Doug Ghim becomes just the fourth player in PGA Tour history to achieve rare John Deere Classic feat

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Doug Ghim has a one-shot lead after the opening round at TPC Deere Run.

Ghim’s nine-under-par 62 featured seven birdies and an eagle, giving him a clear edge over the field

Max Homa sits one shot back after an eight-under 63, with two-time winner Jordan Spieth among those two shots behind at seven-under.

The lead at the John Deere Classic doesn’t reflect how Ghim’s season has gone. He has played 17 events without a single top-10 finish. The golfer from Des Plaines, Illinois, has also missed six cuts.

However, two years after switching from blades to cavity backs, he appears to be seeing results from that change.

Ghim has played 162 PGA Tour events without a win, but he couldn’t have asked for a better start this week to break that streak.

What did Doug Ghim do to make PGA Tour history?

While Ghim’s opening round was impressive on the scorecard, the details behind the numbers are even more noteworthy.

It was his 488th round on tour, and he had previously shot 63 four times – but never gone lower until now.

But the most surprising part of his round wasn’t just the score.

He also became just the fourth player in the shot-link era to shoot 62 while losing more than half a stroke putting, finishing the day with -0.765 strokes gained on the greens.

That statistic is staggering considering he made just 44 feet of putts in total.

Doug Ghim’s 62 was only the fourth such round in more than 20 years of PGA Tour data.

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Doug Ghim’s stats on the PGA Tour

Ghim has had a quiet PGA Tour career so far, with just a handful of top-ten finishes.

His numbers so far this season are a point of concern too, it must be said:

While Ghim has earned more than $7 million on tour, he has yet to put together the kind of weekend that leads to a trophy.

A win here would be a breakthrough – and Thursday’s 62 was a perfect way to start the chase.