 TV & streaming information You can watch The Golf Channel and more on Fubo. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wimbledon 2025: Novak Djokovic shows immense powers of recovery to down Alex De Minaur and reach last eight
Novak Djokovic may never quite know how he came through on Centre Court against Alex De Minaur, but the beauty of Grand Slam tennis is that he doesn't need to know. His mind switches immediately to the Wimbledon quarter-finals, which he has reached for the 16th time. Here was a four-set match which felt every bit a contest that took five, those present to witness it no doubt fully aware the 34-shot rallies they were watching were far from normal procedure. This was seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic being pushed to the absolute brink, and wearing it in his facial expression and body language for much of the ordeal. And then still getting through. Advertisement Djokovic won 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 on Monday afternoon but at one time or other appeared to place blame on himself, his opponent, the glare of the sun, the size of the court, and those sat up in his player's box. Even in the three sets he won, things were far from plain sailing. The brutal truth is that as his years tick up and up, this is the sort of match the result of which 38-year-old Djokovic will begin to fall on the wrong side of, in the months and years to come. For now, he still possesses that sixth gear. It has powered him to the last eight and makes him a contender for the title. Roger Federer, holder of a record eight Wimbledon titles to Djokovic's seven, watched on behind his Bond-like sunglasses from the Royal Box. 'It's probably the first time he's watched me and I've won the match,' Djokovic quipped afterwards, the stresses of a fraught match if not fully dissipated then by now mostly alleviated. 'The last couple [he's watched] I've lost!' Advertisement Djokovic waved his arms in frustration and yelled at himself when shots landed out and De Minaur's landed in, and at no time was that truer than in a truly extraordinary first set. Djokovic produced four double faults in his first three service games — one of them the very first point of the match — and had his serve broken three unanswered times as De Minaur raced ahead. For the very first time, Djokovic had lost an opening set at Wimbledon by the bruising scoreline of 6-1. He broke De Minaur's serve for the first time in the very first game of the second set but then had real trouble consolidating it. In fact, after a marathon game that lasted 18 minutes and 53 seconds, De Minaur broke straight back — every single game at this point feeling a monumental signal of the direction of travel the match was set to take from there. Exasperated: Djokovic made no attempt to hide his frustration (AFP via Getty Images) De Minaur, 12 years his opponent's junior, was moving around the court so freely, described by Djokovic later as 'one of the quickest, if not the quickest player, we have on the Tour.' Djokovic, meanwhile, was struggling to clear the net with routine forehand strokes and looked laboured and irritable. Advertisement Each player was then broken in a match lacking anything remotely resembling rhythm, but Djokovic then appeared to wake up momentarily, breaking the 11th seed to love for 4-3. When he saved two break points to serve out to get back on terms at one set all, he let out an almighty roar, as much an effort to rock his opponent further off course from there as a celebration of regaining parity. The decisive break of a very tense and cagey third set again came late on as Djokovic took it 6-4 also, but De Minaur would not go away. He sandwiched a break of the veteran's serve by holding twice himself. He led 4-1 in the fourth. Djokovic's propensity to heave himself back into contention still endures, though, and he had the last laugh at the end of the match's most jaw-dropping rally to break back for 4-3. He held for 4-4, broke for 5-4, served himself into the last eight for 6-4, and just like that De Minaur was out. This is, it turned out, still how it all works. After a song and dance, Djokovic still makes it through in the end. 'I'm still trying to process the whole thing,' said Djokovic afterwards, having plodded over to a microphone by the side of the court. 'It wasn't a great start from me. It was very windy conditions and he was managing the conditions much better. Advertisement 'It was a lot of cat and mouse play. He exposes all your weaknesses. I was very pleased to hang in tough in this one. 'As the match wore on, I was starting to find my forehand and starting to make more winners.' On Wednesday comes a meeting with Italy's Flavio Cobolli for a place in the semi-finals. Weathered and shattered, Djokovic ploughs on.
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Keegan Bradley Praised for 'Wise Choice' Sure to Boost Team USA at Ryder Cup
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Keegan Bradley's decision to name Gary Woodland as vice-captain for the Ryder Cup took the golf world by surprise. However, the news has gradually sunk in over the past few days, and most have come to see the positive side of the appointment. Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner, hosts of the 'Golf Channel podcast with Rex & Lav,' are among those who applauded Bradley's decision. Supporting his view, Hoggard cited the tremendous appreciation players have for Woodland. "Gary is respected in the team room. He is respected as a player, he is still very much an active player, so he will be able to add a lot to those conversations about who you would pair him with," Hoggard said. "Everyone respects what he has overcome, how he continues to play and how he continues to be on the PGA Tour. Given the fact that Bradley seems to be trending more and more towards a player than a captain, I think all of the vice captains will have a lot of voice." Keegan Bradley celebrates on the 15th green after he made birdie to defeat the team of Donald/Garcia 4&3 during the Morning Foursome Matches for The 39th Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club on September 28,... Keegan Bradley celebrates on the 15th green after he made birdie to defeat the team of Donald/Garcia 4&3 during the Morning Foursome Matches for The 39th Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club on September 28, 2012 in Medinah, Illinois. MoreLavner, for his part, also places great value on the ties Woodland has with most of the players expected to be on the team. "I think it's a really wise choice by Keegan Bradley," Lavner noted. "He's still in his early 40s, he's a beloved player, a lot of South Florida ties, which is obviously what the majority of this US Ryder Cup team is going to be." Does Gary Woodland Lack Experience? One concern many fans may have is Woodland's apparent lack of experience. However, this isn't something Lavner is losing sleep over. "Although he has been in only one US team previously, that was the 2019 Presidents Cup, the one that traveled to Australia with playing captain Tiger Woods, the guy absolutely bleeds red, white and blue," Lavner said. Gary Woodland has certainly never played in the Ryder Cup and has only appeared in one edition of the Presidents Cup. However, "lack of experience" becomes a relative term, as he's a player with more than 380 PGA Tour starts, four career victories, and a major championship to his name. Keegan Bradley announced the appointment of Gary Woodland as his fifth and final vice-captain a week ago. In doing so, the captain of the American Ryder Cup team highlighted the qualities of a "valuable leader" that Woodland will bring to the group. The Ryder Cup will be played in September at Bethpage Black, New York. To date, only Scottie Scheffler is mathematically assured of joining the team. More Golf: Joel Dahmen Reveals Key Metric for LPGA Star to Contend at PGA Tour Event
