Zach not out of it: Zach Johnson, the No. 2 money-winner in the history of the John Deere Classic, shot his second consecutive 68 to reach the midway point at 6-under.
He's seven shots off Luke List's lead, but he remained philosophical about his chances of finishing in the top five in the tournament for the eighth time.
“You never know," he said. “I've been leading by a lot and lost and I've been way back and won. The beauty of it is I've got 36 more holes of trying to climb the board. And I know the golf course. I don't feel like I've had my best yet at all. It's time for that to surface.’’
Johnson was only 9-under through 36 holes when he won the JDC in 2012. He was 3-under before tying for 16th in 2018, 5-under when he tied for second in 2009 and 7-under midway through a third-place finish in 2011.
People are also reading…
Mack III trucks on as exemption: Willie Mack III has found his groove lately. After making his first cut on the PGA Tour as a sponsor exemption last weekend at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Mich., the Flint native made it two straight cuts in his fourth pro event at this week’s John Deere Classic. He finished T71 at 4-under in Detroit.
Mack III, one of six sponsor exemptions at the JDC, shot 5-under on Friday to card a 6-under through two rounds of the tournament. The cut was 4-under.
“I think that momentum from last week in Detroit with all my family and friends kind of just came over to this week,” he said. “I'm glad I shot a good one today.”
The 32-year-old lived in his car for over a year grinding his way toward a career on Tour. His car caught fire and exploded in 2018, and only his golf clubs were salvaged. In 2019, he was named Player of the Year by the Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour, a nonprofit organization that provides African American and minority golfers opportunities to excel in pro golf and the golf industry.
“It's a tough road out here if you're not on the PGA Tour, and just grinding on the mini-Tours, it can get tough,” he said of overcoming past adversity. “Just hopefully coming out here and showing that I can play, and hopefully I can play well the last two days.”
More withdrawals: Four more players withdrew from the JDC during Friday's round, bringing the total to six WDs.
J.B. Holmes and Danny Lee both pulled out because of back injuries and Kramer Hickok fell victim to a rib injury. Fabian Gomez took a triple bogey on his ninth hole, No. 18, and after adding bogeys at Nos. 2, 5 and 6 to go to 5-over for the day, and left the course.
Si Woo Kim and Grayson Murray pulled out Thursday.
Lowest cut matched: This year's cut of 4 under matched the tournament's lowest for 36 holes. It was also at 4 under in 2010-13 and 2015. In the past four JDCs, the cut came at 2 or 3 under.
Still bogey free: Jason Dufner, Brandon Hagy, and Chez Reavie have yet to bogey through two rounds. There were 18 bogey-free rounds Friday after 11 on Thursday.
No. 9 toughest again: The par-4 ninth hole had the highest average score over par for the second straight day at 4.17. The par-5 second hole was easiest again at 4.5.
For more exclusive coverage from the John Deere Classic, go to https://qconline.com/exclusive/jdc.
