Doug Ghim started the day with a one-shot lead and started on the back nine. He fired an eagle at the par-4 15th as well as three birdies and two bogeys to close with a 3-under 68 and retain a one shot lead at 12-under heading into the weekend.
“Holing out two days in a row is always nice. It’s been couple years since I think I holed out from the fairway. To get two back to back days is a great,” said the American. “Today played tougher, so to hole-out was huge. Drove it fairly well all day. Wish I had a couple wedges back and a couple putts back, but at the end of the day pleased to be near the top, if not in the top, going into the weekend.
“Being in the lead this early in the tournament doesn’t really mean that much. Obviously having a lead is awesome at any point in the tournament, but with 36 holes left to play and that many people at 11-under par, I mean, doesn’t feel like much of a lead.
“If anything, I feel like I’m chasing to try to get to 20-, 22-under par, even deeper if possible.”
“You know, as far as I know I’m nine, ten shots back of that right now.”
His 130 total marks his lowest opening 36-hole score on the PGA Tour and he holds the 36-hole lead for the first time.
Ghim has yet to win on Tour, his best finish in 162 starts was runner-up at the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open. His best finish in seventeen starts this season was T11 at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
American defending champion Davis Thompson carded his second career bogey-free round this season (2025 The American Express/R3) and recorded a 63 to move into a share of second place at 11-under. He seeks to become the first repeat winner at the John Deere Classic since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009-11.
Six-time Tour winner Max Homa of the USA stayed in second place after recording a 66 for his best 36-hole start this season. He seeks his first top-10 result this year, his best result in sixteen starts this season was T12 at The Masters.
“I thought everything was good. Rolled it well. Hit the irons awesome. Wedged it well. Drove it well,” said Homa.
“So I didn’t like — again, similar to yesterday, just nothing sticks out. Just was really good golf kind of through the bag. Yeah, those are my favorite kind of days.”
American Brian Campbell (T2/-11) holds T2 position after 36 holes for the second time in his career, he made one bogey and six bogeys, four of them consecutively from the 4th on his back nine.
Fellow American David Lipsky made one bogey and closed with a 67 to join the pack in second place having tied his career low 36-hole score.
Also in tied in second place is Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo who made a single bogey for a 66 in a bid to become the first international winner of the John Deere Classic since Sepp Straka (2023/Austria).
Due to potential thunderstorms Saturday afternoon, the third round will feature threesomes off split tees from approx. 7:45 – 10 a.m. CT.
Related: Two new events: The 2026 LIV Golf schedule has been leaked
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doug Ghim | -12 | 62 | 68 | 130 |
| T2 | Davis Thompson | -11 | 68 | 63 | 131 |
| T2 | Brian Campbell | -11 | 65 | 66 | 131 |
| T2 | David Lipsky | -11 | 64 | 67 | 131 |
| T2 | Emiliano Grillo | -11 | 65 | 66 | 131 |
| T2 | Max Homa | -11 | 63 | 68 | 131 |
| T7 | Camilo Villegas | -10 | 66 | 66 | 132 |
| T7 | Taylor Montgomery | -10 | 67 | 65 | 132 |
| T7 | Sam Stevens | -10 | 64 | 68 | 132 |
| T7 | Si Woo Kim | -10 | 65 | 67 | 132 |
| T7 | Cameron Champ | -10 | 65 | 67 | 132 |
| T7 | Kevin Roy | -10 | 67 | 65 | 132 |
| T13 | Aldrich Potgieter | -9 | 67 | 66 | 133 |
| T13 | Seamus Power | -9 | 67 | 66 | 133 |
| T13 | Kevin Yu | -9 | 65 | 68 | 133 |
| T16 | Nate Lashley | -8 | 67 | 67 | 134 |
| T16 | Jackson Koivun(a) | -8 | 70 | 64 | 134 |
| T16 | Denny McCarthy | -8 | 66 | 68 | 134 |
| T16 | Austin Eckroat | -8 | 63 | 71 | 134 |
| T16 | Thriston Lawrence | -8 | 66 | 68 | 134 |
| T21 | Bud Cauley | -7 | 69 | 66 | 135 |
| T21 | Rico Hoey | -7 | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T21 | Carson Young | -7 | 67 | 68 | 135 |
| T21 | Lee Hodges | -7 | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T21 | Kurt Kitayama | -7 | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T21 | Michael Thorbjornsen | -7 | 70 | 65 | 135 |
| T21 | Kris Ventura | -7 | 65 | 70 | 135 |
| T21 | Jeremy Paul | -7 | 69 | 66 | 135 |
| T21 | Keith Mitchell | -7 | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T21 | Joel Dahmen | -7 | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T21 | Justin Lower | -7 | 64 | 71 | 135 |
| T21 | Chris Kirk | -7 | 67 | 68 | 135 |
| T21 | Matt Kuchar | -7 | 65 | 70 | 135 |
| T21 | Chris Gotterup | -7 | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T21 | Ben Kohles | -7 | 69 | 66 | 135 |
| T36 | Zac Blair | -6 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T36 | Dylan Wu | -6 | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T36 | Lucas Glover | -6 | 72 | 64 | 136 |
| T36 | Jacob Bridgeman | -6 | 68 | 68 | 136 |
| T36 | Beau Hossler | -6 | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T36 | Ryo Hisatsune | -6 | 68 | 68 | 136 |
| T36 | Vince Whaley | -6 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T43 | James Hahn | -5 | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T43 | Henrik Norlander | -5 | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T43 | Mark Hubbard | -5 | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T43 | Bronson Burgoon | -5 | 71 | 66 | 137 |
| T43 | Brandt Snedeker | -5 | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T43 | Patton Kizzire | -5 | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T43 | Taylor Moore | -5 | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T43 | Eric Cole | -5 | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T43 | Zach Johnson | -5 | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T43 | Patrick Fishburn | -5 | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T43 | Quade Cummins | -5 | 72 | 65 | 137 |
| T43 | Hayden Springer | -5 | 72 | 65 | 137 |
| T43 | Philip Knowles | -5 | 72 | 65 | 137 |
| T43 | Gordon Sargent | -5 | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T43 | Adam Svensson | -5 | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T43 | Jake Knapp | -5 | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T43 | Rickie Fowler | -5 | 65 | 72 | 137 |
| T43 | Garrick Higgo | -5 | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T43 | Nick Dunlap | -5 | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T43 | Cristobal Del Solar | -5 | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T43 | Rikuya Hoshino | -5 | 65 | 72 | 137 |
| T43 | Jesper Svensson | -5 | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T43 | Brendan Valdes | -5 | 71 | 66 | 137 |
| CUT | Sam Ryder | -4 | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| CUT | Ben Martin | -4 | 69 | 69 | 138 |
| CUT | Tom Kim | -4 | 72 | 66 | 138 |
| CUT | Greyson Sigg | -4 | 67 | 71 | 138 |
| CUT | Lanto Griffin | -4 | 67 | 71 | 138 |
| CUT | Josh Radcliff | -4 | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| CUT | Trevor Cone | -4 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| CUT | Alejandro Tosti | -4 | 73 | 65 | 138 |
| CUT | Victor Perez | -4 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| CUT | Ryan Gerard | -4 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| CUT | Jackson Suber | -4 | 69 | 69 | 138 |
| CUT | Paul Peterson | -4 | 69 | 69 | 138 |
| CUT | Petr Hruby | -4 | 69 | 69 | 138 |
| CUT | William Mouw | -4 | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| CUT | Ben Griffin | -3 | 71 | 68 | 139 |
| CUT | Chandler Phillips | -3 | 67 | 72 | 139 |
| CUT | Alex Smalley | -3 | 73 | 66 | 139 |
| CUT | Taylor Dickson | -3 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| CUT | Adam Schenk | -3 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| CUT | Michael Kim | -3 | 64 | 75 | 139 |
| CUT | Matt McCarty | -3 | 71 | 68 | 139 |
| CUT | Luke List | -3 | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| CUT | Chesson Hadley | -3 | 67 | 72 | 139 |
| CUT | Martin Laird | -3 | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| CUT | David Ford | -3 | 68 | 71 | 139 |
| CUT | Luke Clanton | -3 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| CUT | Takumi Kanaya | -3 | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| CUT | Dylan Frittelli | -2 | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Jason Day | -2 | 74 | 66 | 140 |
| CUT | Sami Valimaki | -2 | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| CUT | Mac Meissner | -2 | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| CUT | John Pak | -2 | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Peter Malnati | -2 | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Patrick Rodgers | -2 | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Joseph Bramlett | -2 | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Matthew Riedel | -2 | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Ben James(a) | -2 | 68 | 72 | 140 |
| CUT | Nick Hardy | -1 | 70 | 71 | 141 |
| CUT | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -1 | 72 | 69 | 141 |
| CUT | Will Gordon | -1 | 69 | 72 | 141 |
| CUT | Trace Crowe | -1 | 72 | 69 | 141 |
| CUT | Thomas Rosenmueller | -1 | 70 | 71 | 141 |
| CUT | Kevin Kisner | -1 | 71 | 70 | 141 |
| CUT | J.T. Poston | -1 | 74 | 67 | 141 |
| CUT | Zack Fischer | -1 | 71 | 70 | 141 |
| CUT | Kaito Onishi | -1 | 72 | 69 | 141 |
| CUT | Karl Vilips | Par | 77 | 65 | 142 |
| CUT | Aaron Wise | Par | 73 | 69 | 142 |
| CUT | Joe Highsmith | Par | 74 | 68 | 142 |
| CUT | Matt NeSmith | Par | 74 | 68 | 142 |
| CUT | Will Chandler | Par | 71 | 71 | 142 |
| CUT | Scott Piercy | Par | 70 | 72 | 142 |
| CUT | Steven Fisk | Par | 68 | 74 | 142 |
| CUT | Austin Cook | +1 | 73 | 70 | 143 |
| CUT | David Skinns | +1 | 72 | 71 | 143 |
| CUT | Thorbjørn Olesen | +1 | 74 | 69 | 143 |
| CUT | Danny Willett | +1 | 68 | 75 | 143 |
| CUT | Isaiah Salinda | +1 | 74 | 69 | 143 |
| CUT | Adam Hadwin | +2 | 73 | 71 | 144 |
| CUT | Nico Echavarria | +2 | 72 | 72 | 144 |
| CUT | Michael La Sasso(a) | +2 | 75 | 69 | 144 |
| CUT | Tim Widing | +2 | 75 | 69 | 144 |
| CUT | Sungjae Im | +2 | 68 | 76 | 144 |
| CUT | Brice Garnett | +2 | 71 | 73 | 144 |
| CUT | Kyle Stanley | +3 | 73 | 72 | 145 |
| CUT | Max McGreevy | +3 | 73 | 72 | 145 |
| CUT | Chan Kim | +3 | 69 | 76 | 145 |
| CUT | Mason Andersen | +3 | 75 | 70 | 145 |
| CUT | Paul Waring | +3 | 68 | 77 | 145 |
| CUT | Chad Ramey | +3 | 70 | 75 | 145 |
| CUT | Ricky Castillo | +3 | 67 | 78 | 145 |
| CUT | Anders Albertson | +3 | 73 | 72 | 145 |
| CUT | Noah Goodwin | +4 | 71 | 75 | 146 |
| CUT | Jay Giannetto | +4 | 73 | 73 | 146 |
| CUT | Braden Thornberry | +4 | 76 | 70 | 146 |
| CUT | Rafael Campos | +4 | 72 | 74 | 146 |
| CUT | Preston Summerhays | +4 | 69 | 77 | 146 |
| CUT | Harrison Endycott | +5 | 76 | 71 | 147 |
| CUT | Hayden Buckley | +5 | 74 | 73 | 147 |
| CUT | Trey Mullinax | +5 | 75 | 72 | 147 |
| CUT | Brandon Matthews | +5 | 72 | 75 | 147 |
| CUT | Frankie Capan III | +5 | 74 | 73 | 147 |
| CUT | Ben Silverman | +6 | 76 | 72 | 148 |
| CUT | Harry Higgs | +6 | 72 | 76 | 148 |
| CUT | Carson Herron | +7 | 76 | 73 | 149 |
| CUT | Pierceson Coody | +7 | 79 | 70 | 149 |
| CUT | Kevin Velo | +8 | 72 | 78 | 150 |
| CUT | Ryan Palmer | +9 | 73 | 78 | 151 |
| W/D | Stephan Jaeger | - | 74 | - | 74 |
| W/D | Nicholas Lindheim | - | 75 | - | 75 |
| W/D | Andrew Putnam | - | 71 | - | 71 |
