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SPORTS Friday 12 July 2019

Roberto Diaz shoots 62 to

take John Deere Classic lead

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Roberto weeks, traveling the world chael Kim, who set the
Diaz shot a 9-under 62 on a little bit was fun. But I just tournament record at
Thursday to take the first- came into the week just Deere Run a year ago by
round lead in the John wanting to get my game winning by eight shots, had
Deere Classic. back going for next week a 73. Kim has made just five
Playing in the final group of obviously,” Palmer said. of 28 cuts since winning in
the day off the first tee, the Twenty-year-old rook- the Quad Cities.
32-year-old Mexican play- ie Matthew Wolff, who Local favorite and past
er birdied four of the first picked up his first career tournament champion
five holes, eagled the par- win at the 3M Open last Zach Johnson saw a streak
5 10th and birdied three of week, opened with a 67. of 40 consecutive rounds of
the last five in the bogey- Wolff, the youngest winner even par or better at Deere
free round at TPC Deere on the tour since Jordan Run come to an end after
Run. He took the lead with Spieth won at Deere Run a 1-over 72. Johnson, who
a 12-foot birdie putt on the six years ago, hit 15 greens last shot over par there in
par-3 16th. in regulation and played 2008, missed a long birdie
“I just feel that everything bogey-free. putt that would’ve kept the
clicked,” Diaz said. “I’ve “Having that PGA Tour streak alive by inches.
been playing pretty solid card locked up is a lot of “Frustrating. I mean, the
throughout the year. The weight off of my shoulders,” good shots that I hit I didn’t
driver has been awesome. Wolff said. “Everything in get anything out of it and
I’ve been hitting a lot of my game feels really good the bad ones were, I’m Roberto Diaz putts on the 9th green during the first round of the
fairways, and today I hit right now.” scrambling a little bit,” John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., Thursday, July
good numbers all day, and Defending champion Mi- Johnson said.q 11, 2019.
that helps.” Associated Press
Winless on the PGA Tour,
Diaz tied for eighth at the
Travelers Championship
last month.
Americans Adam Long
and Russell Henley were
two strokes back. Martin
Laird was another stroke
back at 65 with Ryan
Palmer, Andrew Landry,
Vaughn Taylor, Zack Such-
er and Ryan Blaum.
Long, who got his first ca-
reer win earlier this season
at the Desert Classic, had
eight birdies — four on the
front nine and four on the
back nine.
Henley has missed the
weekend cuts in his last
four straight starts. But he
highlighted an impressive
birdie run by drilling a 55-
foot putt on the par-3 7th
hole. Scotland’s Laird, who
skipped his national tour-
nament this week in an
effort to boost his playoff
positioning, followed up a
65 to close out last week’s
event in Minnesota with
birdies on five par 4s on
Thursday.
Palmer, the second-highest
ranked player in the FedEx
Cup standings in the field
at No. 22, returned from a
month-long family vaca-
tion with a strong round.
Palmer was somewhat in-
consistent on his front nine
before rallying for three
birdies in a five-hole stretch.
“Stress-free today, it felt
like. Being off for four