JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 3, 2026

Pontus Nynholm

TPC Deere Run

Quick Quotes

Q. Great round today. 5-under 66. Can you talk about what was working for you out there?

PONTUS NYNHOLM: Yeah, so got off to a good start. Not much wind this morning and pretty soft greens. I was just able to take advantage of that.

Found a good swing feel. Been working a lot on my swing back home, and it's nice to finally start producing some good shots and in tournament condition. So just kind of stuck with that feel and was able to capitalize early.

Q. What does these opening two rounds do for your confidence heading into the weekend?

PONTUS NYNHOLM: It's been a weird year. I've been going through a lot of swing changes. Started the year horribly. Probably the worst I've ever played in my life, like the first four events.

I decided to start working with a different swing coach in Orlando, Grant Waite. Grant and I have been working really hard, pretty much every day, when I've been home in my off weeks. Been doing two, three hours a day just grinding and trying to get the swing to a good spot.

Starting to see some good results at home. First it starts looking better on the range. Then you bring it out on the course. I feel like the final step getting it out to the golf course in tournaments has been a bit of a bump. I've been home, and it's been really good.

You come out here, and it's not really working. I can't really seem to figure out why, but I'm starting to get a better grasp of what my swing tendencies are and what produces what shots and what happens in left-to-right winds and so forth.

Obviously seeing it these two days, seeing those swing changes starting to come into play has been really nice. I don't know if it's so much confidence. It's more just knowing, you know, that I can do it, and we're working on the right things, which I've known because it's been good at home. It's just nice seeing some sort of result.

Q. What's been the biggest transition from the Korn Ferry TOUR to the PGA TOUR for you?

PONTUS NYNHOLM: Just more stuff going on, you know, around the tournament, I would say. The golf itself is -- different courses. You're playing against different guys. At the end of the day, it's just golf.

If you have a really good week on the Korn Ferry TOUR, I think that exact same play to a PGA TOUR event, you're going to do pretty good. I would say just more crowds, more people moving, just more stuff going on around the tournament, I would say, compared to the Korn Ferry TOUR where you kind of go out, there's no one out there. It feels like a bit of a friendly round sometimes, especially when you're not in contention.

Just everything going on around the tour, I would say, is the biggest change. The golf is -- it's golf.

Q. Back nine, a bit of a speed bump. Then you rallied back with those three straight birdies. Did you say anything to yourself after 14 or kind of what was the mental reset at that point?

PONTUS NYNHOLM: Yeah, I mean, 10, 11, 12 all playing left to right and sort of the wind I've been struggling with with my swing tendencies and just put some bad swings on it, that's it.

Then we kind of turned and got some right-to-left winds where I know it's a little easier for me to make good swings. I obviously making three bogeys in four or five holes or whatever is a bit rough. Just try to get back to making those good swings that I know I'm capable of. I know if I make those swings, I'm going to make some good results.

Q. That's the good thing is that you did have those three straight birdies coming off of that. Did that give you confidence here heading into tomorrow that you kind of righted the ship?

PONTUS NYNHOLM: Yeah, I mean, that's obviously nice. I think that's a very important skill in golf. It's to be able to adjust because it's not always going to feel good. You're not always going to be hitting it good, but that's what I've been struggling with this year is sort of, like, when it gets off, I can't really seem to find myself to get back on track without my coach, Grant.

This week was like the first time I made self-adjustments out on the course where it felt off and I'm being, like, okay, this is going on, so making some adjustment and started hitting good shots again. Whether it's confidence or not, it's just nice being able to do that and knowing that I'm capable of doing it.

It's far from perfect. It's not going to be perfect this weekend. I'm probably going to hit some horrible shots. I'm going to hit some great ones, but just keep trying to do what we've been doing.

You know, it's the same thing every day. You just wake up and you go practice, you go out, play, try to get better. Whether I shoot 20-under on the weekend or 3-over, it is what it is. I'm just trying to get better every day. If I do, we'll get to where we need to be in the end.

Q. I can imagine it must be frustrating to put in so much work and not necessarily always get the results out of it. What has been Grant's biggest message to you in some of those frustrating stretches of golf?

PONTUS NYNHOLM: Yeah, I mean, it's been great because Grant was a really good player himself, played on tour, had a really long, successful career out here, so he knows what it takes. He knows what the struggles are, what the feelings are. He's just been really good. He's been a swing coach and also a role model and mentor in that sense and just keep pushing. He's, like, it's really good, just keep doing what you're doing, it's going to come.

Just every day having that -- I mean, he lives in Orlando where I live too, so I can see him on a daily basis, which has been great. When I'm out on a tournament sending him videos and talking to him and just keep moving me in the right direction all the time.