Spieth cuts it close at John Deere Classic; Streelman just barely survives

Friday’s cut day at the John Deere Classic proved to be a thrilling, albeit challenging, affair that delighted many fans with its outcomes.

Jordan Spieth, a two-time playoff champion at TPC Deere Run, made a dramatic comeback after initially being below the projected cut line with six holes remaining in his second round. With birdies at Nos. 14 and 17, Spieth finished the first 36 holes at 6-under-par 136, ensuring his participation in the weekend rounds. Spieth, who had skipped Illinois’ only annual PGA stop for the past nine years, expressed his thoughts on the tournament, recalling his memorable victories in 2013 and 2015.

“I thought I was getting into contention,” said Spieth. “I could start attacking by getting some birdies early, but then I just messed up 11 and 12. All of a sudden I was behind the cut line. Unfortunately, I’ve been in that position far too often this year, and it’s very frustrating and annoying.”

Kevin Streelman from Wheaton faced even more significant jeopardy but managed to secure his spot by making three birdies in his final three holes, finishing at 5-under 137. Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim (-6) and defending champion Sepp Straka (-5) also survived, though they lagged behind the co-leaders C.T. Pan of Taiwan and Aaron Rai of England, who both posted 65s on Friday to sit at 8-under 128.

Hayden Springer, an unheralded PGA Tour rookie who stunned everyone with a 59 in the opening round on Thursday, shared the lead with Pan and Rai after 11 holes. However, he faltered during a challenging four-hole stretch that included bogey-bogey-birdie-double bogey, finishing the day with a par 71. Springer is now in a six-way tie for fourth, just two shots behind the leaders.

C.T. Pan, who recently lost his veteran caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan, expressed mixed feelings about the situation. Cowan, at 76 years old, chose to return to Jim Furyk’s bag, a decision Pan described as “unfortunate.”

“They’ve had a great partnership, and Fluff always wanted to finish his career with Jim,” Pan said. “This week I have Ben Hulka caddying for me. We worked together for a year or two. He’s been good.”

Pan also revealed that he had a challenging night on Thursday due to a difficult conversation with the Taiwan Olympic Committee. Pan, a bronze medalist in the 2020 Olympics, will compete in Paris this summer and was dealing with complex logistical arrangements.

“I had terrible sleep,” Pan said. “We had a really serious conversation, just trying to figure out all the arrangements before I go there. It didn’t go well, I can tell you that.”

Aaron Rai, who had a late collapse in the previous week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, where he tied for second, was upbeat about his performance.

“I was really pleased with that,” Rai said. “From the whole of last week, there were so many more positives than negatives. I was able to reset and start well obviously this week.”

An unexpected contender is amateur Luke Clanton, a Florida State product who made the cut at the U.S. Open and finished 10th last week in Detroit. Playing on a sponsor’s exemption, Clanton impressed with a strong start of 63-67, placing him in the six-way tie for fourth halfway through the tournament.