3 best things I saw during John Deere Classic

The 2024 John Deere Classic has come and gone, and what an eventful tournament it turned out to be.

There were so many great stories that came out of this “smaller” event and at the end of it all we got a worthy champion in Davis Thompson.

With all that being said, here are the top three stories and the best things I saw at the John Deere Classic this week.

1. Hayden Springer shoots a 59 in round 1

The tournament got off to a hot start as an unlikely player carded the 14th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.

That fact in itself makes this one of the best things I saw during the John Deere Classic, but it just keeps getting better.

Hayden Springer got off in the morning wave of round 1, and he got his round going as quickly as possible. Springer made the turn with an 8-under 27, before a wild finish to clinch a 59. Needing to go 3-under in his final two holes, Springer holed out on the par five 17th for eagle before sinking a testy 12-footer on the final hole for birdie.

As I mentioned, shooting a 59 is always impressive no matter who it is, but it made this an even crazier start to the tournament because Springer is a relatively unknown player on tour. He’s missed seven of his last eight cuts and only earned his PGA Tour card last December. So if you were told someone would card a 59 this tournament, Springer would’ve been one of your last choices.

The rest of the tournament may not have gone exactly as planned for Springer, but he still finished tied for 7th at 21-under par.

Springer’s performance this week just shows you how anything is possible on tour. Every player is extremely talented, and it’s likely just a matter of time before any player can have a performance like Springer did on Thursday.