2021 John Deere Classic: Adam Schenk in Unchartered Waters
By Tim Letcher
Adam Schenk has played on the PGA Tour for four seasons and has never had a top-five finish. He’s trying to change that this week at the 2021 John Deere Classic.
Schenk’s best tour finish is a T7, which he has accomplished four times. He has made 110 career starts without a top five, which is somewhat of a glaring statistic.
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But this week in Illinois, Schenk is trying to change all of that. And he’s off to a very good start.
On Thursday, he had six birdies and two bogeys on his way to a 4-under par 67. That left him in a tie for 12th place after 18 holes.
In Friday’s round, Schenk was even better. And now he finds himself firmly in the mix in this week’s tournament.
Schenk played the back nine first on Friday and got things going right away. At the par-5 10th hole, he carded a birdie to get into red figures.
He would par the next two holes before catching fire. On the par-4 13th, his approach landed inside 10 feet and he converted a birdie.
On the par-4 14th, he drove his ball into a greenside bunker. But he pitched out to about nine feet and made another birdie.
Then on the 15th hole, Schenk made a 20-foot birdie putt to get to 4-under par on his round. He followed that with birdies on 16 and 17 to get to 6-under par. That’s where he would finish his first nine.
The second nine was not quite as smooth, but was still solid.
Schenk parred the first three holes to stay at 6-under. He birdied the par-4 fourth hole to get to 7-under.
He would par five, six and seven before the only blemish on his Friday card. At the par-4 eighth hole, Schenk drove it in the rough, got near the green in two but was unable to get up-and-down. The bogey dropped him back to 6-under.
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He bounced back with a closing birdie to shoot a 7-under par 64. When he finished his round, Schenk was in second place.
It will be interesting to see how Schenk does on the weekend. He’s in unchartered waters, at least for him, at this point.