Luke List is seeking his first PGA Tour victory after years of trying and is in position to go for it again.
The 36-year-old List carded a bogey-free, 8-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead over Sebastian Munoz of Colombia midway through the 50th edition of what started out as the Quad Cities Open and is now the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
“I was kind of feeling like I had some momentum putting from (Thursday) and I wanted to carry that into today and was able to do that,” said List, who lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff in the 2018 Honda Classic. “I got off to a little bit of a slow start and then from there I just tried to stay patient. The round got going midway through and was able to keep hitting the fairway, which out here is premium, and I was able to attack.
“This course, you can always expect to see birdies and guys going low, so it’s not like there’s anything funky going on. I knew I had to keep going low and I’ll have to go low this weekend.
“Sometimes that’s all it takes is just a little bit of lightning in a bottle like that and hopefully I can continue that this weekend.”
List, whose only two pro victories came on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour, started on the back nine and collected five of his eight birdies in a row through No. 2, and recorded a 36-hole total of 13-under 129.
Munoz, who shared the first-round lead with Chesson Hadley at 63, followed that up with a 67, making four birdies on his first eight holes before closing with 10 consecutive pars.
“It’s never easy showing up the day after you shoot 8-under,” said Munoz, who won the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship for his only PGA Tour victory. “I thought I had a really good start. Putter went a little cold on the back, but happy where I am and really positive the way I hit the ball.
“I think my mind, as well, is clicking into place. I feel like the last couple weeks I didn’t have the performance I wanted, and I managed to somehow not lower my expectations but kind of take it one shot at a time instead of like the whole score at the end of the day.”
Chase Seiffert sank a 37-foot eagle putt in another 63 and is two shots behind in a tie for third with Lucas Glover, who also shot 63, Hadley (68), Brandon Hagy of Westlake Village and Cal (64), Adam Schenk (64), Ryan Moore (66) and Chez Reavie (67).
Patrick Rodgers of Stanford holed a 22-foot eagle putt at No. 14 en route to a 65 and is one more down in a tie for 10th with Nick Taylor of Canada, who made a 13-foot eagle putt at No. 17 on his way to his own 65.
Maverick McNealy of Portola Valley and Stanford made a hole in one on the 136-yard 16th hole to highlight a 64 and is tied for 24th, while 54-year-old Steve Stricker, the U.S. Ryder Cup champion who has won this tournament three times, is tied for 34th after a 66.
Dylan Frittelli of South Africa, who won the John Deere Classic in 2019 but was unable to defend his title last year because the tournament was canceled because of the Coronavirus pandemic, finished at 68-71—138 and missed the cut by one stroke.
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