The PGA Tour honored the John Deere Classic with its “Most Engaged Community” and “Best Sponsor Integration” awards on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at its annual meeting.
“The John Deere Classic is honored to have won our ninth ‘Most Engaged Community’ award and the ‘Best Sponsor Integration’ award for the first time,” JDC Tournament Director Andrew Lehman said in a news release. “These two awards recognize the efforts of everyone involved with the tournament to serve our two most important constituencies, our fans and our tremendous title sponsor, John Deere.”
The Quad Cities community is weaved into the tournament in many ways from the record-setting $15.9 million in charitable contributions for 476 local charities to the 2,400 volunteers who make the tournament run smoothly to John Deere’s “Concerts on Course” initiative, which expanded the event’s fan appeal and created sell outs on the weekend. This year’s artists were country star Lainey Wilson and ‘90s rock group Counting Crows.
Deere’s sponsor integration includes tasteful onsite branding and signage; an impressive entry-road display of some 25 original pieces of John Deere equipment from each of the company’s Agricultural, Construction and Golf and Turf divisions; creative and branded interactive fan experiences, such as the mini-excavator Putter and the iconic excavator Driver Head and Golf Ball (with a new custom-made Swag Golf head cover for the Driver), miniature versions of John Deere equipment mounted on tee markers on all 18 holes, which started a trend on the Tour back in 1999.
Davis Thompson won the 53rd John Deere Classic this summer with a record score of 28-under par at TPC Deere Run in Silvis. He is expected to defend his title at next year’s JDC, set for July 2-6, 2025. Go here for more information on next year’s JDC.
Since 1971, the John Deere Classic, which includes Birdies for Charity, has helped raise nearly $190 million for charity. The 2025 tournament will be June 30-July 6 at TPC at Deere Run in Silvis.
