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 Golf ball, balls 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 standar ...

tournament on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

. 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 ...

, at TPC Deere Run in the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

community of

Silvis, Illinois Silvis is a city in 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 Iowa. It is located four mile ...

History

The tournament began as the Quad Cities Open in 1971 and was a "satellite event" on the PGA Tour. It became an official tour event in 1972.History: John Deere Classic
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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 chain operated by CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has evolved through several corporate owne ...

(1986–94) and

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment ...

(since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

). 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 and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

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

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen fro ...

, 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 U ...

. 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 majo ...

, 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 ...

, since

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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

Winners

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

Multiple winners

Through 2018, six men have won the John Deere Classic more than once. *3 wins ** D. A. Weibring: 1979, 1991, 1995 **

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 and two FedEx Cup pla ...

: 2009, 2010, 2011 *2 wins ** Deane Beman: 1971, 1972 ** Scott Hoch: 1980, 1984 **

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British 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
{{coord, 41.477, -90.392, display=title, type:event PGA Tour events Golf in Illinois Golf in Iowa Sports in the Quad Cities Tourist attractions in Rock Island County, Illinois Recurring sporting events established in 1971 John Deere