Doug Ghim's hole-out eagle sparks 62 and solo lead at John Deere Classic

The 29-year-old, still chasing his first win in 162 PGA Tour starts, holed out from 91 yards on the par-four sixth at TPC Deere Run - a venue known for crowning breakthrough winners, with 24 players having earned their maiden titles there.

Ghim added seven birdies to cap off his round and knows the pressure will stay high, with 15 players sitting within three shots of the lead heading into Friday.

"Honestly, any time you can get to 20-under or better, you're going to have a chance," he said. "It's still golf. It's still a challenge. You have to hit fairways - I hit a lot of them today.

"So just trying to shoot forwards of six-under every day and see where that puts me."

Chasing Ghim are Max Homa and Austin Eckroat, both one stroke back after carding eight-under 63s.

Homa racked up nine birdies against a lone bogey, continuing his search for form after a difficult season that has yielded just one top-25 finish. The six-time PGA Tour winner, who started on the back nine, opened with four straight birdies from the 11th through the 14th. He added five more to tie Ghim at the top before a closing bogey at the ninth, where he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

Eckroat's round was powered by two front-nine eagles and four birdies as he joined Homa in a share of second place.

"I just did everything really solid," Homa said. "I made a ton of putts, kept the driver in good spots, got to take advantage of my iron play, my wedge play.

"(It) always feels good to get off to a good start when you're struggling, that's for sure," Homa said.

Eckroat, a two-time PGA Tour winner in 2024, has also faced challenges this season but believes his game is heading in the right direction.

He set the tone early with a birdie at the first, followed by an 11-foot eagle putt at the par-five second. The 25-year-old then holed out from the fairway for a second eagle at the par-four fifth, capping a sizzling start. Three more birdies on the back nine rounded out a strong 63 that put him alongside Homa, one shot off the lead.

"It's great to have some confidence on the golf course," Eckroat said. "That's the big thing for the most part, confidence level is high. The ball striking is great today. Holed one out, hit some close... just fun to be in that position."

Americans David Lipsky, Sam Stevens, Justin Lower, and Michael Kim sit one shot further back after carding seven-under 64s to share fourth place.

They're part of a tightly packed leaderboard that saw another nine players post six-under 65s, including fan favorite Rickie Fowler and South Korea's Kim Si-woo.