The John Deere Classic is a professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tournament on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

. It is played annually in July, usually the week before

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, at TPC Deere Run in the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

community of

Silvis, Illinois Silvis is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. It is part of a larger metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is situated across four counties in Illinois and Io ...

History

The tournament began as the Quad Cities Open in 1971 as a "satellite event" on the PGA Tour, and became an official tour event in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, played in early autumn.History: John Deere Classic
/ref> It moved to mid-July in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, and

Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the American Bro ...

served as tournament host from 1975 to 1979. Title sponsors have included

Miller Brewing Company The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the ...

(1982–85),

Hardee's Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American Fast food restaurant, fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has ...

(1986–94), and

John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...

(since

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

). From the event's inception in 1971 through 1974, it was played at Crow Valley Country Club in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

. It then moved to Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Illinois from 1975 to 1999. Beginning in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, the event has been at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis. In 2005 and 2006, the tournament generated more media coverage because of the sponsor's exemptions given to teenager

Michelle Wie Michelle Sung Wie West (; born October 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the ...

. The 2013 edition saw

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first m ...

, two weeks shy of his 20th birthday, become the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since 1931. Since the introduction of the Open Qualifying Series, the John Deere Classic is a final chance for a player not already exempt to earn entry into The Open if he finished in the top five. In order to help attract players who will compete in the following week's

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

the John Deere Classic has sponsored a charter flight that leaves the Quad Cities on Sunday night and arrives in Britain the next morning.

Highlights

* 1971: Future PGA Tour commissioner

Deane Beman } Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator. He was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994. Early life Beman was born in Washington, D.C.. He attended the University o ...

wins the inaugural tournament by two strokes over

Dow Finsterwald Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022) was an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship, 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ry ...

. * 1972: Deane Beman successfully defends his championship in the tournament's first year as an official event. * 1979:

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...

becomes the first golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot his age in the second round with a 67. He then shot a 66 in the final round. * 2000: Michael Clark II wins the first John Deere Classic played at TPC Deere Run. * 2005:

, then a teenager, plays for the first time on a sponsor's exemption. * 2011:

Steve Stricker Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-Match Play title in 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Pla ...

becomes the first to win the John Deere Classic in three consecutive years. * 2013: 19-year-old

becomes the youngest to win a PGA Tour event; he won the JDC again two years later.

Winners

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Sources:John Deere Classic – Winners
– at golfobserver.com (1972–2009)

Multiple winners

Through 2023, six men have won the John Deere Classic more than once. *3 wins ** D. A. Weibring: 1979, 1991, 1995 **

: 2009, 2010, 2011 *2 wins **

: 1971, 1972 **

Scott Hoch Scott Mabon Hoch ( ; born November 24, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who represented his country in the Ryder Cup in 1997 and 2002. Early life Hoch was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. While attending Needham B. Broughton High Scho ...

: 1980, 1984 **

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

: 1992, 1993 **

: 2013, 2015

Notes

References

External links

*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official siteTPC Deere Run
{{John Deere PGA Tour events Golf tournaments in Illinois Golf tournaments in Iowa Sports in the Quad Cities Tourist attractions in Rock Island County, Illinois John Deere Recurring sporting events established in 1971 1941 establishments in Iowa