Pan Cheng-tsung, Aaron Rai jump past Hayden Springer at John Deere
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Chinese Taipei's C.T. Pan playing his shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament on July 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Los Angeles – Pan Cheng-tsung of Chinese Taipei and Englishman Aaron Rai share the 36-hole lead at the John Deere Classic, after they each shot eight-under 63 on July 5 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.
They entered the weekend at 14-under 128, one shot ahead of England’s Harry Hall (66).
American Hayden Springer, who opened the tournament with a 12-under 59 – the 14th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history – followed that with a 71 to drop into a tie for fourth.
Rai, who made five of his eight birdies on his last nine holes, contended at the June 27-30 Rocket Mortgage Classic before tying for second.
“The positive from Sunday was that I hung around pretty well... Just a couple too many unforced errors, which ultimately cost us a little bit. So, hopefully, I can apply some of those things and we’ll see how it goes over this weekend,” Rai said.
Pan’s highlight in the second round was a pitch-in eagle at the par-four 14th hole.
“It’s a driveable par four. Hit a decent drive to the left – actually in the first cut (of rough). I had like a 35-yard chip and it’s a pretty (standard) uphill chip. I was able to go after it,” he said.
Pan has something Rai does not: a victory on the PGA Tour. Pan won the 2019 RBC Heritage, and he also has the Olympics on his mind after winning bronze at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and qualifying again for Paris.
“I had a terrible sleep last night. Had a really serious conversation with my Olympic committee back home just trying to figure out all the arrangements before I go there. So didn’t go well, I can tell you that. I did not sleep well, so (the low round was) quite a surprise,” Pan said.
Springer started on the back nine and was three under through 11 holes before consecutive bogeys, his first two of the tournament.
After a brief recovery with a short birdie putt at the par-four fifth hole, Springer had trouble in the greenside rough at No. 6 and made a double-bogey six.
“I kind of hit some bumps on the back nine, but more just mental errors and not making those short putts than anything else,” Springer said. “So all in all, I really feel like I played okay. I mean, I knew... It’s pretty tough to go low – that low – multiple times in a row.”
The group tied at fourth with Springer at 12 under consists of Americans Eric Cole (68), Davis Thompson (67), Denny McCarthy (66), amateur Luke Clanton (67) and Im Sung-jae of South Korea (64). Clanton tied for 10th at the Rocket Mortgage and is playing on a sponsor exemption for the second consecutive week.
Two-time John Deere champion Jordan Spieth posted a 67 to move to six under, one shot above the cut line. Notables who missed the cut at five under include Daniel Berger (70), Matt Kuchar (70) and Nick Dunlap (70), who won as an amateur at January’s The American Express. REUTERS
