After Thursday’s first round of the John Deere Classic, the field was looking up at Doug Ghim ($7,200; 89 FPTS), who shot a -9 (62) and led by one stroke. After Friday, it must be Groundhog Day because Ghim is still numero uno. He didn’t blister the course again, but the -3 (68) was enough to maintain the top spot.
The day began well with a birdie on the first hole. He gave it back with a bogey two holes later but then drained an eagle three holes after that. On the back nine, he racked up two birdies before a bogey on the final hole of the day.
In the $700K Summer Sand Trap tournament, Ghim is rostered on 5.29% of teams.
DraftKings Sportsbook had Ghim as the favorite to win it all at +900 after Thursday. He is now +750, the second-lowest odds.
Davis Thompson ($9,600; 78.5 FPTS) is currently the favorite at +650.
Thompson shot a -3 (68) on Thursday. He torched the course with a -8 (63) on Friday to pull within one stroke of the lead at -11.
Friday’s round began well with a birdie on the first hole. He then had a three-birdie streak on Holes 14, 15 and 16. On the back nine, Thompson racked up four more birdie for the unblemished round.
Thompson is rostered on 12.48% of teams.
The most rostered golfer is Ben Griffin ($10,400; 33.5 FPTS) at 38.28%.
After shooting an E (71) on Thursday, Griffin went -3 (68) on Friday and missed the cut by two strokes. He had three birdies on the front nine and racked up another three on the back nine, but he went bogey, double-bogey on the final two holes.
There is only one other golfer rostered on at least 20% of teams: Denny McCarthy ($9,900; 52 FPTS) at 25.87%.
McCarthy went -5 (66) on Thursday. He followed that up with a -3 (68) on Friday. He birdied the first two holes of the round, then closed out the front nine with three birdies and two bogeys. There was no action on the back nine until the final two holes when he went birdie and bogey.
McCarthy was +1800 to win it all after Thursday. He is now +2200.
Data Golf projected a -4 cutline at 39.2% after Thursday. The actual cutline finished at -5.
Here are the golfers rostered on at least 10% of teams that missed the cut:
Andrew Putnam ($7,600; 16 FPTS) is rostered on 14.98% of teams. After shooting an E (71) on Thursday, Putnam withdrew after nine holes on Friday due to a back injury. He racked up a bogey and a double-bogey.
Pierceson Coody ($8,400; 26 FPTS) is rostered on 14.92% of teams. Coody shot a +8 (79) on Thursday. Data Golf gave him a less than 1% chance of making the cut. Coody was much better on Friday, but he was only able to muster a -1 (70). He racked up three birdies and a bogey on the front nine. The back nine started with two bogeys before getting a stroke back with a birdie two holes later. To close out the day, Coody went double-bogey, birdie, birdie.
Sungjae Im ($9,200; 25.5 FPTS) is rostered on 11.41% of teams. Im shot a -3 (68) on Thursday. He then went +5 (76) on Friday. The front nine consisted of two bogeys. He did birdie the first hole of the back nine, but then racked up two bogeys and a double-bogey.
Nico Echavarria ($7,800; 22 FPTS) is rostered on 12.57% of teams. Echavarria went +1 (72) on Thursday and had a 20.8% chance of making the cut, according to Data Golf. He shot a +1 (72) on Friday and missed the cut by seven strokes. On the front nine, Echavarria drained three birdies and a bogey. On the back nine, he started bogey, birdie, bogey then racked up two more bogeys to close out the round.
J.T. Poston ($10,100; 29.5 FPTS) is rostered on 10.95% of teams. Poston went +3 (74) on Thursday and had a 4.5% chance of making the cut, according to Data Golf. Friday’s round was much better at -4 (67), but it wasn’t enough, as he missed the cut by four strokes. Poston racked up three birdies on the front nine. On the back nine, he drained two birdies before notching two bogeys and a birdie to close out the round.
Jason Day ($10,500; 33 FPTS) is rostered on 14.02% of teams. Day finished +3 (74) on Thursday and had a 7.1% chance of making the cut, according to Data Golf. He was great on Friday, going -5 (66), but the deficit was too large and he missed the cut by three strokes. Day had three birdies during Friday’s front nine. The back nine consisted of three more birdies and a bogey.
Matt McCarty ($7,200; 34.5 FPTS) is rostered on 11.34% of teams. He went E (71) on Thursday then followed that up with a -3 (68) on Friday. After birdies on the first two holes of the round, McCarty finished the front nine with two bogeys and a birdie. The back nine consisted of three birdies before a bogey on the final hole.
Alex Smalley ($7,900; 36 FPTS) is rostered on 11.22% of teams. Smalley finished Thursday +2 (73) and had an 11.7% chance of making the cut, according to Data Golf. He missed the cut by two strokes after finishing Friday -5 (66). Smalley birdied the first hole of the round then added another on the front nine. He birdied the first two holes of the back nine then added another on the second-to-last hole.
Michael Kim ($8,200; 39.5 FPTS) is rostered on 14.22% of teams. He shot a -7 (64) on Thursday. Unfortunately, he went +4 (75) on Friday and missed the cut by two strokes. The front nine consisted of a bogey and a birdie. The back nine started with another bogey and a birdie. He was looking good for weekend golf, but then things fell apart. He double-bogeyed Hole 15 then bogeyed the final two holes of the round.
Ryan Gerard ($8,500; 35.5 FPTS) is rostered on 15.13% of teams. He shot a -3 (68) on Thursday. Gerard followed that up with a -1 (70) on Friday. He had a birdie on the front nine. The back nine consisted of two birdies and two bogeys. He missed the cut by one stroke.
