John Deere Classic 2017: Charles Howell III, Ollie Schniederjans Tied for Lead

The 2017 John Deere Classic is the PGA Tour's final stop before the British Open next week, so many of the world's top players are off preparing for the year's third major tournament.

Charles Howell III and Ollie Schniederjans were happy to take advantage of the lack of elite competition, tying for the first-round lead at eight-under par. They hold a two-stroke advantage over a quartet of players that includes Rory Sabbatini, Zach Johnson, Chad Campbell and Patrick Rodgers. 

Here's the full leaderboard after Thursday's action from TPC Deere Run in Illinois:

Howell climbed to the top of the leaderboard early in the day with a masterful bogey-free 63. He opened on the back nine and was immediately in a groove, hitting five birdies before making the turn. 

After completing his first nine holes, Howell kept his momentum going with back-to-back birdies on his 10th and 11th holes.

The 38-year-old veteran has been close to tasting victory at times this season. He lost to Kyle Stanley in a playoff at the Quicken Loans National two weeks ago and finished second at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. 

Despite flirting with the ultimate success, Howell is still chasing his third career PGA Tour win and first since 2007. The key for him will be the weekend. His first- and second-round scoring averages this season rank in the top 3, but his third- and fourth-round numbers drop outside of the top 30, per PGATour.com. 

Schniederjans' success came largely on his last nine holes, as he fired a five-under par 35 after making the turn. 

This is definitely a rapid turn around for Schniederjans, who was disqualified at the Greenbrier Classic last week for filling out an incorrect scorecard. He would've missed the cut anyway after finishing 36 holes at even par. 

Howell and Schniederjans also have to deal with the looming shadow of Johnson, who was his own kind of brilliant on Thursday, as this Tweet from the PGA Tour indicates:

This tournament has been very good to Johnson throughout his career, including a victory here in 2012. He finished in the top three in each of the next three years after his win, with his streak coming to an end last year only because he didn't play in the event. 

Per the PGA Tour Media, over the past 15 years, no one has been more effective and efficient at hitting birdies during the John Deere Classic than Johnson:

Johnson needs to quickly find his confidence if he wants to win a second British Open title. He has two top-10 finishes this season and missed the cut at the Travelers Championship, his most recent event, three weeks ago. 

Will Gray of the Golf Channel offered additional evidence showing how much of a struggle things have been for Johnson:

Howell, Johnson and Schniederjans have reasons to feel good about where they are at after 18 holes, but complacency can't be on either players' mind heading into Friday. 

There are seven players tied for seventh at five-under par. Bryson DeChambeau had the best performance of the golfers in that group with zero bogeys and going a perfect 14-of-14 in driving accuracy.

With three rounds of golf still to play and the field bunched close together, expect many changes on the leaderboard before a winner is crowned. 

Johnson's track record at this event should give him an added edge heading into Friday, but there were many players whose chemistry meshed well with the course. It's going to be a big weekend in Illinois as players seek to find their rhythm heading into one of the biggest events of the year.