Jonas Blixt, ranked 842nd in the world, tied the lowest 18-hole score of his career with a 9-under 62 to take the lead after the morning wave of the first round at the John Deere Classic on Thursday in Silvis, Ill.
Blixt, 39, missed the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour last week, but the Swede got off to a quick start at TPC Deere Run with an eagle on his second hole. After making the turn in 2-under 33, Blixt made two birdie putts before draining a 43-foot eagle putt on the par-4 14th hole.
That propelled Blixt to three more birdies over his final four holes, capping his 660th official round on the PGA Tour by carding a 29 on his back nine. Blixt hit only six of 14 fairways, but missed only two greens.
Blixt is a two-time winner on tour, with the most recent victory coming at The Greenbrier Classic in 2013. The following year, he reached a career-high world ranking of No. 33 after tying for second at the Masters.
Thursday's round tied Blixt's 62 shot during the third round of the 2015 Wyndham Championship. It also came after Blixt missed the cut by three shots at last week's Memorial Health Championship on the KFT -- the third consecutive event at which he had failed to make the weekend.
"I think I found something this week after playing the Korn Ferry last week," he said. "At this point, when you don't have that much confidence in your game and you find something, you just kind of go out and swing at it. That's what happened.
"Sixty-two doesn't happen very often on the PGA Tour, at least not for me. So, I'm extremely happy about it."
This is Blixt's seventh start on the PGA Tour this year, with his best finish to date a T20 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has struggled to get into PGA events and worked heavily with his swing coach during a recent six-week break.
"I kind of came to the point in my season, where it's so late, that I don't feel any pressure any more, really," he said. "Golf is weird. Tomorrow I can shoot 100, I feel like. But today was a great day."
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, who is attempting to make the cut at the John Deere for the 15th consecutive time, struggled to a 1-over 72.
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