Who is leading the 2025 John Deere Classic after round 1? Leaderboard explored

The first round of the 2025 John Deere Classic has concluded. The field put up great performances to create a fully stacked leaderboard heading into Friday's (July 4) round.

Doug Ghim posted an astounding bogey-free 9-under par 62 round. He bears the solo lead at the 2025 John Deere Classic by a one-stroke margin over Austin Eckroat and Max Homa.

Michael Kim carded a 7-under par 64 round with only one bogey. The PGA Tour star shares the fourth position at the 2025 John Deere Classic with Justin Lower, Sam Stevens, and David Lipsky.

Rickie Fowler and eight other golfers, including Si Woo Kim, are tied for eighth place with a 6-under par 65 score each. A whopping 19 players, including last week's Rocket Classic winner Aldrich Potgieter, share the 24th position at the 2025 John Deere Classic.

2025 John Deere Classic Round 1 Leaderboard

Here's a look at the top players at the 2025 John Deere Classic following Thursday's round (via PGA Tour):

1 - Doug Ghim (-9)
T2 - Austin Eckroat (-8)
T2 - Max Homa (-8)
T4 - David Lipsky (-7)
T4 - Sam Stevens (-7)
T4 - Justin Lower (-7)
T4 - Michael Kim (-7)
T8 - Emiliano Grillo (-6)
T8 - Si Woo Kim (-6)
T8 - Matt Kuchar (-6)
T8 - Rickie Fowler (-6)
T8 - Kevin Yu (-6)
T8 - Cameron Champ (-6)
T8 - Riyuka Hoshino (-6)
T8 - Brian Campbell (-6)
T8 - Kris Ventura (-6)
T17 - Denny McCarthy (-5)
T17 - Joel Dahmen (-5)
T17 - Keith Mitchell (-5)
T17 - Chris Gotterup (-5)
T17 - Thriston Lawrence (-5)
T17 - Rico Hoey (-5)
T17 - Camilo Villegas (-5)
T24 - Beau Hossler (-4)
T24 - Seamus Power (-4)
T24 - Chris Kirk (-4)
T24 - Garrick Higgo (-4)
T24 - Kevin Roy (-4)
T24 - Chesson Hadley (-4)
T24 - Ricky Castillo (-4)
T24 - Jesper Svensson (-4)
T24 - James Hahn (-4)
T24 - Dylan Wu (-4)
T24 - Carson Young (-4)
T24 - Brandt Snedeker (-4)
T24 - Aldrich Potgieter (-4)
T24 - Eric Cole (-4)
T24 - Chandler Phillips (-4)
T24 - Lanto Griffin (-4)
T24 - Greyson Sigg (-4)
T24 - Nate Lashley (-4)
T24 - Taylor Montgomery (-4)
T43 - Jacob Bridgeman (-3)
T43 - Ryo Hisatsune (-3)
T43 - Sungjae Im (-3)
T43 - Jake Knapp (-3)
T43 - Nick Dunlap (-3)
T43 - Danny Willett (-3)
T43 - Victor Perez (-3)
T43 - Ryan Gerard (-3)
T43 - Cristobal Del Solar (-3)
T43 - David Ford (-3)
T43 - Ben James (a) (-3)
T43 - Henrik Norlander (-3)
T43 - Lee Hodges (-3)
T43 - Davis Thompson (-3)
T43 - Kurt Kitayama (-3)
T43 - Trevor Cone (-3)
T43 - Paul Waring (-3)

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar