Hayden Springer had an amazing day for his opening round at the John Deere Classic on Thursday.
The PGA Tour rookie shot a 12-under 59, just the 14th time a sub-60 round accomplished in PGA Tour history. Amazingly, Springer tied the record for the first round of the John Deere Classic with his score, matching Paul Goydo’s 59 at the event in 2010.
Springer is the second player to break 60 in three weeks. Cameron Young shot a 59 in the second round at the Travelers Championship in June.
Jim Furyk holds the PGA Tour record with a 58 at at the Travelers Championship in 2016.
On the front nine, Springer shot 8-under 27, which tied the tournament’s lowest nine-hole score. He shot 32 on the back nine to get his 59 for the round.
Shooting 59 felt like a possibility for him after that 27, he told PGA Tour Radio’s Bill Rosinski.
“It was in my mind making the turn, for sure,” Springer said. “It’s almost like you feel like you have to at that point.”
Springer finished his first round with an exclamation point, sinking an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. Leading up to that, he dropped in an 18-foot birdie putt on the 15th and scored an eagle from 55 yards on the 17th.
Springer’s front-nine 27 was also only the 14th time someone has shot 27 or lower on the PGA Tour since 1983. The record is 26 by Corey Pavin at the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship.
Making Springer’s opening round perhaps even more impressive, he missed the cut in seven of his past eight events.
“It’s been kind of a rough little bit,” Springer told Rosinski. “I went back to an old coach of mine that I grew up going to. She’s kind of straightened me out a little bit, kind of helped me get back to some feels that I’ve worked in the past. So that’s made a little bit of a difference.”
