The John Deere Classic has an exciting heritage of helping launch the PGA Tour careers of young golfers. Davis Thompson was ready to claim his place. His stroll with a big lead over the closing holes of TPC Deere Run was reflective of the 2024 tournament he was about to win. Confident and skilled, resolute […]
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The John Deere Classic has an exciting heritage of helping launch the PGA Tour careers of young golfers.
Davis Thompson was ready to claim his place.
His stroll with a big lead over the closing holes of TPC Deere Run was reflective of the 2024 tournament he was about to win. Confident and skilled, resolute in pursuing his goals, Mr. Thompson found a winning path.
The John Deere Classic, now 53 years old, has experienced difficult moments under several other title sponsors, but that is ancient history. The tournament has shown the same resolve and perseverance as its new champion.
And for 25 years, under the Deere umbrella, the tournament has provided great competition, excitement, and most importantly, has raised nearly $174 million of support to invest in the community.
In reflecting on the 2024 tournament week earlier this month, JDC Tournament Director Andrew Lehman called the week a “huge success.”
Mr. Lehman didn’t stop short in his praise. He told the QCBJ, “We have the best title sponsor in golf. The perfect fit.”
Mara Downing, vice president of global brands and communications for Deere & Company, said that the corporate-level relationship with the tournament benefits Deere in several ways. That includes brand promotion, a national media presence and community giving from the Birdies for Charity program benefitting hundreds of organizations.
And the best news is that the 2024 JDC was the first year of a three-year contract.
“An incredible week,” Ms. Downing told the QCBJ.
Here are some of the highlights from the week that ended July 7:
The Golf
The new champion, Mr. Thompson, opened up a four-shot lead through 54 holes and quickly expanded the advantage in the final round by carding five birdies in his first six holes on that Sunday. No one challenged the rest of the way.
Ben Griffin, who had his own strong tournament and finished tied for fifth, said his next-door- neighbor in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, was obviously ready to break through as a champion.
“He (Mr. Thompson) deserves this,” Mr. Griffin said.” He does everything very solidly. Our debate was who was going to win first. Now we know.”
Tournament play started with a sizzle as Hayden Springer became only the 13th golfer in PGA Tour history and the second in JDC history to post a magical 12-under-par 59.
But Mr. Thompson took over the lead and finished at 28 under par, which is a new tournament record.
Also, the 36-hole cut was five under par, a record low for the tournament. In the JDC, golfers go low or they go home.
The low scoring raises the question – Is TPC Deere Run difficult enough for today’s professional golfers?
“No, the course is not too easy,” said Mr. Lehman. “We have had two 59s in tournament history. Both were in preferred lie conditions. That isn’t to say they still wouldn’t have shot 59s. The Tour staff makes the call depending on course conditions.”
“I will say that the players coming out on tour now are way ahead of young players turning pro a few years ago.”
This year's example is amateur Luke Clanton, who finished tied for second in the JDC. He will soon return to Florida State University’s national power golf team. Mr. Clanton is one of many amateurs who have the golf game to play on the PGA Tour, according to Mr. Lehman.
“There have been a lot of advancements in club technology, food and nutrition, and an emphasis on exercise, “Mr. Lehman said. “The colleges also have excellent golf courses and practice facilities. That is why you’re seeing stories like Luke (Clanton).”
Mr. Lehman follows amateur and college golf worldwide to decide who is worthy of a sponsor’s exemption to the JDC.
Decisions in the past about sponsor exemptions at the Silvis tournament have introduced new young players to professional golf at the JDC, including two-time champion Jordan Spieth. Mr. Clanton was also in this year’s field on a sponsor’s exemption.
The sponsor
Ms. Downing said Deere looks at several things in evaluating the tournament each year.
“One of the metrics is customer experience,” she said. “We had two pro-am events and were able to show our appreciation for customers and hopefully to potential customers.”
“And a key metric is the positive impact on the community. I think we had a great week.”
The JDC’s dates on the PGA Tour are not considered to be a prime placement because of the Fourth of July holiday.
In the past, the tournament has also been scheduled against The Open Championship, Scottish Championship, Olympics, and The Ryder Cup Many top golfers take the week off to spend with family or prepare for The Open Championship.
“Our teams did some great things with our dates and will continue to look for ways to make the John Deere Classic special,” Ms. Downing said.
The PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who visited the event on pro-am day, said there have been preliminary discussions about the placement of the JDC on the schedule.
Deere & Co. has been the title sponsor of the tournament for 25 years. Only AT&T has a longer record of PGA Tour sponsorship.
The Concerts
The Concerts on the Course after Saturday and Sunday rounds are likely to continue. Concerts are an add-on to world-class golf, Ms. Downing said.
“We love the atmosphere of the crowds at the concerts. We start looking at possible concerts soon after the tournament,” she added.
“What we are finding is it is more difficult to book acts we are interested in because summer is the time for fairs and festivals and acts get booked early for those periods.”
“We have been very fortunate the last two years to be able to book Darius Rucker and Blake Shelton last year and Counting Crows and Lainey Wilson this year.”
Mr. Lehman estimated the Sunday night crowd at 12,000 for the Lainey Wilson concert.
Ms. Downing said Ms. Wilson is, “A John Deere Girl.”
The Wilson family has been farming for five generations and uses John Deere equipment.
The tournament was able to land Ms. Wilson before she received a recent CMA Entertainer of the Year Award. She also opened for The Rolling Stones in Chicago and was featured on a national Fourth of July broadcast.
Champions House
For the third straight year, a Quad Cities home – turned into a temporary residence for JDC competitors – produced the champion of the tournament.
J.T. Poston won the tournament championship in 2022 and Sepp Straka won in 2023. Both were staying in the same house. Mr. Thompson went a step further and slept in the same bed that Mr. Straka did the year before. Magical things happen at the JDC.
Birdies Update
John Deere Classic’s Birdies For Charity distributed a record of $14.102 million for 478 regional and local charities in 2023.
Mr. Lehman said the 2024 tournament hopes to surpass that figure. The results will be announced sometime in the fall. Birdies For Charity has raised $173.67 million since the Quad Cities tournament began in 1971.
