The John Deere Classic became an official PGA Tour event in 1972. It was originally known as the Quad Cities Open. Ed McMahon, Miller Brewing, and Hardee’s have all taken turns as the title sponsor of this event over the years.
John Deere became involved with the tournament in 1991 and has given the event a solid sponsor.
It is always scheduled the week prior to the Open Championship and struggles to draw a quality field. To provide an added incentive to play here the tournament offers players and their caddies a chartered flight to the Open Championship on Sunday evening after the tournament ends.
Only two of the top-10 and 11 of the top-30 on the FedEx Cup standings will be in the field this week.
Zach Johnson will defend his title and part-time tour player, Steve Stricker will be here. Louis Oosthuizen is looking to regain his form after injury has hampered his performance thus far in 2013.
Jordan Spieth is in the field at the John Deere Classic and has been playing very well over the past few weeks. The 19-year-old finished sixth at the AT&T National and T-23 at the Greenbrier last week.
He has five top-10 finishes this year in just 15 starts has earned $1.2 million. He started the year with no status on the PGA Tour and is currently playing on a Special Temporary Exemption.
Former PGA Tour Commissioner, Deane Beman won the inaugural Quad Cities Open in 1972. NBC golf announcer Roger Maltbie won this event in 1975. The late Payne Stewart was the winner in 1982. David Frost who is having a fine year on the Champions Tour won consecutive John Deere titles in 1992 and 1993.
Steve Stricker is one of the local favorites whenever the John Deere Classic is played. He attended the University of Illinois and won this tournament three consecutive years, 2009-2011.
Zach Johnson is the defending champion and has always performed well at TPC Deere Run.
The trend with these past winners demonstrates that ball-control and short game specialists can do well on TPC Deere Run. Look for that trend to continue this year as well.
Even though Tiger, Rory and Phil deign not to make an appearance in the Midwest, there will be plenty of golf to watch this weekend. There are only seven events remaining on the PGA Tour schedule to move into the Top-125 on the FedEx Cup standings. Players must be in the Top-125 after the Wyndham Championship to earn their 2014 playing privileges and a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Remember there will be no PGA Tour Q-School this year and the 2014 season starts with the Frys.com Open in October immediately after the Presidents Cup is held at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
With most of the big names skipping the event, the John Deere offers players in the Nos. 126-200 category on the FedEx Cup rankings an excellent opportunity to earn valuable FedEx Cup points and move up the standings.
The John Deere Classic will be broadcast on the Golf Channel all four days, Thursday, July 11, Friday, July 12, Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14, 3:00-6:00 PM ET.