John Deere Classic Leaderboard: Round 1 scores in full as Max Homa gets off to fast start
"I didn't hit one bad shot today so that was cool..." Max Homa posts his best ever first-round score on the PGA Tour in the first round of the John Deere Classic.
1 | Doug Ghim | -9 |
2 | Austin Eckroat | -8 |
2 | Max Homa | -8 |
4 | David Lipsky | -7 |
4 | Sam Stevens | -7 |
4 | Justin Lower | -7 |
4 | Michael Kim | -7 |
4 | Emiliano Grillo | -7 |
Max Homa cracked up reporters by admitting he finally "didn't hit one bad shot today" in the first round of the John Deere Classic.
Homa, 34, may have bogeyed his final hole, the par-4 9th, but it all added up to an impressive 8-under 63.
It marked Homa's best first-round score in his PGA Tour career.
Related:
Homa finds himself just one shot off the pace alongside Austin Eckroat after 18 holes.
They trail Doug Ghim, who fired a flawless 9-under 62, highlighted by a hole-out eagle two from 91 yards on the par-4 6th.
Homa told reporters just 24 hours previous that he wasn't expecting a great deal out of his game this week.
He also went into detail about the sad reason he has stopped using X / Twitter.
Homa has endured a rough couple of seasons on the PGA Tour, especially in 2025 where he has registered just one top-20 finish all season.
That came at The Masters (T12) in April.
Once fifth in the world, Homa currently looks on from the 99th rung of the ladder.
But the six-time winner proved to himself that his game is more than still capable of performing at the highest level on Thursday.
Homa found 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in a round that consisted of nine birdies and a sole bogey on his final hole.
He also pleasingly gained more than three shots on the field on the greens.
"I do feel like we found a little something with the driver, all the long clubs, and it was nice to do that for 18 full holes," Homa told reporters after the first round.
"I didn't hit one crazy shot today so that was cool."
Homa added: "I holed a lot of putts, but still didn't feel like I did one thing that carried me.
"It felt like everything was really good. Kept it in front of me. Was rarely in a bad spot, whether it's off the tee or around the greens.
"Obviously having a hot putter helps. Even with that, I did a lot to shoot a low number. Yeah, did feel like a good opening round."
Homa knows the winning score will more than likely be north of 20-under, and so he knows he will need to keep his foot on the gas if he's going to win for the first time on the PGA Tour since the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2023.
The last three winning scores at the John Deere Classic have been 28-under, 21-under and 21-under.
"Yeah, just have to keep playing. Patience is very important even when scores are really low."
He added: "It's important to stay within yourself and stay patient, because you can birdie any hole out here."
Rickie Fowler, who was playing alongside Homa, also got off to a hot start with a 6-under 65.
That puts him in the top 10.
Fowler is also looking to win for the seventh time on the PGA Tour.
The American's last win on the circuit came at the Rocket Classic in June 2023.
View full leaderboard here
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
