Lucas Glover tied for top of 2026 John Deere Classic leaderboard with Max Homa, Zach Johnson among chasers
SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Lucas Glover chipped in early for an eagle and made a late birdie, his only two-hole 69 Saturday for a 2-under 69 that was enough to share the lead with Lee Hodges in the now heavily favored John Deere Classic.
Hodges had four birdies in six holes after TPC Deere Run’s 67 to join Glover at 16-under 197 heading into the final round.
Nine players were within four shots of the lead, ranging from 50-year-old Zach Johnson to NCAA champion Preston Stout of Oklahoma State.
Glover’s three-year exemption from the PGA Tour to win twice in 2023 expires this year, and he began the season recovering from lab surgery.
“You know very well that you have to go down or you won’t win,” said Glover. “Everyone will have to be more aggressive, so I have to hit a little harder tomorrow to reach the big goal.”
Hodges hit his stride on the back nine, with six consecutive holes leaving birdie opportunities 15 feet or closer. He converted four of them to join Glover. But there is little room for error.
Zac Blair (67), Ben Kohles (66) and Jackson Suber (66) were shot in the back. One stroke back was Doug Ghim (67). Still three shots behind was Johnson, who has such a strong record at the John Deere Classic — the Iowa native considers it his home tournament — that he skipped the US Senior Open in Scioto this week.
Johnson holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 66. You will have the opportunity to join the small group of players who will win on the PGA Tour Champions and the PGA Tour in the same calendar year. Phil Mickelson was the most recent in 2021.
Stout, who plays on a sponsor’s exemption, shot a 66 and was four shots back in a group that included Max Homa and Ryo Hisatsune.
Not to be overlooked is Rickie Fowler, who had to step up and down on his last Friday to cut the number. Starting the third round 11 shots out of the lead, Fowler bogeyed his final hole and shot a 63 to get within five shots. And five shots behind was Blades Brown, a 19-year-old who already has two wins on the PGA Tour this year.
Hodges won his only Minnesota tour title in 2023. He had conditional status this year after finishing outside the top 100 at the FedEx Cup, but another good round could change his status. Hodges, like everyone else in the mix, had the same idea.
He had a big lead in Minnesota and found himself trying to hold on. Sunday at TPC Deere Run the numbers will be completely different.
“Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun,” Hodges said. “I’m going to attack and hit people. I’m going to sit down and shoot more than anyone tomorrow.”
Kohles has already won on the Korn Ferry Tour this year and will go for his first PGA Tour win. Seven of the top 11 players have yet to win on the PGA Tour, including Blair. The Utah native had a two lead at one point until he hit the hazard and took a double bogey on the 11th hole.
Glover made his first bogey of the tournament when he missed the green on the 9th. The third round was stopped for about an hour due to a late storm. Glover came back to make a 6-foot birdie putt on the 17th and close with par.
