John Deere Classic winner Sepp Straka, Austrian born and Georgia raised, lifts the trophy, Sunday, July 9, 2023, after final round action at TPC Deere Run in Silvis. He won with a nine under 62. With fewer than 90 days until tournament week, ticket sales open today, April 3, for the 2024 John Deere Classic, according to tournament officials. CREDIT JOHN SCHULTZ
Between the first tee into the turf to the final note of Lainey Wilson’s encore on Sunday evening, the 53rd edition of the John Deere Classic will provide entertainment, fun, and golf played by some of the best in the world. The tournament at TPC Deere Run, Silvis, will allow everyone to support their favorite […]
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Between the first tee into the turf to the final note of Lainey Wilson’s encore on Sunday evening, the 53rd edition of the John Deere Classic will provide entertainment, fun, and golf played by some of the best in the world.The tournament at TPC Deere Run, Silvis, will allow everyone to support their favorite organizations by donating to the hugely successful Birdies for Charity outreach.Birdies for Charity support is a $14 million group hug of hundreds of deserving organizations.Compassion and community involvement are two reasons Birdies for Charity has raised more than $174 million since 1971. The successes of the 2023 event enabled the John Deere Classic to distribute a record $14.1 million to 478 participating organizations last fall.Tournament play begins on Thursday celebrating the 4th of July and will continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 5-7, with a purse of $8 million in play. Concerts on the Course featuring Counting Crows and Ms. Wilson, Country Music Association (CMA) Entertainer of The Year, will follow tournament play Saturday and Sunday nights in the natural amphitheater of Deere Run’s 18th green.“It is going to be a weekend of great golf, great music and great fun for our fans,’’ said JDC Tournament Director Andrew Lehman.Mara Downing, John Deere’s vice president of Global Brand and Communications, said, “When we renewed our contract with the PGA TOUR, we wanted to evolve to attract new and traditional fans to this world-class event.”On the tee will be a headlining duo of three-time major winner and two-time JDC winner Jordan Spieth and JDC defending champion Sepp Straka of Austria.Mr. Spieth became the first teenager to win on TOUR since 1931 with his title here in 2013.“We are very excited to welcome back Sepp Straka to defend his championship here at TPC Deere Run,” Mr. Lehman said. “Sepp’s exciting come-from-behind victory last year provided many the kind of dramatics fans of our tournament have experienced for many years.“We also are excited to welcome back our 2013 and 2015 champion, Jordan Spieth, who won his first tournament here in 2013 and doubled it up in 2015.”Mr. Straka, who claimed victory last year on the strength of his final round 9-under par 62, has eight top 25s in 17 starts in 2024, including four top 10s.Mr. Spieth, a three-time major champion, is returning to the Quad Cities for the first time since his 2015 victory.Jason Day, who began his career at the JDC, has made 13 of 16 possible cuts this year and has four top 10s.The past champions cohort is led by Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native Zach Johnson (2012), J.T. Poston (2022), Lucas Glover (2021), Dylan Frittelli (2019), Michael Kim (2018) and Ryan Moore (2016).Other contestants ranked among the top 100 in the world are Korea’s Sunjae Im, Denny McCarthy, Eric Cole, last year’s JDC runner-up Brendan Todd, Keith Mitchell and Maverick McNealy.Another player who may be on the leaderboard at some point over the 72 holes is Aaron Rai, who is coming off a runners-up tie last week.The John Deere Classic has a thrilling history of producing first-time winners like Mr. Spieth who have established winning careers.Amateur Luke Clanton could potentially be the next in that category. He is the No. 2 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings and is in the JDC field after a recent strong effort in the U.S. Open and a tie for 10th in the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week.
