Hayden Springer had a great day on Thursday during his opening round of the John Deere Classic.
The PGA Tour rookie shot a 12-under 59, only the 14th time a sub-60 round has been completed in PGA Tour history. Amazingly, Springer tied the John Deere Classic first-round record with his score, tying Paul Goydo’s 59 at the 2010 event.
Springer is the second player to pass 60 in three weeks, after Cameron Young shot a 59 in the second round of the Travelers Championship in June.
Jim Furyk holds the PGA Tour record with a score of 58 at the Travelers Championship in 2016.
On the front nine, Springer shot 8-under 27, which tied for the tournament’s lowest nine-hole score. He shot 32 on the back nine to earn his 59 for the round.
He told PGA Tour Radio’s Bill Rosinski that after the 27th hole he felt he could make it to the 59th.
“I definitely had it in my mind to make the turn,” Springer said. “It’s almost like at that moment you feel like you have to do it.”
Springer ended his first round with an exclamation point, hitting an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. Leading up to that hole, he threw an 18-foot birdie putt on the 15th and an eagle from 55 yards on the 17th.
Springer’s 27 on the first nine holes was only the 14th time since 1983 that someone has shot 27 or lower on the PGA Tour. The record is 26, set by Corey Pavin at the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship.
What perhaps makes Springer’s opening round even more impressive is that he missed the cut in seven of his last eight events.
“It was a little bit of a tough time,” Springer told Rosinski. “I went back to an old coach of mine that I used to go to. She kind of straightened me out, helped me get back to some of the feelings that I’ve been working on in the past. So that made a little bit of a difference.”
