Lee Hodges putts way into second place at the John Deere Classic

SILVIS - Lee Hodges rode a red-hot putter into contention at the John Deere Classic, firing a 5-under-par 66 to reach 12-under for the tournament and sit alone in second place after two rounds.

Hodges said his performance on the greens carried him through a round in which he wasn't at his sharpest off the tee.

"I putted super, super well," Hodges said. "Probably the best single day of putting I've had on tour. I can't remember a better one. It bailed me out a couple of times. Honestly, I didn't drive it my best today, put it in some squirrely spots, but it got bailed out with the putter."

Despite finding trouble with the driver, Hodges repeatedly converted key putts to keep his momentum going. His tee game, though, needed work.

"I'll go figure that out on the range and hit for fairways tomorrow and hopefully not have to bail myself out as much," he said.

The strong putting performance wasn't a surprise to Hodges, who said he'd been rolling the ball well entering the week.

"Even before that, at home and stuff, I'd been making a lot of putts, so I just have been seeing a lot of putts go in lately," he said.

The position near the top of the leaderboard is a welcome change for Hodges, whose 2025 season has featured limited opportunities. He entered the week having made just one PGA Tour start since May.

Despite being firmly in the hunt heading into the weekend, Hodges insisted his approach won't change.

"Same thing I've been doing," he said. "Just try to get the ball in the fairway and get it as close to the hole as possible and make a couple of putts."

Asked whether contending would add pressure, Hodges quickly dismissed the notion.

"For sure, I got nothing to lose," he said. "I'm just going to keep sticking to what I've been doing."

The 30-year-old Alabama native earned his PGA Tour card by finishing 10th in the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour points standings. After retaining his card as a rookie, Hodges broke through with his first PGA Tour victory at the 2023 3M Open, where he led wire-to-wire and won by seven strokes. Now, thanks to a scorching putter, he's in position to chase his second Tour title this weekend at TPC Deere Run.

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