Thanks to an eagle on the par-5 17th at Sunday morning's third round of the John Deere Classic, Kevin Streelman jumped ahead of a host of pros to take sole possession of 1st place in the Kodak Challenge standings at 10-under-par. Streelman's eagle at #17 at TPC Deere Run vaulted him ahead of Nathan Green and an idle Chris DiMarco, who are now tied for second at 9-under par. Prior to Streelman's move on Sunday, Green had pulled into a first place tie with DiMarco on Thursday's opening round. DiMarco had held sole possession of 1st place for 5 straight weeks.

Other big movers this weekend on the Kodak Challenge leaderboard were J.J. Henry, Dean Wilson, U.S. Open champ, Lucas Glover and Charley Hoffman, who are among those tied for third at 8-under par. Hoffman was the only player among Kodak Challenge leaders to birdie #18 each of his four rounds.

Two big Kodak Challenge comebacks were delivered by Nicholas Thompson and Jason Gore, who each lost strokes with bogies in the opening round. Since the Kodak Challenge captures a golfer's best score of a tournament, early round missteps can be erased later with better scores. Thompson's second round birdie reasserted his standing at 8-under par, while Gore wiped out his opening bogie with a day-two eagle, creating a remarkable three-shot swing that propelled him into the group tied for third. The Kodak Challenge continues next week at U.S. Bank Championship at Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Milwaukee, WI.

Current Kodak Challenge Leaderboard (Results as of July 12, 2009)

Name
Kevin Streelman -10
Nathan Green - 9
Chris DiMarco -9

Tied in third place at 8-under par are Nicholas Thompson, J.J. Henry, Dean Wilson, Jason Bohn, Lucas Glover, Jason Gore, Charley Hoffman, Scott Verplank, Paul Goydos, Michael Letzig, Chad Campbell and Zach Johnson.

About the Kodak Challenge Hole: #17

Nicknamed the "Stadium" for its terraced hillside that parallels this 5-Par, hole #17 at TPC Deere Run is reachable in two for big hitters, but pros have to perfectly place a tee ball on this slight dogleg left to do it. The green is elevated slightly and guarded in front by bunkers that can taint perspective. In 2008, only 85 of the 293 attempts to hit this hole in 2 were successful.

About the Kodak Challenge

The Kodak Challenge is a first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players and fans and celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. All players can compete, and all they have to do is play. Players must play at least 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes to be eligible to win. A player's lowest score relative to par on his best 18 Kodak Challenge holes will be counted. The player with the lowest cumulative score relative to par wins $1 million and the Kodak Challenge trophy. For more, go to www.kodakchallenge.com.

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