Doug Ghim holes out again to top tight John Deere Classic leaderboard

The American's 180-yard second shot at the par-four 15th found the bottom of the cup as he carded a three-under 68 for a 12-under total of 130 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

Amazingly, he holed out from the fairway in Thursday's opening round as well.

"I guess holing out two days in a row is always nice," said Ghim, who also had a chip-in for birdie. "It just felt like a huge, huge boost so it helped me stay more patient because something good happened to me there.

"It's been a couple years since I think I holed out from the fairway. To get two on back-to-back days is great."

Ghim, 29, is aiming to become the 25th player to earn a maiden PGA Tour victory at the John Deere Classic, but he'll have no shortage of challengers heading into the weekend. Five players sit just one shot back at 11-under 131.

Among them is defending champion Davis Thompson, who fired a sizzling eight-under 63 with eight birdies, and Max Homa, who started the day one behind and stayed there after a steady three-under 68. Argentina's Emiliano Grillo joins Americans Brian Campbell and David Lipsky in the group at 11 under.

Six more players are just two shots off the pace at 132, with the third round moved to an earlier tee time due to forecasted evening thunderstorms.

"The leaderboard is so bunched," Ghim added. "(I will) just kind of keep my head down and try to birdie some par-fives and roll in a couple more 15-footers."