media guide - John Deere Classic

MEDIA GUIDE
2016
MEDIA INFORMATION
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TOURNAMENT HISTORY 44
TOURNAMENT DIRECTORY
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46 YEARS OF GOLF GREATS Brian Harman, 2014 John Deere Classic Champion
FACT
TEE-RRIFIC
and SHEET
the Quad Cities 20th First Time8 Winner
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TICKETS
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CHAMPIONS 1971-2015
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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
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2015 CHAMPION STATS
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MOST ENGAGED COMMUNITY AWARD 14
COURSE MAP
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CBS GOLF BROADCAST TEAM
16
2015 HOLE RANKING
64
GOLF CHANNEL TEAM
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2015 SCORING RECAP
66
2015 PURSE BREAKDOWN
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HOLE-BY-HOLE
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SPONSOR JOHN DEERE
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GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC TROPHY
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SNEAD BETTERS HIS AGE TWICE 88
TPC DEERE RUN
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THREE-PEAT CHAMPIONS 90
MAGIC HAPPENS HERE!
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DEANE BEMAN: 1ST CHAMPION
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BILL MURRAY THRILLS THE CROWDS
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THAT ‘70s SHOW 94
SPIETH WINS 2015
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A LEGENDARY ROUND OF GOLF
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HERE’S HOW GOYDOS SHOT 59
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ZACH IS BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN 34
PAYNE STEWART 1ST VICTORY
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STRICKER’S THREE-PEAT
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FIRST TIME WINNERS
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McDONALD’S YOUTH DAY
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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC MOBILE APP
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FAMILY FUN ZONE
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BIRDIES FOR CHARITY
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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
Zach Johnson, 2015 British Open Champion
and 2012 John Deere Classic Champion
Bill Murray partnered
with D.A. Points in the 2015
John Deere Classic Pro-Am
MEDIA INFORMATION
MEDIA CREDENTIALS
Please apply for media credentials online by visiting pgatourmedia.com, the
PGA TOUR’s media-only website. Deadline for credential applications is July 25.
This is a firm deadline. Credentials will be issued to working media only.
TELEPHONE AND INTERNET SERVICE
The Media Center has free wireless internet and hardwire internet connections.
A number of landline telephones also are available; they allow free local calls,
toll-free calls, and credit card calls. Anyone requiring a personal telephone is
asked to contact media director Barry Cronin.
RADIO BOOTHS
MEDIA INFORMATION
MEDIA CENTER
The John Deere Classic Media Center is located on the ground level of the
TPC Deere Run clubhouse, a short walk from the main Scoring area and
the18th green. The air-conditioned facility features more than 65 workspaces,
Wi-Fi and hard-wired internet connections, a large interview room, several
large-screen TVs, numerous Shotlink computers, a full-field calligraphy
scoreboard, an electronic scoreboard, fax machines, and a hospitable staff
of volunteers eager to assist you. Transcription service for formal tournament
interviews is provided Wednesday through Sunday.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Please direct all media inquiries to
Barry Cronin
Media Director, John Deere Classic
[email protected]
Tel: 847-698-1801
Mobile: 847-867-3032
Media Center: 309-796-4211.
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Several partitioned radio booths are available in the Media Center for use by
credentialed radio reporters on a first-come-first-served basis.
FOOD SERVICE
As a courtesy to working media, the John Deere Classic provides food service
Monday-Sunday of tournament week. A continental breakfast, lunch, and late
afternoon snacks will be available daily. Water, soft drinks, and coffee will be
available continuously.
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Photographers must wear designated armbands issued by PGA TOUR Media
Officials. Photographers may obtain an armband by registering at the Media
Center and filling out a PGA TOUR Photo Regulations form available onsite.
Inside-the-Ropes stickers are issued on a daily basis at the discretion of PGA TOUR
Media Officials. Please note: no photographer is guaranteed Inside-the-Ropes access.
MEDIA PARKING
Media parking is located on a hard-surface lot at John Deere corporate
headquarters at One John Deere Place, just off Illinois Route 5 approximately
two miles west of TPC Deere Run. Free shuttle buses driven by dedicated
volunteers run continuously starting at 5:45 a.m. A John Deere Classic media
credential or one-day gate pass will be required to board the shuttle and park
in the media lot. Should you experience any unreasonable shuttle delays,
please do not hesitate to contact Media Director Barry Cronin.
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TOURNAMENT DIRECTORY
Sean O’Hair
John Deere Classic
2005 Champion
MEDIA CONTACT
Barry Cronin
Media Director, John Deere Classic
[email protected]
Tel: 847-698-1801
Cell: 847-867-3032
Media Center: 309-796-4211
DEERE & COMPANY CONTACTS
Director, Global Brand Management Mara Sovey Downing
and Corporate Citizenship
President, John Deere Foundation
Director, Public Relations
Ken Golden
TOURNAMENT DIRECTORY
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chairman
Chairman Elect Vice Chairman/ Operations
Vice Chairman/Player & On Course Services
Vice Chairman/ Finance
& Information
Past Chair (2015)
Paul Scranton
Pat Shouse
Tony Carpito
Sean McGuire
309-748-7951
309-765-5678
TPC DEERE RUN
General Manager/Director of Golf
Head Golf Professional
Golf Course Superintendent
Todd Hajduk
Andy Stoterau
Alex Stuedemann
309-796-6000
309-796-6000
309-792-1705
Doug Milne
Amanda Herrington
904-285-3700
904-285-3700
PGA TOUR MEDIA
Media Official Media Official
Lee Garlach
Chad Everitt
TOURNAMENT STAFF
Tournament Director Assistant Tournament Director
Director, Birdies for Charity
Sales Manager
Manager, Charity Development
and Services
Manager,Comm. & Special Event Office Administrator
Clair Peterson
Andrew Lehman
Kristy Ketcham Jackson
Daniel Clayton
Amy Finn
309-762-4653
309-762-4653
309-762-4653
309-762-4653
309-762-4653
Ashley Hansen
Sara Stalf
309-762-4653
309-762-4653
Paul Scranton
Chairman
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Clair Peterson
Tournament Director
Kristy Ketcham Jackson
Director, Birdies for Charity
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FACT SHEET
The 2016 John Deere Classic marks the 46th annual PGA TOUR event in the Quad Cities
and the 17th year for John Deere as title sponsor.
EVENT TITLE
John Deere Classic 156 players from the PGA TOUR DATES
PURSE
August 8-14, 2016
$4.8 million, $864,000 for the Champion
LOCATION
2015 CHAMPION
TPC Deere Run
3100 Heather Knoll
Silvis, IL 61282
Jordan Spieth
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.johndeereclassic.com
TITLE SPONSOR
Deere & Company
One John Deere PLace
Moline, Il 61265
– Official golf course equipment
supplier of the PGA Tour
– Official golf course equipment
leasing company of the PGA TOUR
BENEFICIARIES
Some 500 participating charities
received $8.7 million in 2015
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FIELD
TOURNAMENT RECORDS
Low 72 Holes: 258 (26-under par)
Steve Stricker (2010)
Low 18 Holes: 59 (12-under par)
Paul Goydos (2010)
Three-Peat Champion:
Steve Stricker (2009-2011)
Shoot Age in Round:
A second-round 67 Sam Snead (1979)
8 Straight Birdies:
Fuzzy Zoeller, first-round (1976)
TELEVISION
Thursday 4-7PM Golf Channel
Friday
4-7PM Golf Channel
Saturday 2-5PM CBS (WHBF-TV, Ch. 4)
Sunday 2-5PM CBS (WHBF-TV, Ch. 4)
CELEBRATING THE PGA TOUR’S
MOST DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS
TICKETS
MONDAY AND TUESDAY
PARTY PAK
Free Admission
Eight Anyday Grounds Tickets;
Two Single-Day General Parking Passes;
16 JDC Bucks, $80 in Classic Cash —
Party Pak is $255
WEDNESDAY: BONUS DAY
Free admission to Wednesday Pro-Am
for anyone with a day-specific or
Any Day ticket good Thursday-Sunday
THURSDAY: SENIOR DAY
60 or older $18 (gate admission only)
John Deere Classic:
A Salute to the Troops
EVERY DAY
12 and under free when
accompanied by a paid adult;
students with college I.D.
$18 at the gate
AGES 13-18: HALF PRICE
On tickets purchased at the gate
ANY ONE DAY GROUNDS
$25 in advance, $30 at the gate
SINGLE DAY CLUBHOUSE
$40 in advance, $45 at the gate
VALUE BOOK
10 Any One Day Grounds
$240 advance only
FAMILY PAK
Four Anyday Grounds Tickets;
One Single Day General Parking Pass;
Eight JDC Bucks, $40 in Classic Cash —
The Family Pak is $130
PHONE ORDERS
309-762-GOLF (4653)
or toll free 800-336-4655
ONLINE TICKET ORDERS
johndeereclassic.com/store
GREENSIDE CLUB $60
Upgrade your Any Day or Clubhouse
tickets at Admissions to gain access
to the air-conditioned “sports bar”
setting on the 18th green
LOWE’S MILITARY
APPRECIATION PROGRAM
Thanks to Lowe’s and AUSA, all military
personnel currently holding a Common
Access Card (CAC) will be given free
admission along with one (1) guest
each day Thursday-Sunday. This offer
applies to active duty and retired military
only, and not civilian or contractor
CAC card holders. CAC card must be
shown at the front gate to receive daily
ticket. On Saturday, August 13th, all
military guests are invited to the airconditioned Lowe’s skybox behind No.
15 green for complimentary food and
beverages along with VIP golf viewing. 11
MONDAY, AUGUST 8
12:00 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
John Deere Golf Pro-Am
Pro-Am Pairings Party
Jumer’s Casino & Hotel
777 Jumer Dr. Rock Island, Ill. 61201
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9
All Day
All Day
2:00 p.m.
Professional Practice Rounds
McDonald’s Youth Day Activities (TPC Deere Run)
John Deere Classic Free Youth Clinic (Driving Range)
Scott Langley
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10
6:45 a.m.
12:00 p.m.
John Deere Classic Pro-Am (a.m. tee times)
John Deere Classic Pro-Am (p.m. tee times)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11
7:00 a.m.
4-7 p.m.
First Round of Tournament Play
The Golf Channel
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12
7:00 a.m.
4-7 p.m.
TOURNAMENT
SCHEDULE
Brian Harman, 2014
John Deere Classic Champion
and the Quad Cities
20th First-Time Winner
Second Round of Tournament Play
The Golf Channel
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
7:00 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Third Round of Tournament Play
CBS Sports (WHBF-TV, Ch. 4)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14
7:00 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
Final Round of Tournament Play
CBS Sports (WHBF-TV, Ch. 4)
Trophy presentation following completion of play
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THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
IS A FOUR-TIME RECIPIENT OF
THE PGA TOUR “MOST ENGAGED
COMMUNITY” AWARD
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CBS GOLF BROADCAST TEAM
CBS GOLF
BROADCAST TEAM
CBS Sports will produce telecast of the 2016 John Deere Classic.
Lance Barrow is coordinating producer and a John Deere Classic board member.
Bill Macatee
Gary McCord
Peter Kostis
Lance Barrow
Steve Milton
Coordinating Producer
Director
18th Hole Tower
Dottie Pepper
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2016 GOLF CHANNEL TEAM
2016 GOLF
CHANNEL TEAM
The Golf Channel broadcast team for the 2016 John Deere Classic.
Whit Watson
Lanny Wadkins
Matt Gogel
Play-by-Play
Lead Analyst
Tower
Jim Gallagher, Jr.
Craig Perks
On Course
On Course
In 1996, Tiger Woods took his first lead on the PGA TOUR with a second-round 64 and led
going into the final round. Woods quadruple-bogeyed the fourth hole at Oakwood Country
Club to fall out of contention. Woods tied for fifth, two shots behind winner Ed Fiori.
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2016 PURSE BREAKDOWN
2016 PURSE BREAKDOWN
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY $4,800,000
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$ 864,000
518,400
326,400
230,400
192,000
172,800
160,800
148,800
139,200
129,600
120,000
110,400
100,800
91,200
86,400
81,600
76,800
72,000
67,200
62,400
57,600
53,760
49,920
46,080
42,240
38,400
36,960
35,520
34,080
32,640
31,200
29,760
28,320
27,120
25,920
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24,720
23,520
22,560
21,600
20,640
19,680
18,720
17,760
16,800
15,840
14,880
13,920
13,152
12,480
12,096
11,808
11,520
11,328
11,136
11,040
10,944
10,848
10,752
10,656
10,560
10,464
10,368
10,272
10,176
10,080
9,984
9,888
9,792
9,696
9,600
Jordan Spieth, John Deere Classic 2015 Champion,
and Samuel R. Allen, Chairman and CEO, Deere & Company
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JOHN DEERE KEEPING THE PGA TOUR GREEN
JOHN DEERE
KEEPING THE PGA TOUR GREEN
PRO GOLF PROVIDES DEERE A CHANCE TO
BLEND BUSINESS WITH COMMUNITY BETTERMENT
Through sponsorship of the John Deere Classic,
Deere & Company proudly serves the interests
of customers, dealers, investors, employees
and neighbors.
During tournament week, thousands learn
more about John Deere products and services
as they visit the event and enjoy the golf.
Millions more people around the world are
exposed to the John Deere brand through
telecasts of the PGA TOUR event.
Equally important, the John Deere Classic
has earned its reputation as a leader in
charitable giving by raising almost $60 million
dollars for community organizations since
John Deere became title sponsor in 1998.
Deere employees work each day to serve
customers who cultivate, harvest, transform,
enrich and build upon the land to meet the
world’s dramatically increasing need for food,
fuel, shelter and infrastructure. At the same
time, Deere employees go above and beyond
by embracing opportunities to be a power for
good in their home communities through
company-sponsored and personal volunteerism.
In 2015, Deere employees served their
communities through volunteering almost
105,000 hours in the U.S. alone.
The John Deere Foundation, the philanthropic
organization funded by the company, also
plays a key role in helping the company achieve
its higher purpose to improve living standards
for people everywhere. The Foundation has
provided approximately $250 million in grants
worldwide since it was founded in 1948.
In 2015, the company and the John Deere
Foundation together awarded $28.6 million
in grants to a variety of global non-profit
organizations that promote solutions
for world hunger, improve access to education,
and strengthen communities through
economic development.
Examples from 2015 include:
• Throughout the United States, 21 Deere
locations celebrated World Food Day by
packaging more than 1.3 million meals in
partnership with the non-profit organization
Outreach. Some 5,300 Deere employees
donned aprons, hairnets, and gloves to
package the meals, which were distributed
to local food banks. More than 300 Deere
employees from 4 Deere locations in
Germany also lent a hand by filling 6,000
bags with food for local branches of
Die Tafel, a nationwide foodbank.
• The company and the John Deere Foundation
promoted John Deere Inspire and other
initiatives intended to excite the next
generation of innovators through education
in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) coupled with connections
and hands-on experiences with the real
world. Together, they invested more than
$1 million in partners like FIRST (For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science and Technology),
Project Lead The Way, and MIND Research
Institute benefiting more than 20,000
students in John Deere home communities
in Mexico, India, Brazil and the U.S. Deere
employees in the U.S. volunteered than
18,000 hours for STEM-related projects.
• Deere employees joined with the
John Deere Foundation to donate over
$7.8 million as part of a record-setting
2015 United Way campaign. In addition,
more than 2,000 Deere employees in
communities throughout the world
participated in United Way volunteer activities
to help bring these donations to life.
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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC TROPHY
JOHN DEERE
CLASSIC TROPHY
Brian Harman holds the
2014 John Deere Classic Trophy
with fiancee (now wife) Kelly.
Each year the winner of the
John Deere Classic receives a unique
trophy created specifically for the
tournament by renowned sculptor
and jewelry designer Malcolm DeMille.
Commissioned by title sponsor
Deere & Company, the John Deere Classic
trophy is a custom-made fine art sculpture
cast and finished in bronze that depicts
a chocolate brown-colored deer bounding
across a fairway in front of an elevated
green bordered by a stream. The piece
is eight inches high, nine inches wide
and sits on a 15-inch cherry wood base.
It weighs 35 pounds.
The leaping deer has been a part
of the company’s logo for more than
170 years. The golf course setting refers
to the company’s major presence in
the golf and turf equipment market.
Deere & Company is the official golf course
equipment supplier of the PGA TOUR.
DeMille and his staff were asked to
hand-make three similar trophies – one
for the individual champion, another that
is on permanent display in the clubhouse
at the Tournament Players Club Deere Run,
and a third on display at PGA TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra, Fla. The permanent
clubhouse trophy will have a copper
Malcolm DeMille, sculptor of the
John Deere Classic Trophy,
is a cousin of the late legendary
filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille.
band around the wood base where the
name of each champion will be inscribed
along with the year he won.
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TPC DEERE RUN
TPC DEERE RUN, HOME OF
THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
The Tournament Players Club Deere Run
became the permanent site of the
John Deere Classic in the year 2000, when
Michael Clark II won his first PGA TOUR title
in a four-hole Monday playoff at the
course’s inaugural event.
Golf Digest ranks TPC Deere Run among
the Top 100 public courses in the nation.
Golfweek magazine consistently ranks
Deere Run among the best public courses
in the state of Illinois.
Nestled along the Rock River in Silvis, Ill.,
TPC Deere Run is a rolling, heavily wooded,
385-acre former Arabian horse farm once
owned by descendents of John Deere himself.
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The 7,183-yard, par 71 course, now sits on
land donated to the PGA TOUR by Deere &
Company for development of a world-class
championship golf venue consistent with
the company’s own high quality standards
as well as the demands of top touring
professionals and discriminating golfers.
Designed by Illinois native and three-time
Quad City tourney champion D.A. Weibring
- along with Chris Gray of the PGA TOUR
Design Services staff - the course is a
traditional parkland-style layout that features
tree-lined fairways, dramatic elevation
changes, imaginative design features
and stimulating views of the Rock River
and surrounding areas.
“When I first saw it, I really thought it
was a unique piece of property that would
allow us to build an old style traditional
golf course,” Weibring said. “Yet with
the natural hillside vistas, ravines and
elevation changes the land naturally fit in
to the TPC stadium course concept.”
The “stadium course concept” refers to a
golf course built to accommodate large
numbers of spectators. Such courses normally
feature large viewing mounds behind greens
and alongside fairways. But while those
mounds often must be created artificially
through excavation and dirt movement, at
Deere Run they more often than not occur
naturally as part of the terrain.
Among the more unique holes at Deere Run
are the par 3 186-yard third hole, which plays
uphill from the championship tees; the par
4 454-yard fourth, where a mature oak
tree splits the fairway in two; the “driveable”
downhill 361-yard par 4 14th hole; the
serene par 3 16th, which overlooks the
Rock River, and the treacherous par 4
18th, where water fronts the green on the
left and trees border the fairway right.
Player reaction to the layout has been
extremely positive from the outset and its
reputation continues to grow. “We have
made every effort to have each hole serve
as a lasting memory,” Weibring said.
“We hope it will encourage players to
return again and again.”
“Golf Digest ranks the
TPC Deere Run among
the Top 100 public courses
in the nation.”
Each hole has a permanent plaque that uses
historical footnotes and narratives to connect
this modern, state-of-the-art golf facility to
the history of the Quad Cities and John Deere.
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MAGIC
HAPPENS HERE!
THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
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BILL MURRAY THRILLS THE CROWDS
BILL
MURRAY
THRILLS THE CROWDS AT 2015
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC PRO-AM
Of all the golf celebrities in all the world
it’s fair to say that none is more coveted by
tournaments, sponsors and fans than the
man who immortalized the character
Carl Spackler, the eccentric greens keeper
in the movie, Caddyshack.
“Most importantly,
Bill’s participation enabled
us to increase the amount
of money we raise for charity
on pro-am day,”
said John Deere Classic
tournament director
Clair Peterson.
“We wish we could have
him here every year.”
Yet, as unlikely as it might have seemed, there
was actor-comedian Bill Murray – Spackler’s
alter ego himself – playing in the Wednesday
pro-am at the 2015 John Deere Classic,
entertaining enthusiastic crowds that greeted
him along every fairway at TPC Deere Run.
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A lifelong Cub fan, Murray bantered with
the crowd, posed for pictures, needled
Cardinals’ fans and gave a few lucky fans
a ride on his golf cart as he maneuvered
his golf ball around the tree-lined splendor
that is Deere Run.
A former caddie and a talented golfer,
Murray played alongside fellow Illinois native
D.A. Points of Pekin. The two teamed up to
win the 2011 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am,
where Points also claimed the individual title.
“It was very exciting and a lot of fun to have
Bill Murray play in our Wednesday pro-am
with D.A. Points, who has been a longtime
supporter of the John Deere Classic,” said
John Deere Classic tournament director
Clair Peterson. “We never have had as many
fans on the property on pro-am day as we did
last year and Bill’s interactions with them were
fun and friendly in his own inimitable way.”
The Wednesday pro-am is one of the
fundamental ways the tournament achieves
its core mission to raise funds for its Birdies
for Charity partners.
“Most importantly, Bill’s participation enabled
us to increase the amount of money we raise
for charity on pro-am day,” Peterson said.
“We wish we could have him here every year.”
SPIETH WINS 2015 JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
SPIETH WINS 2015
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC IN A PLAYOFF
Jordan Spieth rallied from four shots back
with six holes to play to win the 2015
John Deere Classic in a sudden death playoff,
his second such win in three years.
Spieth, 21, made three birdies on the back nine
for a final round 3-under par 68 for a 20-under
total tying him with 47-year-old journeyman
Tom Gillis. Spieth earned the victory with
a par on the second hole of the playoff
after Gillis hit his second shot into the water.
Spieth’s participation in the John Deere
Classic was controversial in that the
tournament was scheduled the week before
the Open Championship in the Midwest, as
it normally is. Some thought Spieth should
have skipped the Quad Cities event and
used the time to travel to Scotland early
to prepare for the Open Championship at
St. Andrews, where he had the potential to
win his third consecutive major title.
Spieth, however, had a different thought
process. He said he wanted to prepare for
the Open by getting into contention at a
tournament where he had an opportunity
to feel the heat of competition and
potentially win. In the end, it worked out.
Spieth not only prevailed at TPC Deere Run,
he flew to Scotland on the tournament charter
and finished one stroke out of a three-man
four-hole aggregate playoff at St. Andrews,
where Zach Johnson emerged victorious.
Spieth opened the John Deere Classic with
an even-par round that left him scrambling
to make the cut. He climbed the leaderboard
with a fast Friday finish, making the cut,
and shot 10-under 61 on Saturday with
two eagles, which gave him a two-shot
lead going into Sunday’s final round.
A sluggish Sunday start left him looking
at a four-shot deficit to Gillis, while also
trailing a group that included Johnson.
“This tournament means
a lot to me,” Spieth said. “This is
a tournament I truly love.”
He earned his playoff opportunity with
three backside birdies en route to a round
of 68 and a 20 under par 264 total, then
matched pars with Gillis on the first playoff
hole. He recorded Tour win No. 5 with
another solid par when the 47-year-old
Gillis found a brutal tree-blocked lie in
the right rough and scraped a do-or-die
attempt into the greenside pond.
Spieth was asked if he would have enough
energy to compete at the Open.
“I’ve got plenty in the tank,” he declared.
The tournament where Spieth won his first
PGA TOUR title clearly is special to him.
“This tournament means a lot to me,” he said. “This is a tournament I truly love.”
33
ZACH IS BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
ZACH IS BACK
TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Zach Johnson’s victory at the 2015 Open
Championship at St. Andrews occurred 13 years
after the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native received
his first of two sponsor exemptions to the
John Deere Classic in 2002.
four-hole playoff to defeat Mark Leishman and
Louis Oosthuizen and claim the Claret Jug.
It happened eight years after his victory at
the 2007 Masters, where the unassuming
Midwesterner sliced and diced his way to the
winner’s circle at a tournament often won by
big hitters and even bigger names.
Johnson’s precision and his ability to think his
way around a golf course also are key, especially
at the Open Championship. Even before his victory
last year, Johnson was “trending” at the British,
recording top 10 finishes at Royal Lytham
in 2012 (the week after his first John Deere Classic
victory) and at Muirfield in 2013.
Hence, the 5-foot 11-inch, 164-pound resident
of Sea Island, Georgia is one of only six players to
win at both Augusta National and the Old Course.
The others are legends Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus,
Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods,
all Hall of Famers.
Heady company for a man who played No. 2 on
the Drake Bulldogs golf team and who started
his career on the Hooters Tour, one of several
mini-tours where he doggedly forged his craft.
“That’s the putt I’m always going
to remember,” Johnson said.
How does Zach do it?
It’s a combination of accuracy off the tee
(64.6 percent of fairways hit this year), hitting
approach shots close to the hole (12.5 feet on
average, third best on Tour) and – as everyone
knows - superior putting.
It was the 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th green on
the final hole of regulation at last year’s Open that
Johnson made to get into a playoff that likely will
define his career. The putt was good for a 66 and
got him to 15-under par for the tournament.
He birdied the first two holes in the aggregate
34
“That’s the putt I’m always going
to remember,” Johnson said in an interview.
Perhaps no one embodies Drake’s bulldog mascot
any better than Zach. He’s a “grinder” above all, a
paragon of consistency in a game of peaks and
valleys even for the most naturally-gifted players.
Including his two major titles, Johnson has
won 12 times on the PGA TOUR and his official
tournament earnings exceed $40 million.
Nothing speaks to his consistency more than
his record in national team events where only
the top-tier players qualify. Johnson has been
a member of four Presidents Cup teams (2007,
2009, 2013 and 2015) and four Ryder Cup teams
(2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014). And he’s a lock
for this year’s Ryder Cup squad.
This week, Zach will be trying to add his second
John Deere Classic victory. A longtime member
of the John Deere Classic executive board,
he regards the Deere as his “fifth major” and
he’d love to win.
The bond is strong. Since 2014, he and
John Deere have had endorsement agreement –
the John Deere logo is on his golf bag – which
recently was extended.
And strictly based on recent performance
at TPC Deere Run, he has to be a favorite: 2009
– T-2; 2011 – T-3; 2012 – WIN;
2013 – T-2; 2014 – 2nd; 2015 – T-3.
John Deere
brand ambassador
Zach Johnson,
winner of The 2015
Open Championship
at St Andrews.
STRICKER’S HISTORIC THREE-PEAT, 2009-11
STRICKER’S
HISTORIC THREE-PEAT, 2009-11
On TOUR, they often referred to it,
jokingly, as the “Stricker Invitational.”
So complete was Steve Stricker’s dominance
at the John Deere Classic from 2009-11, he became the first man in tournament history to win it three consecutive times.
In 2012, Stricker came close again. Seeking
to become only the fifth player in 140 years
to win the same tournament four straight
times, the Wisconsin native and former
Fighting Illini tied for fifth place - four shots
out of a playoff with Troy Matteson and
eventual winner Zach Johnson. Stricker shot
65-67-66-70 – 268 at TPC Deere Run to
finish at 16-under par.
Now 49, Stricker has cut back his playing
schedule, but recently finished fourth at the
Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland.
With that inspired performance, he earned
a spot in the 2016 PGA Championship and
to next year’s Masters, as well as other big
tournaments. With the U.S. Open to be played
at Erin Hills outside Milwaukee, Stricker,
a Wisconsin native and current resident,
likely will receive a special invitation from
the U.S. Golf Association should he not qualify
on his own merit.
A LOOK BACK ON STRICKER’S REIGN
2009: Stricker shot 68-64 in a 36-hole
finale to finish at 20-under par 264,
three better than runners up Zach Johnson,
Brandt Snedeker and Brett Quigley.
Stricker worked his way into Sunday’s final
threesome by shooting a course-record-tying
10-under 61 on Saturday, pitching in for
an eagle 3 on the par five 17th. The thensixth-ranked player in the world grabbed
the fourth round lead with another pitch-in
eagle, from 117 yards on the par 4 sixth.
The victory was Stricker’s second of three
in what turned out to be his best season as
a pro to that point. The 36-hole finale was
required after a Friday rainout. 2010: Stricker became the first player
in 17 years to win consecutive John Deere Classics, equaling David Frost,
who won at nearby Oakwood CC in 1992-93. Stricker’s winning score of 26-under par
broke the tournament scoring record by
four strokes. Stricker shot a career-low
11-under par 60 in the first round yet trailed
Paul Goydos, who recorded the iconic score
of 59. Goydos finished runner-up.
2011: Stricker became the first player
ever to win three straight John Deere
Classics with an other-worldly 184-yard
up-and-down from a fairway bunker on
the final hole to edge rookie Kyle Stanley
by a stroke. Stricker sank a downhill
25-foot putt from the back fringe to
clinch the victory. Stanley’s consolation
was an exemption into the British Open
for which Stricker had previously qualified.
37
McDONALD’S YOUTH DAY ACTIVITIES AT THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
McDONALD’S
YOUTH DAY ACTIVITIES AT
THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
Tuesday, August 9 (free admission)
All Day - Professional Practice Rounds
All Day - McDonald’s Youth Day Activities (John Deere Family Zone near #7 tee)
2:00 PM - FREE Youth Clinic (TPC Deere Run Driving Range)
39
THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC’S FAMILY FUN ZONE
FAMILY ZONE
FUN FOR FANS OF ALL AGES
AT THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
The Family Zone attraction is aimed at adding another
dimension of tournament fun for parents, grandparents
and children of all ages.
40
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
ENHANCES FAN EXPERIENCE
The John Deere Classic has been busy
upgrading the fan experience for this year’s
tournament at TPC Deere Run.
This year’s focus has been on the
Family Zone, an air-conditioned facility
located behind the tee box near the
7th hole, where parents can take
their children for some interactivity
and off-course noise-making.
New to the Family Zone this year are:
• Long drive simulator
• Closest to the Pin simulator
• Long Putt contest
• First Tee Area with SNAG Golf
components for beginners
• Mini-golf
• Trivia kiosk that will test fans’
knowledge of tournament history
41
THE JOHN DEERE CLASSIC’S FAMILY FUN ZONE
MAGIC
HAPPENS HERE
In addition, youngsters who attend
Tuesday’s annual Youth Day at Deere Run
are eligible to receive a Jordan Spieth
bobble head. It’s the fifth straight year the
tournament is distributing bobble heads of
the previous year’s champion on Youth Day.
“Every year we
try to improve the
spectator experience,”
said Clair Peterson,
John Deere Classic
Tournament Director.
This will be the second time Spieth will
be honored with a John Deere Classic
bobble head, the first coming in 2014,
the year after his watershed 2013 victory.
First Tee graduate Scott Langley, who
played college golf at Illinois, will conduct
the annual Youth Clinic at 2 p.m. Tuesday
at the TPC Deere Run practice range.
Meanwhile, in anticipation of possible hot
weather in August, the tournament will have
free water re-fill stations located behind
the clubhouse and near the driving range.
Another respite from the heat will be
athletic-style cooling benches, which were
introduced in 2015. They, too, will be located
in well-traveled areas around the course
to give fans a place to relax and help them
reduce their core body temperature.
With its tree-lined fairways,
TPC Deere Run also offers a natural
respite from the sun: shade.
43
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
In the year 2000, the new Tournament
Players Club Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. provided
the launching pad that propelled the
John Deere Classic into a new millennium.
Built to give the Quad Cities’ PGA TOUR
stop some newlyminted credibility and
exposure, Deere Run opened 29 years after
big-time pro golf debuted in the Quad Cities
in 1971. The opening of the new course
signified a new and unusual era of stability
for the oft-struggling tournament. Now
sponsored by and titled for John Deere,
the area’s international corporate bedrock,
the tournament soon would become the
envy of stability for other Tour events.
Indeed, professional golf in the Quad Cities
had come a long, sometimes difficult, way
to such a bright future.
Jordan Spieth
John Deere Classic
2015 & 2013 Champion
Professional golf got its start in the
Quad Cities some 40 years ago, when a
group of founding members of the new
Crow Valley Country Club in Bettendorf,
Iowa thought bringing a PGA TOUR event
to town might be a good way to promote
their new private golf club. Longtime local
tournament godfather Whitey Barnard
and the late Bob Fry, former Davenport,
Iowa municipal head professional, put the
wheels in motion for what would become
the 1971 Quad Cities Open.
“We weren’t organized,’’ said Barnard,
who died mere months prior to Deere Run’s
June 2000 grand opening. “We were
just a bunch of guys who wanted a golf
tournament. We hired Bob Fry as our
pro and said ‘Let’s do it.’ ’’ And so they did.
The first Quad Cities Open teed off on
Sept. 16, 1971 as a satellite tournament,
sanctioned not by the PGA Tour but by the
Chicago District Golf Association.
Jordan Spieth, 2013
John Deere Classic Champion,
the PGA Tour’s youngest winner
in 82 years. Jordan would win
his second John Deere Classic
title in 2015 along with wins
at the Masters and U.S. Open.
He was also named 2015
PGA Tour Player of the Year.
The CDGA, though, was involved at
the behest of then PGA Tour commissioner
Joe Dey, who also encouraged the
Western Golf Association and the USGA
to lend a hand to the fledgling event.
45
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Zach Johnson
John Deere Classic
2012 Champion
“The PGA let us know they wanted us to
succeed,’’ Barnard later remembered.
At the ’71 tournament, a journeyman pro
named Deane Beman, who would later
succeed Dey as commissioner, won the
event and $5,000, topping fellow PGA Tour
member Dow Finsterwald by two shots
at Crow Valley.
But Beman wasn’t finished with the Quad
Cities. Dey and the Tour had liked what
they’d seen in ’71 so much that they
made the QCO a full-fledged PGA Tour
event the very next year. And in1972,
Beman again prevailed at Crow Valley,
nipping a kid named Tom Watson by
two strokes and taking home $20,000 in
official PGA Tour winnings.
46
“They were looking down the road and
they liked the Quad Cities,’’ Barnard said
later when asked to explain how a
major-league sport like the PGA Tour landed
in a small Midwestern market like the Quad
Cities. “Even then, they had a plan
as to how they wanted the Tour to look.
Communities were being drawn into the
PGA Tour web.’’
That the Quad Cities remains in the
PGA Tour web well into the Tiger Woods
era is a story of luck, pluck, fortuitous
timing, and never-say-die determination.
It also is a tale of vision.
“I always thought there was a place for
something major like a golf tournament in
the Quad Cities,’’ Fry, that first Crow pro,
said in 1990. “I must have been right.
It’s still there.’’
In 1973, Beman finished sixth at the QCO
behind southpaw victor Sam Adams and
abandoned his brief playing career to
succeed Dey as commissioner of the Tour.
Beman’s ascension was fortuitous, to say
the least, for the Quad Cities event, which
would forever hold a special place in his
heart as well as his trophy case. The winner
of the first two Quad Cities tournaments
frequently was a friend of the event through
many of the turbulent years that followed.
Hardee’s Restaurants, a key early sponsor,
no longer could afford it. And the Tour was
insisting on a $125,000 purse - $25,000
more than the year before – a figure the
organizing committee found daunting.
The turbulence started almost immediately.
In 1974, Beman scheduled the QCO the
same week as the British Open, which
turned out to be both a blessing and a
curse. A blessing because the Tour needed
to offer a sanctioned mid-July stateside
option to its many members who weren’t
exempt for the British and who didn’t have
the time, cash or inclination to travel
across the Atlantic to try and qualify.
This was a key reason Beman often bent
over backwards to help keep the QCO
afloat through challenging times.
The curse was that established stars who
did play the British Open didn’t have an
opportunity to play in the Quad Cities.
Zach Johnson gets
Beman admitted to a particular affection
for the event. “Since I was only on Tour six
years and won five tournaments, two of
them there, I feel pretty special about it,’’
Beman said.
Beman proved his affection in 1975
when the original tournament organizers
were ready to pull the plug. Crow Valley no
longer needed the tournament.
On April 20 of that year, a press conference
was called at the studios of WQAD-TV in
Moline where Barnard and his team
planned to distribute a press release
announcing the end of the tournament.
his personal
“fifth major” at the
2012 John Deere Classic
But the Quad Cities Council of Jaycees,
a group of local tournament supporters,
stopped the press conference minutes
before it began and set the tournament on
an entirely new path.
First, the Jaycees moved the event to
Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Ill.,
another relatively new golf course.
Next, TV star Ed McMahon, who at the
time was the emcee of Johnny Carson’s
wildly popular Tonight Show, was recruited
to be the event’s official host. Finally,
Beman allowed a one-time purse of only
$75,000. The ’75 event went on and
Roger Maltbie, now a network golf
commentator, won it. He had no problem
cashing his $15,000 winner’s check.
47
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Golf Course
Superintendent
Paul Grogan
Kenny Perry’s win in the
2008 John Deere Classic
put a stranglehold
on a spot on the
U.S. Ryder Cup team.
The tournament would need that kind of
help again, but not for another nine years.
In 1986, the tournament picked up its
first full-fledged title sponsor and became
known as the Hardee’s Golf Classic.
The company had a long history with the
tournament dating from its inception.
Four more Ed McMahon Jaycee’s Quad Cities
Opens followed. And with Carson’s second
banana enticing first-flight pro-am attractions
like Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney
and Telly Savalas to the nation’s midsection, the
1975-1979 tournaments were among the
most star-studded events in tourney history.
McMahon’s tenure – and the tournament’s
strong Hollywood connection-ended in
1980, and soon the QCO board of governors
found itself in precarious financial straits.
In October 1983, an audit found the
tournament was $140,000 in debt, partially
as a result of losses that began accruing
when the 1978 pro-am was rained out.
It didn’t matter that future PGA Tour stars
like D.A. Weibring, Payne Stewart and
Scott Hoch won the tournament in the late
‘70s and early ‘80s. Over a six-year period,
it lost money in five.
Things were so bad that the tournament
board of directors declared a do-or-die
fund drive to save the 1984 event.
48
Again, the community came through with
$149,000 to save it from extinction. A year
later, though, Beman and the Tour insisted
that the ’84 event’s well-below-average
purse of $200,000 grow by $100,000.
Again, the end of the Q-C tourney was a
possibility. In fact, Chattanooga, Tenn., like
an undertaker with a hearse, was parked at
the door, waiting to scoop up the July 1985
spot on the PGA Tour calendar.
With golf caps in hand, though, the
tournament board appealed to various local
cities and communities for tax donations to
save a civic asset. Four came through –
Rock Island, Moline, Coal Valley and Milan but the board was $16,000 shy of what was
needed to bump the purse to $300,000.
Beman and the Tour again stepped in
and filled in the blank. “It had been a good
tournament when times were good and
we feel a greater responsibility than other
sports to stick with an event you have
and make it work,’’ Beman said.
The first sponsors of the
Quad Cities Open were three men
from Kewanee who owned nine
Quad Cities area Hardee’s franchises,
then a fledgling fast-food enterprise.
“Brick’’ Lundberg, Ted Vlahos
and Dr. L.T. Boley attached their
names to a $150,000 note that
helped bankroll the 1973
and 1974 Hardee’s Quad Cities Opens.
Health problems and a tightening
fast-food economy forced the three Hardee’s
franchisees to give up that sponsorship
in 1975, but Jim Jensen, then a manager
of the Lundberg owned Hardee’s
Restaurant in Bettendorf, never forgot the
name of that first title sponsor.
A decade later, Jensen, who had become
president of a Midwestern consortium
of Hardee’s franchisees, saw a competitor’s
coupon on the back of his ticket to
the 1985 tournament. He quickly assured
that would not happen again by signing
on as title sponsor.
The Hardee’s Golf Classic was born in 1986
and lasted through 1994. The first HGC
featured a $400,000 purse and was seen
throughout the Midwest and southeast on
a regionally syndicated television network
that was flag-shipped by WQAD in Moline.
By 1989, the pros were playing at Oakwood
for $700,000 and Ted Turner’s WTBS cable
superstation was supplying the television
coverage. Curt Byrum’s win wasn’t the big
news that year, though. Early in the week,
Jensen and tournament directors announced
that the 1990 tournament would feature a
$1million purse and take place in September
– out from under the British Open.
Kentuckian Kenny Perry’s win
in the 2008 John Deere Classic
fulfilled his dream of being
on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
The 2008 Ryder Cup was played
in his home state of Kentucky
at the Valhalla Golf Club,
just outside of Louisville.
From 1990 through 1994, the finest fields
in tournament history came to Oakwood.
But the event lost its summertime
festival feel and cold and rainy weather
dampened enthusiasm.
49
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Golf Course
Superintendent
Paul Grogan
Finally, on April 2, 1997, after nearly a
year’s worth of high level negotiations,
PGA TOUR commissioner Finchem and
Deere chairman and CEO Hans Becherer
announced plans to build the Tournament
Players Club Deere Run on the Friendship
Farms property owned since 1928 by the
ancestors of company-founder John Deere.
Steve Stricker
John Deere Classic
Three-Time Champion
2009, 2010 and 2011
When he won the 2007 Masters, When
Hardee’s sponsorship ended with the 1994
tournament, the search for a new title
sponsor became dire.
As fate would have it, however, the PGA
TOUR introduced the Presidents Cup
competition in 1994. Beman’s successor,
Tim Finchem, needed to find an existing
Tour event willing to accept dates opposite
both that mega-team event and the hugely
successful Ryder Cup. Faced with the
possibility of extinction, the Quad Cities
tourney raised its hand.
By agreeing to take a back seat each fall to
the two bi-annual events, the Quad Cities
tournament received funding from the
Tour, which provided tournament officials
with a four-year window of opportunity to
seek out a new sponsor.
That didn’t feel like such a great deal in
September of 1995, when D.A. Weibring
50
While Woods grabbed the headlines that
week, history of a different kind was being
made behind the scenes at Oakwood.
There, as rain washed out the afternoon
portion of the Wednesday pro-am, Weibring
met with representatives of the tournament
and Moline-based Deere & Company
to discuss the possibility of building a lavish
new golf course on a company-owned
former horse farm in Silvis, Ill.
became the tournament’s only three-time
winner in the only rain-shortened,
three-round event in tourney history.
But one year later, it was the Presidents
Cup that, improbably, found itself taking a
backseat to the 1996 Quad City Classic,
where a 20-year-old rookie named Tiger
Woods appeared to be on the brink of his
first PGA Tour victory. More than a dozen
national golf writers abandoned coverage
of Presidents Cup near Washington D.C.
and flew to Moline on Sept. 15 to see him
close the deal.
Woods didn’t win the ‘96 Classic - a quadruple
bogey on Oakwood’s fourth hole saw to
that - but he caused quite a stir nonetheless.
It was Woods’ third event as a professional
and the first PGA Tour event he ever led.
Excited crowds joined the national media
to witness what many thought would be
history in the making. Instead, journeyman
pro Ed Fiori went on to defeat Woods.
As a key element of the agreement,
Deere became the official golf course
equipment supplier of the TPC network
as well as becoming title sponsor of
the John Deere Classic.
“Our title sponsorship of the John Deere
Classic offers us unique set of business
opportunities,” said Robert Lane, former
chairman of Deere & Company. “At the
same time, it enables Deere to contribute
significantly to the improvement of the
Quad Cities area by stimulating economic
activity and helping to generate charitable
contributions for local non-profit organizations
that are the backbone of our community.”
Deere uses its various sponsorship benefits
to expand and deepen relationships with
prospective and current business partners
while increasing worldwide consumer
awareness of its esteemed brand and
products through international television,
radio, print and internet exposure.
Meanwhile, the Quad Cities and surrounding
communities benefit from the charitable
programs made possible by the tournament.
In the years 2012-14, the tournament helped
raised more than $6 million each year for some
500 local charities.
Additionally, the tournament annually has a
direct and indirect economic impact of an
estimated $25 million on the Quad Cities
economy, according to a recent study conducted
by the Quad City Convention Bureau.
At the core of Deere’s title sponsorship
is a long-term, financially sound, mutually
beneficial business partnership between
Deere & Company and the PGA Tour.
Key elements of Deere & Company’s initial
contract with the Tour were:
Steve Stricker sinks a
downhill 25-foot putt
from the back fringe to
become the first player
ever to win three straight
John Deere Classics.
Deere & Company assumes title sponsor
of the Tour’s Quad City event through
the year 2006; for the first time, the
tournament would receive network TV
exposure; Deere becomes the “Official Golf
Course Equipment Supplier of the PGA TOUR”
with the aim of boosting the already strong
performance of its Golf & Turf Division;
the Tour agrees to lease Deere’s full range
of golf and turf equipment - along with
utility vehicles and selected construction
equipment - to maintain each of the Tour’s
25 owned-and-operated Tournament
Players Club courses.
51
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Golf Course
Superintendent
Paul Grogan
“Because the sponsorship is structured to
capitalize on unique aspects of Deere’s
core business, the company and the golf
tournament will be truly linked,” Brenner said.
Deere recently extended its title
sponsorship and its golf course equipment
licensing agreement through 2016.
Agreements extended through 2016 make
Deere the Tour’s “Official Golf Course
Equipment Leasing Company,” the
“Official Landscape Products Supplier,”
and “Official Irrigation Supplier.”
Brian Harman
John Deere Classic
2014 Champion
For a tournament that has such a rich
history of turbulence, Deere provides the
solid foundation it will need if it is to grow
bigger and better in the years to come.
As courses are added to the TPC network,
each new course will be groomed with
John Deere equipment. The initial nine-year
title sponsorship agreement - since extended
through 2016 - revolved around three
consecutive three-year equipment leases
underwritten by John Deere Credit
Company and paid for by TPC network
courses. Deere entered the golf course
equipment business 1986 and utilizes its
PGA TOUR relationship to solidify and build
on its market leadership.
Deere donated 385 acres of scenic company
owned land near company headquarters in
Moline for construction of the Tournament
Players Club Deere Run. A public daily fee
facility that also offers membership privileges,
the TPC Deere Run became the site of the
John Deere Classic starting in year 2000.
The PGA TOUR designs, constructs and
operates the TPC Deere Run. D.A. Weibring,
three-time champion at the Quad City
tournament, served as player design
consultant, and worked closely with golf
52
course architect Chris Gray of PGA TOUR
Design Services. Unlike most other courses
in the TPC network, Deere Run does
not have a residential component.
Deere’s title sponsorship agreement not
only is one of the longest on the Tour, its
unique elements represent an evolution of
the traditional forms of sports sponsorship.
“The days of corporations paying out
millions of dollars merely to display their
logos and invite some customers to play in
a pro-am are long gone,” said Sean Brenner,
managing editor of the Chicago-based IEG
Sponsorship Report, which tracks the sports
marketing industry.
“The integrated sponsorship arrangement
between Deere & Company and the PGA
TOUR is a new kind of sports marketing
partnership that provides concrete economic
benefits to both parties while offering
traditional sponsor benefits, such as
hospitality, television and promotional
opportunities,” Brenner said.
In 2011, the tournament itself made history,
when Steve Stricker became one of only 17
players in the annals of championship golf
Brian Harman,
the 2014 John Deere
Classic Champion
and the Quad Cities
20th First Time Winner
to win the same event at the same course
three consecutive times. Stricker’s miraculous
finish included a 184-yard 6-iron from a
hanging lie in a fairway bunker to 25 feet
just off the back of the green. Stricker holed
the downhill left-to-right breaker and the
crowd exploded with cheers. Among the other
players to win three straight are legends
Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Johnny Miller,
Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer (twice),
Henry Picard, Gene Sarazen, Tom Watson,
and Tiger Woods (four times).
On Sunday, July 15, 2012 on the second
hole of sudden death, Zach Johnson hit a
192-yard 6-iron from the fairway bunker on
the 18th hole that bounced on the green
and rolled to within inches of the cup.
The Cedar Rapids, Ia. native and former
Masters champion tapped in for birdie to
win what he consistently had called his
personal “fifth major.” At the time of his
victory, Johnson had been a member of the
tournament executive board since 2004.
In the playoff he defeated Troy Matteson
after both finished 72 holes at 20-under par.
In 2013, 19-year-old rookie Jordan Spieth
won a five-hole playoff against Johnson
and journeyman pro David Hearn to
capture his first PGA TOUR victory and
to become the youngest Tour winner in
more than 80 years. Spieth earned PGA
TOUR Rookie-of-the-Year honors and was a
captain’s pick on the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
Brian Harman shot a final round 5-under
par 66 Sunday to edge Zach Johnson by one
shot and win the 2014 John Deere Classic.
Harman became the 20th first time winner
at the John deere Classic.
Spieth opened the 2015 Deere with an
even-par round that left him scrambling to
make the cut. He climbed the leaderboard
with a fast Friday finish then took a twoshot lead into Sunday’s finale thanks to a
two-eagle Saturday round of 61.
A sluggish Sunday start left Spieth looking
at a four-shot deficit to journeyman Tom Gillis.
Spieth recorded three birdies on the back nine
to tie Gillis and earn a playoff opportunity.
His final-round 3-under 68 gave him a
20-under 264 total. On the first playoff hole,
Spieth matched pars with Gillis. Playing No. 18
for the second time, Gillis dunked his approach
in the water while Spieth calmly made a two-putt
par to secure his fifth PGA TOUR victory.
53
Brian Harman
Steve Stricker
Tiger Woods
Lanny Wadkins
Payne Stewart
Y.E. Yang
Davis Love III
Curtis Strange
Lee Trevino
Dave Stockton
Zach Johnson
Jack Nicklaus
John Senden
Lucas Glover
Tom Kite
Sean O’Hair
Sam Snead
Jordan Spieth
Fuzzy Zoeller
Stewart Cink
Tom Watson
Kenny Perry
Steve Jones
Jonathan Byrd
Tommy Aaron
Bubba Watson
Louis Oosthuizen
Ian Baker-Finch
Jason Day
Greg Norman
John Daly
David Toms
Chi Chi Rodriguez
Fred Couples
Lee Janzen
Todd Hamilton
Vijay Singh
Tom Lehman
David Duval
Michelle Wie
46 YEARS OF GOLF GREATS
The Quad Cities is celebrating 46 years
of golf greats, including stars such as
Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino,
54
Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Steve Stricker,
Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day,
Dave Stockton, Greg Norman, Payne Stewart,
The Tournament has
featured players
who have won more than
90 major championships.
Fuzzy Zoeller, David Toms, Steve Jones,
Curtis Strange, Louis Oosthuizen, John Daly
Bubba Watson, David Duval and Michelle Wie.
Over the course of the last 46 years the
Quad Cities tournament has featured players who
have won a total of 94 major championships.
55
TEE-RRIFIC
A TOURNAMENT TRADITION,
JOHN DEERE’S FAMOUS TEE MARKERS
Since 1999, the John Deere Classic has
utilized signature tee markers featuring
miniature versions of iconic John Deere
products, such as tractors, combines,
front-end loaders, and bulldozers.
The small replicas are mounted on wood
bases and placed on all 18 tee boxes at
TPC Deere Run, marking for contestants
each hole’s exact starting point.
56
At the conclusion of each tournament,
the winner’s name is engraved on a
nameplate, which is affixed to the wood
base and autographed by the champion.
Over the years, the tee markers have
become collectors’ items and many have
been auctioned off at charity functions.
33
CHAMPIONS 1971-2015
CHAMPIONS 1971-2015
MILLER HIGH LIFE QCO
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
07/12/2015
07/13/2014
07/14/2013
07/15/2012
07/10/2011
07/12/2010
07/12/2009
07/13/2008
07/16/2007
07/16/2006
07/10/2005
07/11/2004
09/14/2003
07/28/2002
07/29/2001
07/30/2000 07/25/1999 $4,700,000
4,600,000
4,600,000
4,600,000
4,500,000
4,400,000
4,300,000 4,200,000
4,100,000 4,000,000 4,000,000 3,800,000
3,500,000 3,000,000 2,800,000 2,600,000 2,000,000 Jordan Spieth Brian Harman *Jordan Spieth *Zach Johnson Steve Stricker Steve Stricker Steve Stricker *Kenny Perry Jonathan Byrd John Senden Sean O’Hair *Mark Hensby Vijay Singh
J. P. Hayes
David Gossett
*Michael Clark II
*J.L. Lewis
264 - 20
262 - 22
265 - 19
264 - 20
262 - 22
258 - 26
264 - 20
268 -16
266 -18
265 -19
268 -16
268 -16
268 -16
262 - 22
265 -19
265 -19
261 -19
$846,000.00
828,000.00
828,000.00
828,000.00
810,000.00
$792,000.00
774,000.00
756,000.00
738,000.00
720,000.00
720,000.00
684,000.00
630,000.00
540,000.00
504,000.00
468,000.00
360,000.00
QUAD CITY CLASSIC
07/12/1998 07/13/1997 09/15/1996 09/24/1995
1,550,000
1,350,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
Steve Jones
David Toms
Ed Fiori
D.A. Weibring
263 -17
265 -15
268 -12
197 -13
279,000.00
243,000.00
216,000.00
180,000.00
265 -15
259 -21
266 -14
267 -13
268 -12
268 -12
261 -19
265 -15
268 -12
180,000.00
180,000.00
180,000.00
180,000.00
180,000.00
126,000.00
108,000.00
90,000.00
72,000.00
07/22/1984
07/17/1983
07/18/1982
200,000
200,000 200,000
Scott Hoch
*Danny Edwards
Payne Stewart
200,000 200,000
*Dave Barr
Scott Hoch
266 -14
266 -14
268 N/A
36,000.00
36,000.00
36,000.00
QUAD CITIES OPEN
07/19/1981
07/20/1980
270 N/A
266 N/A
36,000.00
36,000.00
ED MCMAHON-JAYCEES QUAD CITIES OPEN
07/22/1979
07/16/1978
07/10/1977
07/11/1976
07/13/1975
200,000
150,000
125,000
100,000
75,000
D.A. Weibring
Victor Regalado
Mike Morley
John Lister
Roger Maltbie
266
269
267
268
275
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
100,000
100,000 100,000
25,000
Dave Stockton
Sam Adams
Deane Beman
Deane Beman
271
268
279
277
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
36,000.00
30,000.00
25,000.00
20,000.00
15,000.00
QUAD CITIES OPEN
07/14/1974
09/30/1973
10/01/1972
09/19/1971
HARDEE’S GOLF CLASSIC
09/25/1994
09/19/1993
09/20/1992
09/15/1991
09/09/1990
07/23/1989
07/17/1988
07/19/1987
07/20/1986
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000 700,000 600,000
500,000 400,000 Mark McCumber
David Frost
David Frost
D.A. Weibring
*Joey Sindelar
Curt Byrum
Blaine McCallister
Kenny Knox
Mark Wiebe
LITE QUAD CITIES OPEN
07/21/1985
*Play off winner
58
300,000
Dan Forsman
267 -13 54,000.00
David Stockton
1974 Quad Cities
Champion
20,000.00
20,000.00
20,000.00
5,000.00
2015
JORDAN SPIETH
TOTAL
264
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
TPC DEERE RUN, SILVIS, IL
JULY 6-12
PAR: 35-36-71
TOTAL PURSE:
$4,700,000
RANK
60
Jordan Spieth defeated veteran Tom Gillis on
the second hole of a sudden death playoff.
Spieth would travel on the John Deere Classic
charter to the Open Championship at St. Andrews, where he would
finish one shot out of a playoff, as he sought to become the first
player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three consecutive major
championships in a calendar year.
PLAYER TOTAL 1R 2R 3R 4R
2
Tom Gillis
T3
Zach Johnson
T3
Danny Lee
T5
Chris Stroud
T5 Johnson Wagner
T5
Justin Thomas
T8 Steve Wheatcroft
T8
Will Wilcox
T8
Kevin Chappell
T8 Daniel Summerhays
T12
Jason Bohn
T12 Carl Pettersson
T14
Robert Streb
T14
Scott Piercy
T14
Luke Guthrie
17
Jerry Kelly
T18
Adam Hadwin
T18
Vijay Singh
T18
Kyle Stanley
T18
Roger Sloan
T18 Scott Pinckney
T18
Brian Stuard
T24
Brian Harman
T24 Mark Hubbard
T24
Ryan Moore
T24 Robert Garrigus
T28 Chad Campbell
T28 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano
T28
Alex Prugh
T28
Bryce Molder
T28 Michael Putnam
T28
Steven Alker
T28
Josh Teater
T35
Scott Langley
T35 Hudson Swafford
T35
Max Homa
T35
Kevin Kisner
264
265
265
266
266
266
268
268
268
268
268
268
268
268
268
271
272
272
272
272
272
272
273
273
273
273
274
274
274
274
274
274
274
275
275
275
275
66 65 69 64
66 68 66 65
68 68 62 67
68 68 67 63
68 63 68 67
63 67 69 67
67 66 70 65
66 66 69 67
68 69 64 67
65 67 68 68
68 68 69 64
66 71 66 66
66 70 68 66
67 69 67 67
64 70 67 69
70 66 67 68
68 70 69 65
67 68 70 67
67 71 67 67
70 68 67 67
66 66 71 69
66 68 68 70
67 68 71 67
69 67 70 67
70 65 69 69
65 68 70 70
72 64 72 66
68 68 71 67
68 69 70 67
68 65 73 68
69 67 70 68
65 69 70 70
69 68 67 70
68 70 71 66
71 66 70 68
70 66 70 69
69 67 70 69
1R 2R 3R 4R MONEY
71 64 61 68 $846,000
MONEY
$507,600
272,600
272,600
171,550
171,550
171,550
131,600
131,600
131,600
131,600
103,400
103,400
84,600
84,600
84,600
75,200
59,220
59,220
59,220
59,220
59,220
59,220
40,067
40,067
40,067
40,067
30,583
30,583
30,583
30,583
30,583
30,583
30,583
22,677
22,677
22,677
22,677
RANK
PLAYER TOTAL 1R 2R 3R 4R
T35
Steve Stricker
T35 Shawn Stefani
T41
Jim Renner
T41
Rod Pampling
T41 William McGirt
T44
Zack Sucher
T44 Vaughn Taylor
T44 Jhonattan Vegas
T44 Sam Saunders
T44 Nicholas Thompson
T44 Roberto Castro
T50
John Huh
T50
Chris Naegel
T50 Tim Wilkinson
T50 Seung-Yul Noh
T50
Spencer Levin
T55
Pat Perez
T55
Alex Cejka
T55 Michael Thompson
T55 Tyrone Van Aswegen
T55 Derek Fathauer
T60
Ryan Armour
T60 Charles Howell III
T62
S.J. Park
T62 Cameron Percy
T62
Jonas Blixt
T65
Chez Reavie
T65
Glen Day
T67
Ken Duke
T67
David Hearn
T69
A Lee McCoy
T69 Greg Chalmers
T69
Boo Weekley
T72
Ryo Ishikawa
T72
Harris English
275
275
276
276
276
277
277
277
277
277
277
278
278
278
278
278
279
279
279
279
279
280
280
281
281
281
282
282
283
283
286
286
286
286
287
65 69 71 70
65 70 64 76
67 69 74 66
72 66 71 67
69 69 69 69
71 67 71 68
69 69 71 68
67 70 71 69
67 69 70 71
63 72 70 72
69 68 67 73
69 68 73 68
71 67 72 68
68 69 71 70
69 69 70 70
66 67 71 74
69 68 73 69
67 71 72 69
66 72 71 70
66 70 72 71
71 65 70 73
69 69 76 66
64 72 74 70
68 70 74 69
68 68 75 70
67 69 72 73
69 68 77 68
67 70 72 73
71 67 75 70
68 70 75 70
67 71 78 70
68 70 75 73
66 70 72 78
69 68 77 73
69 69 77 72
2015 JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
MONEY
MISSED CUT
TOTAL 1R 2R
MISSED CUT
22,677
22,677
18,330
18,330
18,330
14,209
14,209
14,209
14,209
14,209
14,209
11,336
11,336
11,336
11,336
11,336
10,622
10,622
10,622
10,622
10,622
10,293
10,293
10,058
10,058
10,058
9,823
9,823
9,635
9,635
Zac Blair
Camilo Villegas
Kevin Streelman
K.J. Choi
Stewart Cink
Tony Finau
Patrick Rodgers
Carlos Sainz Jr
Byron Smith
Richard Sterne
Whee Kim
Scott Verplank
Jon Curran
Derek Ernst
Tom Hoge
Brendon de Jonge
Scott Brown
Kyle Reifers
Jeff Overton
Jason Gore
Tim Clark
Troy Kelly
Jason Kokrak
Andrew Loupe
Trevor Immelman
Andrew Svoboda
Chris Smith
D.A. Points
Kevin Stadler
David Toms
Martin Flores
Ricky Barnes
Tim Petrovic
Chad Collins
Jonathan Byrd
Cut Arjun Atwal
Cut Tim Herron
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
139
140
140
140
140
140
140
140
140
140
141
141
141
141
141
141
141
141
141
141
141
141
141
Billy Hurley III
141
Fabian Gomez
141
Steven Bowditch 141
Cameron Beckman 141
Brice Garnett
141
Lucas Glover
142
Erik Compton
142
J.J. Henry
142
Jim Herman
142
Carlos Ortiz
142
Andres Gonzales
142
Troy Merritt
142
Bryson A DeChambeau 142
Matt Bettencourt 143
Mark Wilson
143
Heath Slocum
143
Ben Curtis
144
Jeff Corr
144
Chesson Hadley
144
Ben Crane
144
Blake Adams
144
Charlie Wi
144
Eric Axley
145
Troy Matteson
145
Will MacKenzie
145
Aaron Baddeley
145
Oscar Fraustro
145
Benjamin Alvarado 145
Brian Campbell
145
George McNeill
146
Joseph Juszczyk
146
Bill Lunde
146
John Merrick
146
Mark Anderson
146
Retief Goosen
147
Bo Van Pelt
147
Zack Vervaecke
147
9,447
9,447
9,259
9,259
70 69
71 68
68 71
71 68
69 70
67 72
67 72
68 71
67 72
72 67
69 70
71 68
70 69
69 70
70 69
70 70
69 71
70 70
69 71
69 71
69 71
69 71
70 70
69 71
72 69
70 71
73 68
68 73
71 70
69 72
67 74
68 73
72 69
71 70
68 73
69 72
74 67
TOTAL 1R 2R
71 70
68 73
74 67
72 69
71 70
70 72
68 74
71 71
72 70
68 74
73 69
71 71
74 68
73 70
72 71
72 71
73 71
69 75
76 68
73 71
70 74
73 71
71 74
71 74
72 73
69 76
74 71
71 74
72 73
72 74
68 78
73 73
73 73
75 71
71 76
75 72
73 74
MISSED CUT
TOTAL 1R 2R
Zack Vervaecke
Nick Taylor
John Rollins
Todd Hamilton
Andrew Putnam
Jonathan Randolph
A Carson Schaake
Zach Steffen
147
147
147
148
148
148
149
153
WD Scott Gardiner 78
WD David Duval
81
DNS Patrick Cantlay 0
a - Amateur
73 74
75 72
72 75
77 71
76 72
73 75
75 74
75 78
78
81
0
61
62
MAIN
ADMISSION
GATE
3
8
e
SHUTTLE
DROP
4
7
atm
$
FZ
5
6
CB
2
9
10
11
1
CB
C
C
JOHN DEERE FAMILY ZONE TENT
(SOCIAL MEDIA ZONE LOCATED INSIDE)
7T
FZ
MOBIL DEVICE ZONE
14T
GREENSIDE CLUB
18G
CRAFT CORNER
18G
CONCESSIONS & MOBILE
DEVICE ZONE
2G, 5G, 7T, 9G, 13T, 16G,
CLUBHOUSE
COOLING BENCHES
18G,15G, 16G, FAMILY ZONE,
BUS STOP/CLUBHOUSE
CB
e
19
CB
15
WATER FILLING STATION
CLUBHOUSE, DRIVING RANGE ATM
RESTROOMS
1T, 2G, 4F, 5G, 6G, 9F, 12T, 13F, 14G,
15G, 16G, 17F, 18G, RANGE
MICHELOB ULTRA 19TH HOLE
PAVILION
CLUBHOUSE (OASIS)
MERCHANDISE
PRACTICE GREEN (CLUBHOUSE)
MEDICAL
5F, 7T, 16G, CLUBHOUSE
LUJACK LEXUS VOLUNTEER
CENTER
CHIPPING GREEN (RANGE)
INFORMATION
9T, 9G, CLUBHOUSE
HANDICAP SEATING
9G, 18G
ENTRANCE PAVILION/
EXHIBIT AREA
MAIN ADMISSION GATE
14
m
16
17
C
C
CB
BLEACHERS
1 T, 5G, 9G, 15G, 18G, RANGE
ADMISSION GATE, CLUBHOUSE
CB
18
CLUBHOUSE
12
atm ATM
$ DRIVING RANGE, MAIN
m
atm
$
19
CB
atm
$
DRIVING
RANGE
13
COURSE MAP
63
2015 HOLE RANKING
HOLE
PAR
RANK
YARD
AVG SCORE AVG O/U PAR
1
4
13
395
3.881
-.119
1
1
98
316
35
4
1
2
5
18
561
4.495
-.505
2
16
234
172
30
3
0
3
3
6
186
2.989
-.011
3
0
68
326
59
2
0
4
4
8
454
3.958
-.042
4
0
85
310
55
4
1
EAGLES
BIRDIES
PARS
BOGEYS
DBL BOGEYS
OTHER
5
4
7
433
3.965
-.035
5
0
81
313
58
2
1
6
4
11
367
3.914
-.086
6
0
102
294
55
4
0
7
3
12
226
2.884
-.116
7
0
98
314
41
2
0
8
4
5
428
4.015
.015
8
1
69
310
72
3
0
9
4
1
503
4.244
.244
9
0
43
263
144
5
0
10
5
16
596
4.778
-.222
10
1
134
288
29
3
0
11
4
4
432
4.053
.053
11
0
78
294
69
9
5
12
3
10
215
2.925
-.075
12
0
91
310
51
3
0
13
4
9
424
3.954
-.046
13
1
80
316
55
3
0
14
4
15
361
3.791
-.209
14
1
145
266
36
5
2
15
4
2
484
4.141
.141
15
0
45
307
98
4
1
16
3
14
158
2.829
-.171
16
0
119
299
34
2
1
11
170
222
48
4
0
0
63
283
98
9
2
32
1803
5203
1067
17
5
17
569
4.701
-.299
17
18
4
3
476
4.132
.132
18
TOTAL
64
HOLE
7,268
69.648
TOTAL
71
14
65
2015 SCORING RECAP
2015
SCORING RECAP
SCORING RECAP
1R
2R
3R
4R
Rounds below 70
87 70 25 47 229
Rounds below par
100 94 39 60
293
119 117 51 62
349
Rounds par & below
Rounds at even par 19 23 12 2
56
Rounds over par
36 37 22 11
106
Rounds 80 & over
0 0 0 0
Jonathan Byrd
John Deere Classic
2007 Champion
66
TOTAL
0
HOLE 1
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 1: GRAND DETOUR
395 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 3.890
TPC DEERE RUN
561 YARDS, PAR 5
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.274
RANKING: 10TH
RANKING: 18TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
The Quad Cities is made up of
communities on both the Iowa and Illinois
sides of the Mississippi River. One of them,
Davenport, Iowa, is named after
George Davenport, the area’s first permanent
settler and co-founder of the city.
The town of Grand Detour, located 70 miles
upstream from the TPC Deere Run, was
named by French explorers for the oxbow
bend taken there by the Rock River.
Blacksmith John Deere settled in Grand
Detour after moving to Illinois from
Vermont, and he soon learned that farmers
were encountering problems with the cast
iron plows they had brought from the east.
Those plows were designed for light, sandy,
New England soil, but bogged down in
the rich, midwestern prairie-forcing farmers
to stop every few feet to scrape the thick soil
from their plow.
68
HOLE 2
HOLE 2: COLONEL DAVENPORT
Colonel Davenport was attacked and
murdered in his home on July 4, 1845,
by a gang of outlaws known as
“The course begins with a
short par 4, with an uphill tee shot
to a generous fairway surrounded
by bunkers. The green is also
guarded by bunkers, and sits
among a stand of oaks. This is about
as easy as it gets for awhile.”
He fashioned such a plow in 1837,
using the steel from a broken saw blade,
and provided the solution farmers needed
to efficiently farm the “new west.”
“A downhill tee shot to a fairway
some 50 feet below makes this
hole play shorter than its
listed length. A good drive,
and it should be reachable in two.
The entrance to the green is tight,
and is guarded by wetland bunkers
and a stand of trees. The smallish
green was designed to make
pinpoint accuracy a must.”
Deere became convinced that the sticky
soil would fall, or scour, off a highly
polished and properly shaped plow.
This first hole, with its dogleg bend to
the left, honors John Deere and the
business he began at the oxbow bend
of the Rock River in Grand Detour, Illinois.
“the banditti of the prairie.” Rumor has
it that the bandits fled from Rock Island
and took shelter in the barn whose
foundation is still visible behind
the second green at TPC Deere Run.
From here they made their escape using
the Rock River ferrycrossing.
A $1,500 reward-and the help of detective
Edward Bonney-finally “did in” the bandits.
They were all captured and brought to trial
by the end of October that same year.
69
HOLE 3
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 3: STONE HOUSE
186 YARDS, PAR 3
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 2.904
TPC DEERE RUN
454 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 3.836
RANKING: 7TH
RANKING: 11TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
The William A. and Patricia Hewitt
family owned this property for more than
40 years as Friendship Farm, one of
the top Arabian horse-breeding operations
in the country. Patricia Hewitt was the
great-great granddaughter of John Deere,
and William Hewitt served as
Deere and Company’s chairman and
CEO from 1955 to 1982, a period that
saw the company become the world’s
leading producer of agricultural equipment,
as well as a major producer of construction,
forestry, and lawn care equipment.
Erskine Wilson settled on this property
in 1838, a year after John Deere started
building plows in Grand Detour, Ill.
He started by purchasing a section of land
from the U.S. Government for one dollar
per acre, and eventually acquired nearly
1,800 acres before he died. He farmed on
both sides of the river here, and therefore
operated the ferry that the Colonel
Davenport killers used for their escape.
70
HOLE 4
HOLE 4: FRIENDSHIP FARM
“This uphill Par 3 will play much
longer than it reads on the scorecard.
A set of bunkers guard the right
side, while a bent grass collection
area is ready to grab the shots
that go long and left. The green
runs from front to back, making
club selection crucial to hitting
the green in regulation.”
a quarry a half-mile upriver. The walls of the
house are two feet thick in the basement,
and one and one-half feet thick above ground.
While living in a nearby log cabin, Wilson
built the Stone House that sits between
the second and third holes. The stone
for the ten-room house was ferried from
Sadly, Wilson never got to live in
the house. He died shortly before it was
completed. Today, the Stone House serves
as headquarters for the tournament staff
of the John Deere Classic.
“A unique hole with a large oak
tree in the middle of the landing
area that creates a double fairway.
Bunkers guard the left side while
trees guard the right side of the
fairway. The green sits at one
of the highest points on the
course, and if you miss the green
left right, or long, you are in
for a tough chip to a small green.”
The Hewitt family always respected this
land, and felt strongly that its next use
should be one that allowed the greatest
number of people to enjoy it. A public-access
golf course fulfilled the family’s wishes.
The lone oak in the middle of the fourth
fairway is now known as the “Hewitt Tree.”
In recognition of the family’s good
stewardship, it reminds all who pass it
of the responsible land use that has always
been a part of this property’s history.
71
HOLE 5
TPC DEERE RUN
The first bridge constructed across the
Mississippi River joined Davenport and
the Rock Island Arsenal by rail in 1856.
Just two weeks after its opening, hostility
between the river and rail interests peaked.
“A long, straight drive down
the left side of the fairway is a
must on this hole. Trees guard the
right side on your second shot,
and the green sits behind a ravine
that is loaded with bunkers
and is guarded on all sides by trees.”
The steamboat “Effie Afton” hit a bridge pier,
setting both the bridge and the boat on fire.
The steamboat company charged that
the bridge was an obstruction; the rail
interests blamed the incident on
carelessness. The case was eventually
resolved in favor of the railroad company
by the U.S. Supreme Court, thanks to the
efforts of a young attorney.
The bridge between No. 5 green and No. 6
tee honors that first crossing of the Mississippi
River-and that attorney, Abraham Lincoln.
72
HOLE 5: LINCOLN’S CROSSING
433 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.041
HOLE 6
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 6: WILLIAM BUTTERWORTH
367 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 3.822
RANKING: 5TH
RANKING: 13TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
The William Butterworth family
owned this property in the early 1900s.
Katherine Butterworth, John Deere’s
granddaughter, purchased about 300 acres
of the grounds from the Wilson family
between 1911 and 1928.
“The second-shortest par 4
on the course is also the tightest.
This hole was carved out of
the forest, and while short on
length, it is long on danger.
A straight drive will leave a
short iron to a green that
has a large swale and bunkers
in the front, and a bent grass
collection area in the back.
Miss this green, and you have a
tough chip to an undulating green.”
William Butterworth served as
Deere & Company’s third president.
During his tenure, six noncompeting
farm equipment manufacturers were
brought into the corporation, establishing
John Deere as a full-line manufacturer
of farm equipment. During his career,
Butterworth also served as president of
the United States Chamber of Commerce,
as well as advisor to President Herbert
Hoover. Butterworth ended his career
serving as Deere & Company’s chairman.
The sixth hole here at TPC Deere Run
recognizes teamwork that William Butterworth
put in place to position Deere & Company
for its future growth.
73
HOLE 7
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 7: TIMBER RIDGE
226 YARDS, PAR 3
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 2.836
Huge logs from Minnesota and Wisconsin
floated downstream with the help of
steamboats. Once in the Quad Cities, the
logs were milled into building materials
and household items, then shipped by
rail to markets throughout the country.
74
TPC DEERE RUN
428 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.027
RANKING: 11TH
RANKING: 6TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
The PGA TOUR supports the Audubon
International Cooperative Sanctuary System
through its TPC golf courses. All TPC courses
are either currently certified, or working
toward that status. As such, a certified
golf course is recognized for its efforts
to ensure a high degree of environmental
quality for both people and wildlife.
Moline is named for the French word
moulin, meaning “city of mills.” Until the
early 1900s, lumber mills rivaled implement
manufacturing as the Quad Cities’ primary
industry. The transportation advantages
of the Mississippi River attracted German
lumberman like Frederick Weyerhaeuser
and his brother-in-law, F. Denkman. They
launched their great lumber firm in 1860.
“This is the longest of the 3 pars
on the course, and the most
picturesque. Into the normal
prevailing wind, this hole will test
the accuracy of even the best players.
Carry it to the green or carry
the bunker on the right and let
the ball feed down to the green.
You choose your plan of attack.”
HOLE 8
HOLE 8: SANCTUARY
As the midwest’s great pine forests were
slowlyconverted to farmland, Weyerhaeuser
moved his company west for better access
to the great timber areas of Washington
and Oregon. Weyerhaeuser’s last mill closed
here in 1905.
The seventh hole, cut through a corridor
of hardwoods, honors the Quad Cities’
rich timber heritage.
“The tee shot through a chute
of trees to a tight and narrow
fairway. The small green is
surrounded by bunkers,
and calls for an exacting second
shot. The small tongue on the
front of the green creates a
spot for one of the hardest pin
positions on the course.”
In order to become certified, a golf course
must implement projects in six environmental
quality areas.The six areas are environmental
planning, wildlife and habitat management,
integrated pest management, water
conservation, water quality management
and outreach and education.
The 8th hole recognizes all Audubon
International certified golf courses, and the
wildlife they provide for on their properties.
75
HOLE 9
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 9: HOWITZER
503 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.315
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.685
RANKING: 15TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
During the early 1960s, Deere & Company
commissioned Finnish-born architect
Eero Saarinen, who also designed the
Gateway Arch in St. Louis, to create its
world headquarters building. The result
was the Deere & Company Administrative
Center, the world’s first building made
of Cor-Ten steel. The steel forms its own
protective coating as it weathers and takes
on a rich dark color, much like newly-plowed
midwestern soil.
“The longest par 4 and one of the
most testing holes on the course.
A level landing area for your drive
will leave you with a shot through
the trees to a long green that has
bunkers on both sides.”
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TPC DEERE RUN
596 YARDS, PAR 5
RANKING: 1ST
Players may feel they need a cannon
to get on this par 4 in two. What better
choice than the Howitzer, manufactured
since the Spanish-American War at
the Rock Island Arsenal.
The Rock Island Arsenal was established
by an act of Congress on July 11, 1862.
Harper’s Ferry Armory had fallen to
Confederate forces in Virginia, and Congress
looked westward for a more secure
location for arms storage and manufacturing.
Construction took place from 1866 to 1893
under the direction of General Thomas
Jackson Rodman, the famous gun designer.
Gradually, the Arsenal mission shifted to
equipment repairs and light manufacturing.
HOLE 10
HOLE 10: COR-TEN
“Not real tight on your first
and second shots, but they better
be long. The green is very small
for a par 5 and there is no room
for error on your third shot.
Bunkers protect the left side while
a pond protects the right.”
A principal item manufactured at the
Arsenal is the Howitzer. A cannon combining
mobility and range, the Howitzer remains
the most effective field artillery piece
developed and used during the 20th century.
Like Erskine Wilson and the Stone House,
Saarinen never got to see his masterpiece
completed. He died before the project was
completed in 1964. In the 1970s, Deere
hired Saarinen’s partner, Kevin Roche, to
design the adjacent West Office Building.
It opened in 1978, featuring a three-story,
tree-filled atrium.
The Deere & Company Administrative
Center is located less than two miles from
the TPC Deere Run.
The tenth hole is dedicated to Eero Saarinen
and his revolutionary Administrative Center.
77
HOLE 11
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 11: JUMP START
432 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.192
The 11th hole is dedicated to the PGA TOUR
professionals who notched their first career
victory in the Quad Cities from 1971
through 1998. Included are Roger Maltbie,
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TPC DEERE RUN
215 YARDS, PAR 3
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 2.904
RANKING: 2ND
RANKING: 7TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
John Deere’s golf course maintenance
roots run deep. An advertisement on
the 1935 Yearbook for the Second
Annual Invitational Tournament in
Augusta, GA, featured John Deere
tractors with turf-friendly, 12-inch tires.
During its 28-year run, the PGA TOUR event
formerly known as the Quad City Classic
jump-started many careers. Former PGA
TOUR commissioner Deane Beman outdueled
a young Tom Watson in 1972 to win
his second consecutive Quad Cities Open.
“A hole that from the tee looks
benign. A drive to a tree-lined
fairway that requires length
and accuracy. The second shot
to a demanding green that sits
on the edge of one of the two ravines
that run through the property.
Short of the green slopes toward
the ravine, but a courtesy bunker
is placed on the right side of the
green to save most balls from
finding a watery grave.”
HOLE 12
HOLE 12: MASTER STROKE
The 12th hole honors two interests that were
new in 1935: the tractor and The Masters.
“A long par 3 through
a tree-lined fairway
to a well-bunkered green.
This is one of the bigger
greens on the course...
but don’t miss it, there is
trouble all around it.”
Scott Hoch, Payne Stewart, Dan Forsman,
Blaine McCallister, and D.A. Weibring.
Weibring went on to win three times in
the Quad Cities before the tournament
became the John Deere Classic in 1999.
Weibring, a native of Quincy, also went on
to design, and serve as consultant on golf
course construction projects around the
world - including the TPC Deere Run.
Ironically, Gene Sarazen won the 1935
Invitational with the help of his famous
double eagle on the par 5 15th hole.
Fifty-two years later, Sarazen’s photo
appeared in a John Deere golf and turf ad.
Sarazen wrote the company, “I spent thirty
five years on two farms... I used many
John Deere tractors. They were great.”
79
HOLE 13
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 13: POPPIN’ JOHNNIE
424 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 3.904
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 3.658
RANKING: 16TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
During the early 1970s, the search was on
by Deere & Company for a tagline tailored
to its new line of snowmobiles. The company’s
advertising department enlisted the help of
the Gardner Agency out of St. Louis, Missouri.
“This is the ultimate risk/reward hole.
It is drivable but the perils are many.
Go for it and miss left and you are
in the “valley of sin.” A tightly-mowed
area that will leave you with a blind
shot to a small, well-protected
green. Go long and you will be lost
down a 60-foot bluff.”
Probably one of the friendliest
holes on the course. A fairway
that has bunkers on both sides
to a green that sits in front of
a stand of trees, and is guarded
by a large bunker on the right
and a large berm on the left.”
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TPC DEERE RUN
361 YARDS, PAR 4
RANKING: 7TH
It takes two good pops to get in this Par 4,
just like it took two good pops to fire up
John Deere’s famous two-cylinder engines
that powered its tractors from 1918 to 1960.
These engines were renowned for their
simplicity and dependability-and for their
distinctive sound.Their “pop-pop” noise
soon earned them the affectionate name
of “Poppin’ Johnnies” or “Johnny Poppers.”
The earliest of these engines were simply
designed to replace animal power with
mechanical power. During the 40 years
these 2-cylinder engines were manufactured,
they underwent a gradual metamorphosis,
changing to highly-refined power units.
HOLE 14
HOLE 14: DEERE RUN
Today, the tractors that carry these
engines represent “yesterday” to thousands
of men and women who have their roots
in rural America. Each year, these tractors
are collected, painstakingly restored,
and proudly shown at events throughout
North America.
Gardner’s copywriter, Bob Wright, came up
with over one hundred taglines, wrote them
on pieces of paper, and arranged them
on a conference room table during the
agency’s presentation. No one saw anything
they liked. Finally, Wright announced that
he had an idea that he had rejected the
night before, but had retrieved out of the
wastebasket before he left. He then placed
a crumpled piece of paper on the table with
the phrase that won immediate approval:
“Nothing Runs Like a Deere.”
The downhill 14th is driveable with
an accurate tee shot that runs true.
The hole is dedicated to Bob Wright
and one of the most famous taglines
in the history of American business:
“Nothing Runs Like A Deere®.”
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HOLE 15
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 15: COALTOWN
484 YARDS, PAR 4
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.082
TPC DEERE RUN
158 YARDS, PAR 3
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 2.767
RANKING: 4TH
RANKING: 14TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
This view has the kinds of features that
have drawn people to this property for
centuries. Archaeological evidence proves
that Native Americans settled and lived on
this property as far back as 5,000 years ago.
A three-to-six-foot vein of coal underlaid
much of the Quad Cities in the 1800s,
providing an affordable source of power for
manufacturing companies like John Deere.
The coal industry brought Welsh, English,
Irish, and other immigrants to the area who
were willing to take on this difficult work
for a chance to start a new life in America.
“Most likely,
the “Signature Hole.”
This picturesque, short par 3 sits
on a bluff 40 feet above the
Rock River. It is guarded in front
by a deep ravine and to the
right by a large bunker. To the
left is the Rock River and all
the perils it commands. It may
be short, but it is dangerous.”
By 1876, 46 mines were operating in
Rock Island County alone. One was the
Silvis Coal Mines, operated by R.S. Silvis
along with his father and brothers.
82
HOLE 16
HOLE 16: MOTHER EARTH
“Probably the toughest hole
on the back nine. It is long
and tight, and goes to a long,
narrow green that is heavily
guarded by sand and trees.
Miss this green, and you will
be sorry.”
DRI line-loaded up at the mines and carried
coal off the property along the right-of-way
that runs next to the river.
From 1900 to 1904, Silvis worked a large
mine on this property, known then
as the Christenson Farm. The Davenport,
Rock Island, and Northwestern Railroad-the
The 15th hole parallels that old coal road
and is dedicated to those hard-working
immigrants. The TPC Deere Run lies
within the city limits of Silvis, named in
1905 for R.S. Silvis.
To Native Americans, the land is a living
being, Mother Earth-who cares for all her
children, providing them with food, shelter,
beauty, and a place for contest and play.
These early inhabitants enjoyed many
sporting activities. Games ranged from
lacrosse, which was played in the summer
on the large, grassy expanses on the property,
to snow snake races in the winter,
where a crooked stick called the “snake”
was thrown down a steep hill, each player
attempting to send his snake the farthest.
The 16th hole is dedicated to these earliest
inhabitants, and the spirit of respect
andcompetition they first brought here.
83
HOLE 17
TPC DEERE RUN
HOLE 17: STADIUM
569 YARDS, PAR 5
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.479
2015 STROKE AVERAGE: 4.151
RANKING: 3TH
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
D.A. Weibring
Course Consultant/Designer
The Spanish word conquistador
means “one who conquers.” This has
special meaning here on the 18th hole.
The foaling barn for Friendship Farm used
to sit on the ridge that overlooks the right
side of this fairway. There, the farm’s
internationally-recognized Arabian horses
“Probably reachable in two for
the longest hitters, but they will
have to have a perfectly-placed tee
shot to do it. The fairway is tight
and tree- lined, and the green
is guarded in front by bunkers.
The green is elevated slightly
with bent grass collection areas
all around. Miss the green, and you
will have a tough chip to the hole.”
84
TPC DEERE RUN
476 YARDS, PAR 4
RANKING: 17TH
When Deere & Company chairman
Hans Becherer and PGA TOUR commissioner
Tim Finchem announced plans for the TPC
at Deere Run in April 1997, it represented
the 17th course in the Tournament Players
Club Network.
In October 1980, the PGA TOUR ushered in
the Stadium Golf concept with the opening
of the first TPC, the TPC Sawgrass. The goal
was to create a more enjoyable experience
for the golf spectator. It was achieved by
providing amphitheaters and strategic
HOLE 18
HOLE 18: CONQUISTADOR
“A great finishing hole that will
put a premium on driving accuracy.
Hit it long and straight to avoid
the fairway bunker on the left,
but you must keep it on the left
side of the fairway. From there,
it is a long shot to a deep and narrow
green that is guarded on the right
by two large bunkers and on the
left by a long and narrow pond.”
mounding around tees and greens. From
these vantage points, fans can be part of
the action and excitement.
The mounding around the 17th hole,
and terraced hillside that parallels No. 18,
are classic examples of this design.
were born and took their first steps.
One of the farm’s prized breeding horses
was named Llano Grande Conquistador.
He sired countless prize-winning offspring
throughout the years.
Tournament participants of the PGA TOUR’s
John Deere Classic, contested every year
at the TPC Deere Run, must walk over the
same ground as Llano Grande Conquistador
to lay claim to the same title: CHAMPION.
85
GOLFCOURSE
COURSESUPERINTENDENT
SUPERINTENDENT
GOLF
Golf Course
Superintendent
Alex Stuedemann
GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
Alex Stuedemann’s return to TPC Deere Run
in 2014 as the golf course superintendent
represents a perfect convergence of his
professional development and his family’s
personal happiness.
The 39-year-old native Minnesotan had
served as assistant superintendent at Deere
Run from 2002-2007, working for both
Chris Hague and more recently, Paul Grogan,
who retired in 2013.
In 2007, Stuedemann moved to TPC San
Antonio, where he oversaw the three-year
construction process of the new Greg
Norman-designed golf course there, and
subsequently took over as golf course
superintendent.
86
While Stuedemann enjoyed his work in Texas,
the call of the Midwest and the opportunity
to lead the Deere Run operation quickly brought
him back to the Quad Cities community.
“My wife grew up in the Moline area so
we have a lot of family here,” Stuedemann
said. “We’ve also got a great golf course –
absolutely beautiful, challenging,
everything a golf course superintendent
would want in a day-to-day office.
And, finally, we’ve got a great event –
the John Deere Classic. Everybody in
the Quad Cities gets behind the
tournament and embraces it. It’s really
a Midwest down-home great event,
and as a golf course superintendent,
it makes our job that much easier.”
Stuedemann has a degree in environmental
horticulture from the University of Minnesota
with a dual emphasis on turf grass management
and landscape design. In high school, he
worked on the grounds crew at Bunker Hills
Golf Course in Coon Rapids, Minn., which
later would host the Champions Tour’s 3M
Championship. He continued to work there
during the summers of his college years.
He found he loved the job so much he left
behind his pursuit of an engineering degree
and turned to golf.
The pressure of being the golf course
superintendent during tournament week
has its challenges, as everyone from the
PGA TOUR, the John Deere Classic staff
and the contestants all want –
demand - outstanding playing surfaces.
“. . . Seeing all the residents of
the Quad Cities with their families
crowded around the 18th green on
Sunday, watching it unfold, enjoying
a pork chop sandwich or a cup
of Whitey’s [ice cream] and just
soaking it all in... It’s just so fun to
see them getting to enjoy what we
get to enjoy every day.”
— Alex Studemann
But, for Stuedemann, beyond the pressure,
there’s satisfaction, pride and enjoyment.
87
SNEAD BETTERS HIS AGE TWICE
Quad Cities favorite Sam Snead
made history when he shot his
age at the 1979 tournament at
Oakwood Country Club.
A FIRST ON THE PGA
TOUR: SNEAD BETTERS
HIS AGE - TWICE!
In 1979, 67-year-old golf legend Sam Snead
became the first player in PGA TOUR history to
shoot his age in the second round at Oakwood CC.
Snead one-upped himself in the final round, when
he shot a 66, beating his age and finishing T-36.
89
THREE-PEAT CHAMPIONS
THREE-PEAT
CHAMPIONS
WINNERS OF THREE CONSECUTIVE TOURNAMENTS IN A SINGLE EVENT
Jamie Anderson
Phoenix Open, 1961-1963
Robert Ferguson
Jack Nicklaus
Willie Anderson
Johnny Miller
British Open, 1880-1882
U.S. Open, 1903-1905
Walter Hagen
Metropolitan Open, 1916, 1919-1920
(no event held 1917-18 because of WWII)
Gene Sarazen
Miami Beach Open, 1927-29
Henry Picard
Tournament of the Gardens, 1935-1937
Ralph Guldahl
Western Open, 1936-1938
Ben Hogan
Asheville Land of the Sky Open, 1940-1942
Gene Littler
Tournament of Champions, 1955-1957
Disney World Golf Classic, 1971-1973
Tucson Open, 1974-1976
Tom Watson
Byron Nelson Classic, 1978-1980
Tiger Woods
Memorial Tournament, 1999-2001
Tiger Woods
World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational
1999-2001
Stuart Appleby
Mercedes Championships, 2004-2006
Tiger Woods
World Golf Championships-Bridgestone
Invitational, 2005-2007
Tiger Woods
Portland Open, 1959-1961
World Golf Championships-CA
Championship, 2005-2007
Arnold Palmer
Steve Stricker
Billy Casper
Texas Open, 1960-1962
90
Arnold Palmer
British Open, 1877-1879
John Deere Classic, 2009-2011
From left to right:
Three-Peat Winners
Jack Nicklaus,
Ben Hogan,
Walter Hagen,
Tiger Woods,
Arnold Palmer,
Gene Sarazen
and Steve Stricker
DEANE BEMAN: FIRST CHAMPION
DEANE BEMAN:
FIRST CHAMPION
The man who won the Quad Cities’ first
two professional golf events and later
served for 20 years as commissioner
of the PGA TOUR came back to celebrate
the tournament’s 35th anniversary.
As a player, Beman had a distinguished
amateur career, winning two U.S. Amateurs
and a British Amateur. He had four official
victories on the PGA TOUR and was runnerup to Orville Moody at the 1969 U.S. Open.
Deane Beman was a special guest
at the 2005 John Deere Classic, which
acknowledge him both as a past champion
and as an ongoing champion of the event.
Beman won the 1972 Quad Cities Open, the
year after he won the 1971 QC event, which
was classified as a “satellite” tour event.
“Deane Beman is the most important
single individual in the history of PGA TOUR
in the Quad Cities,” said John Deere Classic
tournament director Clair Peterson.
“As a player, Deane Beman won the event
in 1971 and 1972. As commissioner
of the PGA TOUR, he supported the
tournament when it encountered financial
difficulties through the years.”
“Deane Beman was the person who initiated
the concept of ‘stadium golf’ on the PGA
TOUR, which is the basis for the existence
of the TPC at Deere Run,” Peterson said.
“Without Deane Beman, the Quad Cities
doesn’t have a PGA TOUR event.”
Former PGA TOUR
Commissioner Deane Beman
won the Quad-Cities’
first two titles in 1971-72.
He returned in 2005
to celebrate the event’s
35-year anniversary.
Beman participated in the John Deere
Classic Pro-Am Pairings Party on July 5th
and hit the ceremonial “Drive for a Billion”
tee shot at noon Wednesday to kick off
the afternoon rounds of the John Deere
Classic Pro-Am event.
93
Ed McMahon, Marie Zelnio Ziegler Miss Moline 1977 - and Bob Hope
THAT ‘70s SHOW
THAT ‘70s SHOW
1976: Tour rookie Fuzzy Zoeller birdied his
last eight holes in the opening round,
matching a PGA Tour record. Fan favorite
Fuzzy could not hold off fast-charging
New Zealander John Lister, whose 10-under
weekend total helped him to the only
PGA Tour win of his career. Jerry Lewis lost
some fans here when he left the Pro-Am
after nine holes for a quieter round at
East Moline’s Short Hills CC.
THE ED McMAHON PRO-AM SHOW
STARRING BOB HOPE, MICKEY ROONEY,
JERRY LEWIS AND TELLY SAVALAS
Baby Boom era TV star Ed McMahon, who
made “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!” an
indelible catch phrase, was the emcee of
Johnny Carson’s wildly popular Tonight Show.
He played a critical role in the success
of one of the Quad Cities’ biggest sporting
events, the John Deere Classic.
Back in the 1970s, the tournament
started out as the Quad Cities Open.
It was desperate for sponsorship
and struggled so much it was nearly
abandoned. But then, McMahon was
asked to get involved. He agreed.
94
1975: McMahon appeared at the
tournament in 1975 where
PGA Tour rookie Roger Maltbie would
come from seven shots back on Sunday
to score the first of five career wins.
Four more Ed McMahon Jaycee’s Quad-Cities
Opens followed. And with Carson’s second
banana enticing first-flight pro-am
attractions like Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope,
Mickey Rooney and Telly Savalas to the
nation’s midsection, the 1975-1979
tournaments were among the most
star-studded events in tourney history.
1977: The ’77 event was the highlight of
the Ed McMahon party years, with Bob
Hope heading a star-studded Pro-Am that
also featured Mickey Rooney, George Gobel,
Scatman Carothers and Bobby Riggs
and drew record crowds to the course on
Wednesday. North Dakotan Mike Morley
would play Oakwood in 12-under par on
the weekend and birdied five holes on
the back nine on Sunday to notch his
only PGA Tour win. He won by two shots
over Bob Murphy and Victor Regalado.
Fuzzy Zoeller was a second-round co-leader,
but ultimately tied for eighth.
1978: Actor Telly Savalas, star of the 1970s
TV series “Kojak,” ended up on Arsenal
Island as the result of a weather-related
detour July 12, 1978. Savalas was in town
to play in the pro-am tournament at the
Ed McMahon Quad-Cities Open golf
tournament at Oakwood Country Club in
Coal Valley, but the round was cancelled
by rain. Savalas instead took his clubs to
the Arsenal Golf Club for 18 holes with
some friends. His appearance caused
quite a stir at the Arsenal Country Club.
“I love it. I love the area. I love the people,”
Savalas was quoted as saying in a Davenport
Times story. “But I can’t tell you anything
about the (Oakwood) golf course ‘cause
they rained us out.”
A runner-up at Oakwood the previous year,
in 1978 Victor Regalado opened a two-shot
midway lead with a 7-under Friday round of
64 in the last year that the pros played
Oakwood CC as a par-71 layout. Regalado
managed to pick up just four shots more on
par over the weekend, but held on for his
second career win.
“I do not play golf,”
said McMahon,
“but I’m one hell of a host.”
1979: Legendary pro Sam Snead became
the first player to shoot his age on the PGA
Tour with a 67 on Friday. He did that one
better with a Sunday 66, but finished 36th.
Meanwhile, second-year pro D.A. Weibring
scored the first of three Quad-Cities wins
and five career victories.
The 1979 tournament was the last known
as the Ed McMahon Quad-Cities Open
and the tournament’s strong Hollywood
connection - ended in 1980.
95
A LEGENDARY ROUND OF GOLF
PAUL GOYDOS
Right: Paul Goydos’ 12-under 59
Below: Steve Stricker’s 11-under 60
STEVE STRICKER
59 60
A LEGENDARY ROUND OF GOLF
Paul Goydos’ 12-under 59 and Steve
Stricker’s 11-under 60 are the two lowest
scores ever posted in the same round in a
PGA TOUR event. Previously, a 59 and a 60
have occurred only once in the same year.
In 1999, David Duval’s 59 at the Bob Hope
Classic was followed by a 60 by Tommy
Armour III at the Las Vegas Invitational.
The 2010 John Deere Classic
hosts a historic first round:
Paul Goydos’ 12-under par 59
& Steve Stricker’s 11-under 60,
were the two lowest scores
ever posted in the same round.
— TPC Deere Run, July 9th 2010
The previous lowest 18-hole score at
TPC Deere Run was a 10-under 61, posted
by Steve Stricker in the second round in 2009,
and J.P. Hayes in the second round in 2002.
Paul Goydos’ back-nine, 8-under 28 in
2010 was one stroke shy of the record
for most strokes under par on a frontor back-nine stretch. Four players have
previously gone 9-under.
Prior to the John Deere Classic, Paul Goydos’
career-low round was a pair of 62s, most
recently in the second round of the 2008
Frys.com Open. His low round of 2010 prior
to his 59 was a second-round, 7-under 63
at the Sony Open in Hawaii, site of his most
recent win, in 2007.
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HERE’S HOW GOYDOS SHOT 59
HERE’S HOW
GOYDOS SHOT 59
In the first round of the 2010 John Deere
Classic (July 9), Paul Goydos birdied eight
of his inward nine holes en route to a
bogey-free, 12-under 59 in his 448th PGA
TOUR start. He joined Al Geiberger, Chip
Beck and David Duval as the only players
to post that record-low, 18-hole score in
a PGA TOUR event. Of the three previous
59s, only Geiberger’s was played under
preferred-lies conditions, as was Goydos.’
Duval & Geiberger converted their 59s into
victory, while Beck tied for third and Goydos
was second.
SHOT BY SHOT
BREAKDOWN OF GOYDOS GOLDEN 59
No. 1: Driver, 9-iron to 12 feet. PAR.
No. 2: Driver, 3-wood into the front bunker,
sand wedge to 5 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 3: 4-iron, two-putt. PAR.
No. 4: Driver, 9-iron, 18 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 5: Driver in right trees, 7-iron,
two-putt from back of green,
making an 8-footer for par. PAR.
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No. 6: 3-wood, 8-iron to 25 feet
on the fringe. BIRDIE.
No. 7: 3-iron, 15 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 8: Driver, 4-iron to 30 feet.
Two-putt. PAR.
No. 9: Driver, 4-iron to 25 feet.
Two-putt. PAR.
OUT: 31 (5-under par)
No. 10: Driver, 3-wood,
9-iron to 4 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 11: Driver, 8-iron, 40 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 12: 4-iron, 18 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 13: Driver, 6-iron, 25 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 14: 3-wood, sand wedge,
6 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 15: Driver, 5-iron, missed green left,
chip to 5 feet. PAR.
No. 16: 8-iron to 15 feet on
left fringe. BIRDIE.
No. 17: Driver, 4-iron, pitching wedge,
12 feet. BIRDIE.
No. 18: Driver, 7-iron, 7 feet. BIRDIE.
IN: 28 (8-under par)
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1982 PAYNE STEWART FIRST VICTORY
Payne Stewart had
one of the most stylish
swings of the modern era.
It was not the
structured action of
many of today’s players,
but rather a long
and wonderfully graceful
and fluid movement.
PAYNE STEWART’S
“MOST CHERISHED WIN”
1982 champion Payne Stewart posted
the first of his 11 career victories,including
two U.S. Open titles, at Oakwood Country
Club, former site of the PGA TOUR’s Quad
Cities event.
The victory was a milestone in Stewart’s
career, but grew in importance when it
turned out to be the only time his father,
Bill, would see him win.
“We had a good cry on the green,” recalled
Stewart. “The 1982 Quad Cities will always
be my most cherished victory.”
Bill Stewart died of cancer in 1985.
Stewart began playing golf at age four,
learning from his father, a former Missouri
State Amateur champion.
PAYNE STEWART’S FIRST VICTORY
When he won again, at the 1987 Bay Hill
Invitational, Stewart donated his $108,000
winner’s check to the Florida Hospital
Circle of Friends in memory of his father.
Stewart added plenty of substance to his
stylish outfit by posting a 7-under par final
round of 63 – still the lowest closing round
by a Quad Cities winner - to come from two
shots back to win by a pair.
Stewart’s clothes were
as stylish as his swing.
His outlandish plus-fours,
tam and elegant outfits made
him unmistakable on the course.
“My father always said the
easiest way to set yourself
apart in a crowd is the way
you dress,” said Stewart.
Stewart would win 11 PGA TOUR events
in his career, including three major
championships - the 1989 PGA and the
1991 and 1999 U.S. Open. He died tragically
in an airline mishap in 1999 at the age of 47.
The 1982 victory also was significant
because itmarked the first time the
sartorially savvy Stewart wore his trademark knickers and Hogan cap during
all four rounds of a PGA TOUR event.
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20 FIRST-TIME WINNERS
Since its inception as an official PGA TOUR stop in 1972,
the Quad Cities has earned a well-deserved reputation
as a place where young players often get their first victories.
So far, it has happened 20 times.
2014-Brian Harman
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2013-Jordan Spieth
2006-John Senden
2005-Sean O’Hair
2004- Mark Hensby
2001-David Gossett
2000-Michael Clark II
1999-J.L. Lewis
1997-David Toms
1989-Curt Byrum
1988-Blaine McAllister
1985-Dan Forsman
1982-Payne Stewart
1981-Dave Barr
1980-Scott Hoch
1979-D.A. Weibring
1977-Mike Morley
1976-John Lister
1975-Roger Maltbie
1973-Sam Adams
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2015 John Deere Classic Mobile App
2016 John Deere Classic Mobile App
Fans of the John Deere Classic now
may download a new smart phone app
designed specifically for the 2016
John Deere Classic to help them stay
connected digitally to the tournament
via the web and social media.
The new 2016 John Deere Classic App
will enable fans to purchase tickets, get
information about parking and shuttle bus
schedules, connect with the tournament
website and Facebook page, check the
leaderboard, keep up with breaking golf
news, and check out the latest PGA TOUR
videos and Player Tweets right from their
iPhones or Android-based phones.
Fans may download the app via Apple’s
App Store or Android’s Google Play.
Fans who downloaded the 2015 John
Deere Classic app will need to download
the new app, as last year’s will not be
automatically updated.
The App also lets fans connect directly
with the John Deere Classic’s ever more
popular Facebook page, which now boasts
more than 140,000 followers.
During tournament week, the John Deere
Classic App will enable fans to check the
leaderboard, see tee times and groupings,
consult the schedule of events, review the
course map and hole-by-hole descriptions
of TPC Deere Run, and find out about
available parking lot and shuttle buses.
It is PGA TOUR policy to allow
fans to bring their mobile phone devices
to PGA TOUR events as long as their use
does not disrupt play.
In addition to ongoing Facebook page
updates, the John Deere Classic App features
news and videos from the PGA TOUR as
well as “tweets” from dozens of PGA TOUR
players who post comments on their
Twitter accounts. Information also is
available about the tournament’s
highly successful Birdies for Charity
Program as well as tournament sponsor
John Deere.
Those who wish to download the John
Deere Classic App directly to their cell
phones may do so by:
- Opening the appropriate attached bar
code for iPhone or Android
- Activating their smart phone’s bar code
scanner app (such as QR Reader);
- Pointing the smart phone at the bar code
The John Deere Classic App will load
automatically.
Downloads Available for
iPhone & Android-based
Smart Phones
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105
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
In 2015, JDC helped raise a record $8.734
million for 488 local and regional Quad Cities
charities - a stunning $2.4 million increase
over last year.
The total is nearly $2 million more than
the previous record of $6.79 million set
in 2012, tournament officials said Friday
at a news conference at John Deere World
Headquarters. In addition to being the
highest John Deere Classic charity total
ever, it represents the fourth consecutive
year in which the tournament has helped
raise more than $6 million for local charities.
“Everyone associated with the John Deere
Classic is extremely proud, gratified and
appreciative that individual donors, companies
and family foundations stepped up in a big
way to make this year’s charitable contribution
by far the largest in tournament history,”
said John Deere Classic tournament director
Clair Peterson.
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The $8.73 million total works out to
$23.29 per Quad City resident, making the
John Deere Classic the PGA TOUR’s top
charity in per capita giving. The tournament
also ranks among the top five in total charity
giving on the regular TOUR.
A combination of increased tournament
revenues and a John Deere Foundation
matching grant of $325,000 to the Birdies for
Charity Bonus Fund enabled the tournament
to provide the 10 percent match for the third
consecutive year, officials said.
Tournament officials also announced that
all 488 charities participating in the Birdies
for Charity program will receive a 10 percent
bonus over and above the funds they raised,
double the promised five percent.
This means a charity that raised $10,000 via
the Birdies pledge program will receive an
additional 10 percent, or $1,000, for a total
of $11,000.
Peterson pointed to the 10 percent bonus
in explaining how charitable giving spiked
$2.4 million in just one year.
“Donors find the 10 percent bonus to be an
extremely compelling incentive for them to
make lump sum charitable donations through
Birdies for Charity,” Peterson said. “With bank
interest rates at one percent or less, the 10
percent bonus gets a lot of people’s attention.”
This year’s charity number brings to
more than $70.18 million the total
amount of charitable contributions
provided to the Quad Cities community
since the PGA TOUR first began its
annual run in the Quad Cities in 1971.
The PGA TOUR Wives (above)
bond with kids affected by
cancer at the Quad City chapter
of Gilda’s Club, a support
organization for cancer victims.
In 2015, John Deere Classic contestants
recorded 1,990 birdies during the
tournament and the Wednesday pro-am.
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THE HISTORIC STONE HOUSE
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS, EST.1852
Tournament office
15623 coaltown road
east moline, Illinois 61244
309. 762. 4653
www.johndeereclassic.com