The first round was complete at 7:45 a.m. on Friday morning. • The first round play was delayed 2 hours and 10 minutes on Thursday morning due to fog. • First round play was suspended for the day due to darkness at 8:50 p.m. CT. There were three players still on the course when officials stopped first-round action. Of the three players left on the course Will MacKenzie and Mike Small are 4-under-par through 16 holes. They will complete the first round Friday morning, with the three players in position at 7:30 a.m. CT. The second round will begin as scheduled at 7:00 a.m. CT. • Zach Johnson opened with a 7-under 64, including a 7-under 28 on the front-nine. His 64 is his career-best round at the TPC Deere Run out of 13 competitive rounds and the 28 is the low 9-hole record at the TPC Deere Run (see chart below). Johnson, who grew up just an hour-and-a-half down the road from Moline in Iowa City, Iowa is making his fifth appearance at the John Deere Classic. He missed the cut in 2002 and 2003, but finished in a tie for 20th in 2004 and a tie for 36th last year. • Johnson, in his third full-season on the TOUR, is seventh in the Ryder Cup standings. In 2006, he has made 13 cuts in 17 starts and finished in the top-10 four times, including two runner-up finishes. He has collected over $2 million in 2006 and ranks 17th on the money list. Ryder Cup berths are based on points accumulated via top-10 finishes over a two-year period, ending with the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club. • John Deere Classic -- Nine-hole scoring records for the TPC Deere Run: Score Player Year Round 28 Zach Johnson 2006 1 (front nine, par 35) 29 Steve Pate 2002 4 (front nine, par 35) 30 Seven players N/A Back nine, par 36) • Zach Johnson is looking for his second TOUR title since winning the 2004 BellSouth Classic. He is making his 69th start since winning in April of 2004. During that time he has finished runner up three times -- 2006 BellSouth Classic, 2006 the Memorial Tournament and 2005 Buick Open. Here is a closer look at his finishes since his first victory in Atlanta: Events Played Runner-up Top-5s Top-10s
69 3 8 12
• J.P. Hayes, the 2002 John Deere Classic Champion, opened with a 7-under 64 for his low round of the 2006 season. Hayes owns the course record at the TPC Deere Run, with his 10-under 61 in the second round in 2002, although he shares the tournament record with Mike Smith who recorded a 9-under 61 at Oakwood Country Club in 1987. • Daniel Chopra recorded five birdies on Thursday at the TPC Deere Run and moves ahead of Bo Van Pelt (272 birdies) for the most birdies posted for the 2006 season, with 275. Steve Flesch is third with 271 thanks to seven birdies during his first round on Thursday. Chopra’s opening 7-under 64 matches his career-low on the PGA TOUR. • J.P. Hayes (-7), Daniel Chopra (-7), John Huston (-5), Michael Connell (-5), Paul Azinger (-4), all had bogey-free opening rounds. • A closer look at the four players tied for the first round lead at the John Deere Classic: • This is just the second time in his career that Daniel Chopra held the first-round lead. The only other time he was a first-time leader was last week when he shared the first-round lead at the Cialis Western Open with Joe Ogilvie, David McKenzie and Lucas Glover. • This is the first time in his career that Zach Johnson has held the first-round lead. He is making his 82nd career start on TOUR.
• This is the third time in his career that J.P. Hayes has
held a first-round lead. He has won twice on the TOUR, including the
2002 John Deere Classic. He is making his 294th career start on TOUR.
The other times were:
• This is the second time in his career that John Senden
has held a first-round lead. Senden has never won a TOUR title. The
other time was: • Last chance to earn British Open exemption -- The leading player at the John Deere Classic inside the top-10, not otherwise exempt, will gain a spot in the 2006 British Open field. Ties will be decided by the better final-round score, and if players are still tied the better third-round score and better second-round score will be the determining factor. If players are still tied, they will all be exempt. Eleven players in the field are already heading to the British Open Championship after the conclusion of the John Deere Classic, including 2004 British Open champion Todd Hamilton, as well as Chris DiMarco, 2001 British Open champ David Duval, Steve Elkington, J.B. Holmes, Brandt Jobe, Zach Johnson, Jeff Maggert, Hunter Mahan, Jeff Sluman and Sean O’Hair. • Billy Hurley III, who was given a sponsor’s exemption to play in the John Deere Classic this week, posted a career-best 4-under 67 on Thursday at the TPC Deere Run. Hurley is a 2004 graduate of the Naval Academy who made the cut in his first professional tournament at the 2006 Bay Hill Invitational. Currently carrying the rank of ensign, Hurley enjoyed a sterling amateur career highlighted by his winning the 2004 Byron Nelson Award, playing on the victorious 2005 U.S. Walker Cup team, being named most valuable player in the Patriot League in 2004 and earning honorable-mention All-American honors in 2004. Hurley is making his first start at the John Deere Classic and only his fourth career PGA TOUR start. • Michael Connell’s 5-under 66 is his low round of the year and his first round in the 60s in 2006. The TOUR rookie is making his 10th TOUR start in 2006 and is looking to make his first cut of the season. Connell’s round of 66 matches his career-low on TOUR; he posted a 66 in the first round of the 2002 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Coming into the 2006 season he had made the cut in one of three TOUR starts. He finished in a tie for 76th at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. In 2002, he played on the Hooters Tour. He won two times that season and went on to win the money title, edging out Zach Johnson for the title by less than $2,200. • John Rollins recorded an eagle on the par-5, No. 2 on Thursday at TPC Deere Run. Rollin has posted 12 eagles for the year and now leads the TOUR for most eagles recorded for the 2006 season. • Daniel Chopra needed only 22 putts to get around the TPC Deere Run on Thursday…David Branshaw recorded two eagles during his round on Thursday -- par-5, No. 17 and par-4, No. 6. • Steve Lowery (back) withdrew from the event during his round (played 13 holes)…Jonathan Kaye withdrew after his round on Thursday due to injury…Mike Sposa was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. • Michelle Wie career-finishes in PGA TOUR events: Event Score MC/Strokes Finish
2004 Sony Open in Hawaii 72-68—140 MC/1 stroke T88
2005 Sony Open in Hawaii 75-74—149 MC/7 strokes T128
2005 John Deere Classic 70-71—141 MC/2 strokes T88
2006 Sony Open in Hawaii 79-68—147 MC/4 strokes T117
2006 John Deere Classic 77 N/A T149
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