Associated Press
SILVIS, Ill. — Troy Matteson scored 10 birdies Thursday en route to a bogey-free round of 10-under 61 for a three-stroke stroke lead after one round of the John Deere Classic.
Matteson, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, birdied five holes on each nine of the TPC Deere Run to surpass the 7-under 64 of second place Ricky Barnes. Matteson started by making birdies on three of his first four holes and finished with birdies on four of his first five.
He nearly holed out from a bunker on the par-4 ninth for a 60, but settled for par.
Barnes, out in the second group of the day, birdied all three par-5s and two of the four par-3s to pace the morning half of the field.
Robert Garrigus, among a group tied for third at 6-under 65, eagled the par-5 17th by hooking a 270-yard second shot around a tree to set up a 30-foot eagle putt.
Steve Stricker, chasing a fourth straight victory in the Deere, shot a 65 punctuated by an 80-yard wedge for an eagle 2 on the par-4 14th.
Zach Johnson, the highest ranked player in the tournament at sixth in the PGA Tour point standings, shot 3-under 68 thanks to a 4-under 31 on his last nine holes.
Low scores are common in the Deere. TPC Deere Run has yielded at least one 62 or better since 2008, including a first-round 59 by Paul Goydos two years ago. Friday, the field averaged about 69.6 strokes per player.
Only 46 players finished over par. Matteson’s had an average year to this point, missing the cut in 11 of 21 tournaments, including his first five starts. His best finish is a tie for 26th at the Honda Classic. But he lowered his best score for the year, a 65 at the Humana Classic, by four strokes in taking the lead. It’s his best start in any Tour tournament.
U.S. SENIOR OPEN
LAKE ORION, Mich. — Tom Kite set a U.S. Senior Open record with a 28 on the front nine at Indianwood and finished a 5-under 65 on Thursday.
Corey Pavin’s sixth birdie on his 17th hole pulled him into a tie atop the leaderboard, but a penalty pushed him back to the pack after completing his first round.
Pavin hit a chip after his ball moved back a fraction of an inch when he grounded his club on his 14th hole and that later cost him two strokes.
That setback put Bernhard Langer and Lance Ten Broeck in second place, one shot behind Kite. It pushed Pavin into a five-way tie for fourth with Fred Funk, Jeff Sluman, Tom Pernice Jr. and Mikael Hogberg at 3-under 67.
SCOTTISH OPEN
INVERNESS, Scotland — Francesco Molinari tied the best round in the Scottish Open’s 40-year history, shooting a 10-under 62 Thursday to take a two-shot lead into the second day of the British Open warmup tournament.
Phil Mickelson had a 73 on a day he was supposed to be at the Vatican with his wife and daughter. He cut short his vacation to get more practice ahead of the British Open.
